A week after the demise of Clive Derby-Lewis, Front National fondly remembers another great English-speaker who fought heart and soul with his fellow Afrikaners. Colonel Frederick HP Creswell was born on November 13, 1866 as the thirteenth child of a Post Master. As mining engineer he fought on British side during the Second Boer War, but the Afrikaner and South Africa caught his imagination.
After the peace process he returned to South Africa to tirelessly fight against British domination, the mining magnates and the international monetary forces. When the then Smuts and Botha governments recruited Chinese workers for the gold mines, it was Creswell’s lone voice in the campaign to end the use of Chinese labour and “became the champion of the white labourer”, advocating the use of white labour, and white immigration, as the solution to South Africa’s labour problems.
In 1910 he was sacked from all his mining positions because of his pro-White stance and he started the Labour Party, being elected to Parliament by local English-speakers. From 1910 to 1922 he fought the greedy mining bosses on all available platforms. He became involved in the mining revolt through the Mining Strikes in 1922, leading to the fall of the Smuts government.
In 1924 he was invited by Genl JBM Hertzog to serve as Minister of Labour, where he brought far-reaching changes to labour practices, followed by almost all western countries. In 1928 he became Minister of Defence. His main fight was against the leftist Socialists and “Big Brother” and he served as a loyal Cabinet Minister till 1934.
Col Creswell died in Kuilsrivier on August 25, 1948 and tributes poured in from all corners of South Africa, including Prime Minster DF Malan; and flags were flown half mast in honour of a great man.
Read the original article on Front Nasionaal SA – blad
South Africa Today – South Africa News
