Ex-CSCC Member Shot Dead by South African Police (1914)

Most of us know of Chipping Sodbury Cricket Club’s links with the illustrious Grace Family. One of WG Grace’s brothers was Chipping Sodbury club captain for many years and many other members of the family played for Chipping Sodbury Cricket Club in the 1800s and early 1900s.

This fascinating story focuses on a Sodbury Grace - Dr Gerald Grace (WG Grace’s nephew) and how he became involved in one of the most well known criminal events in South African History.

Dr Gerald Grace’s time at Chipping Sodbury Cricket Club is not documented as thoroughly as his brother Alfie or father Alfred (both club captains), but his presence as a Sodbury cricketer was certainly apparent.

In 1892, he was among four Chipping Sodbury Graces who played in the family match between the Graces and the Robinsons at the County Ground, Bristol. Dr. Alfred Grace was run out for a duck; Alfie was bowled for 10 and took four wickets for 27; Arthur fell lbw for 8 and had a bowling analysis of 0-12; while Gerald was caught for a single.

In the very early years of the 20th century a couple of the Grace family members left English shores bound for South Africa. The first of these was Dr. Gerald Grace in around 1902. The specific reason for why he chose South Africa is unknown, but once out there he practiced medicine within his ‘very lucrative practice’ in the town of Springs, just outside of Johannesburg.

Dr. Gerald Grace became a popular member of society and was the first person ever to hold the post of Mayor of Springs, the town on the East Rand. Unknown to him, he was to tragically play a part in the Foster Gang saga, which today is as well known in South Africa, as the Great Train robbery is in the United Kingdom.

The Foster gang, consisting of William Foster, John Maxim and Carl Mezar, had evaded police for months during the year 1914. They were wanted for a string of robberies across the Reef, and the murder of three policemen and a passerby. But nine other people also died because of the Foster Gang,

William Foster was born in Griqualand East in 1886. His father was an Irishman, his mother an Englishwoman. Foster was the third of six children, and when he was 14 his parents moved to Johannesburg.

A month long jail term changed him and afterwards he was continually getting into trouble. He emerged as someone who disliked authority and rebelled against it.

Foster longed to make money and around 1910 or 1911, when he was about 24, Foster decided to go to England to see if he could make more money. The company he worked for gave him a grant and transferred him to London.

18 months later he returned to South Africa and met Maxim in Cape Town. Maxim spoke about his plan to rob a jewellery store - here was Foster's chance to make some big money. Plans were carefully worked out - 19 March, 1913 was to be the day.

Maxim supplied the getaway car - he was the driver - and dropped his three companions with false moustaches outside the American Swiss Watch Company in Longmarket Street.

Ten minutes later they came out with two suitcases filled with jewellery (including 308 diamonds), watches, Kruger sovereigns and cash. Maxim took £500 and headed off for Johannesburg, leaving the three in Cape Town.

The three burglars were soon arrested - Jimmy Foster and Adamson in Johannesburg, where they had sent the suitcases, and William Foster in Cape Town.

The three were sentenced to 12 years with hard labour at Pretoria Central Prison.

Foster made friends with the prison tailors, and had a suit made for himself. On 27 February 1914, nine months after his arrival in prison, Foster escaped after his fellow prisoners arranged a fight.

He cut his way through a wire fence during the distraction, put on the suit and disappeared. But the year was to unwind very quickly for Foster.

Once Maxim was released from jail in March, he teamed up again with Foster, and a newcomer, Carl Mezar, and a string of robberies across the Rand followed.

The first two were at the Roodepoort Post Office on the West Rand, where £1 876 in gold coins and notes were taken, in April. A short time later the Vrededorp Post Office was burgled, and several hundred pounds' worth of revenue stamps were taken.

On 17 July the threesome hit the National Bank in Boksburg North on the East Rand. A man was killed before they got into the bank, another was injured, but they left empty-handed.

The police sprung into action: roadblocks were put up, and a £500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the bank robbers was issued. The Gang had been in disguise, making the police's job more difficult.

Ten days later the police issued the reward again, this time with a full description, including the names of the three robbers.

They took refuge in a cave in Kensington, 10 kilometres east of the city centre. The entrance to the cave was covered with undergrowth, and although the area had several groupings of houses and a tram line several hundred metres from the cave, it made an ideal hideout.

