Laurens van der Post

Sir Laurens Jan van der Post (aka Laurens van der Post) December 13, 1906 – December 16, 1996. Famous 20th century Afrikaner author of many books, farmer, war hero, political adviser to British heads of state, educator, journalist, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer, and conservationist.

Later years

Laurens's fame and success was now assured. He had become a popular television personality, had introduced the world to the Kalahari bushmen, and was considered an authority on Bushmen folklore and culture. "I was compelled towards the Bushmen," he said, "like someone who walks in his sleep, obedient to a dream of finding in the dark what the day has denied him." Over the next decade he had a steady stream of book releases, including novels drawn from his war experiences, The Seed and the Sower (1963) and The Night of the New Moon (1970). A travel book called A Journey into Russia (1964) described a long trip through the Soviet Union. In 1972 there was another BBC television series of his 16-year friendship with Jung, who died in 1961, which was followed by the book Jung and the Story of our Time (1976).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ingaret and he moved to Aldeburgh, Suffolk where they became involved with a circle of friends that included an introduction to Prince Charles, whom he then took on a safari to Kenya in 1977 and with whom he had a

Related Topics:
Aldeburgh - Suffolk - Prince Charles - Safari - Kenya

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

close and influential friendship for the rest of his life. Also in 1977 he along with Ian Player, a South African conservationist, created the first World Wilderness Congress in Johannesburg. In 1979 his Chelsea neighbor Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister and she called on his advice with matters dealing with southern Africa, notably the Rhodesia settlement of 1979–80. In 1981 he was given a Knighthood.

Related Topics:
Ian Player - World Wilderness Congress - Johannesburg - Chelsea - Margaret Thatcher - Prime Minister - Rhodesia - Knighthood

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1982 he fell and injured his back and used the downtime from tennis and skiing to write an autobiography called Yet Being Someone Other (1982), which discussed his love of the sea and his journey to Japan with Plomer in 1926. By now Ingaret was slipping into senility, and he spent much time with an old friend Frances Baruch. In 1984 his son John (who had gone on to be an engineer in London) died, and Laurens spent time with his youngest daughter Lucia and her family.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Even in old age Laurens was involved with many projects, from the worldwide conservationist movement,to setting up a centre of Jungian studies in Cape Town. He remained a captivating speaker and storyteller both in public and in private. In 1996 he tried to prevent the eviction of the bushmen from their homeland in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, which had been set up for that purpose, but ironically it was his work in the 1950s to promote the land for cattle ranching that lead to their eventual downfall and removal. In October 1996 he published The Admiral's Baby describing the events in Java at the end of the war. For his 90th birthday party he had a five-day celebration in Colorado, with a "this is your life" type event with friends from every period of his life. A few days later, on December 16th, 1996, after whispering in Afrikaans "die sterre" (the stars), he died. The funeral took place December 20th in London, attended by Prince Charles, Lady Thatcher, Nelson Mandela and many friends and family. His ashes were buried in a special memorial garden at Philipolis on April 4th, 1998. Ingaret died five months after him on May 5th, 1997.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~