This year our National Challenge evolves around respecting and embracing our natural, cultural, and local Heritage. 1st Muizenberg Sea Scout Dominic Nicholas is working hard towards his final Springbok Advancement requirement of completing 40 hours of service to his community with a team of Scouts. Together with 4 Scouts from his Patrol he embarked on a 5-day project to restore gravesites in the Dido Valley cemetery.

Dominic, a keen history buff, chose to clean up some of the graves in Dido Valley cemetery. This included maintenance to the gravesites of 15 individuals who trained at the South African Maritime Training Ship General Botha. The ship served as a floating school to train cadets for a career in the maritime industry and operated in the Simon’s Bay (Simon’s Town) from 1922 until WWII, when they came ashore due to safety concerns. The graves belong to people who either served as cadets or officers on board. The institution was decommissioned in 1987 after years of training boys and girls in the Maritime industry. The institution’s Old Boys Association currently still supports students from Law Hill Maritime School.

“I was inspired by my grandfather Tony Nicholas, who is the Chairman of the Old Boys Association. He gave me the idea, and I ultimately decided to work on the graveyard because I saw it as an opportunity to show respect for people who had long since passed”, explains Dominic.

“Dido Valley cemetery has a long history and is only partially maintained. The area where these 15 graves are situated remained untouched for many years resulting in damaged or fallen gravestones, weeds out of control, and some graves were completely hidden under the overgrowth. Together with my Patrol we cleared the overgrowth, removed the weeds and put some of the headstones upright again. We also replaced three name plates which had either been damaged over the years or stolen. I was able to find a local company to help redesign and print the new nameplates.

Finding the graves was surprisingly challenging. Actually, clearing the gravesites and making them look nice proved to be a long and difficult process which was unique for every grave. After clearing each grave, I felt the sense of pride at the contrast of the state of the grave at the beginning and the end of the cleaning process. It was particularly rewarding to see the end result of all the graves cleaned.”