The Gang stocked the cave with canned food, water, liquor and a paraffin lamp.

They lay low for a month, but on 22 August the Gang made an abortive attempt to enter a cycle store in Von Brandis Street in the centre of Johannesburg.

A few nights later, a large liquor depot in Jeppestown was robbed - a ton of the most expensive liquor was stolen. Maxim was selling it to blacks, to whom it was prohibited.

On 13 September a policeman was struck on the head by a crowbar when he checked on the door of a liquor store in Bertrams, some five kilometres west of Kensington.

Shortly after this, in Fairview, four kilometres south of Bertrams, the Imperial Bottle Store was burgled, and two safes dynamited, but they proved to be empty. But this time, police were in the neighbourhood, and moved in swiftly. Two policemen were shot dead as the three robbers got away on a motorbike.

A neighbour in Regent's Park recognised the gang from pictures in the newspapers, and alerted the police. And here the police made a fatal mistake - a small contingent of only four policemen approached the house.

After fatally wounding one of the detectives, the Gang made a successful getaway in their car.

An extensive net of roadblocks were immediately thrown up around the city.

Foster had been wounded in the arm in the skirmish with the police. The Gang dumped their car and headed back for the Kensington cave.

This was where Dr Gerald Grace entered the story. Dr Gerald Grace and his wife were racing back to Springs, where he was to assist at an operation at the Springs Hospital.

It was a windy, dusty evening, and at the spot where the three robbers were last seen, Grace was waved down by two policemen, but swerved around them and hurried on. Four shots were fired at the racing car, a bullet hit Grace's wife in her arm, another pierced Grace's lung – he tragically died before the ambulance got him to hospital.

It didn't take police dogs long to sniff the Gang's trail to the cave. The police soon surrounded the cave, clearing the undergrowth from the entrance.

Inside the cave the three men had decided they would not be taken alive. They wrote their farewell notes to their loved ones. Mezar was the first to go, but could not bring himself to put the gun to his head - Maxim did it for him with a single shot.

Foster wasn't quite ready to end it all. He asked to see the love of his life Peggy and his baby. He said he would come out of the cave once he'd seen them. Peggy was fetched. Then Foster's father, mother and two sisters were brought to the cave.

A huge crowd had gathered outside, held back by hastily-erected fencing. It was a tense scene. The family were inside the cave, the police were positioned around the cave mouth, rifles at the ready. After an hour, Foster's family stumbled out of the cave, with the baby, but without Peggy. The crowd waited in silence.

Then a shot rang out, followed by two others - Peggy had decided to die with Foster.

But this was not the end of the tragic deaths.

After Dr Grace's death at the roadblock, an instruction went out that there was to be no more shooting at vehicles unless it was absolutely clear it was the Foster Gang.

Inspector Edward Leach, in charge of the western district of Johannesburg, had telephoned these instructions to every station - except Langlaagte, where the telephone was constantly engaged.

After trying to get through for half an hour, he jumped on a motorbike and got the message through, but it was too late, the Boer war general De La Rey was already dead. The shooting had great political ramifications at the time.

Leach's conscience was further troubled by having persuaded his senior officers to allow Peggy into the cave. The remorse was too much for him - he committed suicide a few days later.

Dr Grace’s funeral took place in Springs and was the largest which had ever been seen in the district. Besides almost all of the local people, there were mourners from Johannesburg and all along the Reef, attending to show their respect for one who had been cut off so suddenly in the prime of manhood.

It does not look as though Dr Gerald Grace played much cricket in South Africa. His involvement in civic affairs as well as running the Springs hospital would have not allowed him much time for active participation in sport.

Grace played a prominent part in public, sporting and social affairs. He was a member of Spring’s town council since its inception as well as being mayor. He was also professionally connected with all the mines in the area.

In sporting circles he was always to the fore and was the chairman and promoter of the Springs Gymkhana Club and also a steward of the Germiston sporting club.

He was also a member of the Masonic order and of the Sons of England. By the time of his unfortunate death he had been married twice and was also a father.

The end of Dr. Gerald Grace’s life provides us today with a fascinating insight into the life of a Sodbury Cricketer and of an era which surprisingly still provides similarities 100 years on.

2 years after Dr. Gerald’s death, his father Dr Alfred Grace (former captain of Chipping Sodbury Cricket Club) passed away. The differing paths of the Grace’s lives were certainly fascinating.