John Vivian O'Carroll (known as Jack) left England in 1926 and went to work as an accountant for the Turkish Railways. Later he worked in Khartoum, Sudan for over a year before returning to Turkey and marrying Helen Edith Turrell. They honeymooned on the island of Rhodes. Reginald Turrell, died of a stroke at 54 years of age and J.V.O'C arranged the sale of his business to a Turk who was an ex-bandit. It involved the agency for Chevrolet motor cars.

Terence and Colin O'Carroll were born in Turkey and in 1935 the family went to live in England at a place called Hinehead. They moved to Llandudno, Wales where J.V.O'C became the bursar at Louther College, a school for girls. David O'Carroll was born at Wimbledon on 3 July 1937 a few months before the family sailed for Africa and Colin had his third birthday on board ship shortly before landing at Beira, Mozambique in November 1937.

Mr Buckle, a school friend of J. V.O'C owned a farm. It was just off the Marandellas road about 30-40 miles outside Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe). For about six months the family lived there until J.V.O'C decided he was not cut out to be a farmer. He bought a house in Mount Pleasant, Salisbury andjoined the Rhodesian Airways. It became the Rhodesian Airforce when the second world war broke our in 1939.

On the basis of first in, first out, J. V.O'C was demobbed from the R.A.F. in September 1945. The house in Salisbury was sold and another was bought at 54, Avenue Fresnaye, Seapoint, Capetown, South Africa in October 1945. On 1 October 1948 Joseph Robert O'Carroll was born to complete the family.

In 1954 the family moved to 126, High Level Rd., Three Anchor Bay and in 1956 Colin was transferred to Johannesburg. David married in 1960, Terry in 1961 and Colin in 1962. J. V.O'C retired in 1969 and they moved to Fishoek. They went to visit family in England and see some of the places they remembered. They had not been back since they emigrated in 1937. Joe married in 1971.

The South African Branch of the O'Carroll family currently consists of the four sons and their wives who live in South Africa and their thirteen children. In addition there are at present nine grandsons of which two have the family name O'Carroll. Jeffrey and Giselle now live in England where their two boys were born while Susan and Christopher have moved to Australia.

18 January 1997

SOUTH AFRICAN BRANCH