De Meillons Legacy: Art, Science and War

About Louis J. CabriRoger W. James

Louis J. Cabri Ph.D. FRSC P.Geo (ON) is a recently retired geologist specialising in mineralogy. A graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand and of McGill University he has published widely in peerreviewed professional journals as well as written and edited several books on mineralogy and geology. Louis first became aware of Henry Clifford De Meillon when his father-in-law (Botha De Meillon) presented his daughter Mimi with a copy of Smiths (1978) book on Henry Cliffords water colours. Over the years Botha would comment on his ancestors believing they were French Huguenots but Louis only started to research the family in the last few years when he became interested in genealogy and the family tree. Searching for confirmatory documents on De Meillon ancestors led to many friendships and to learning that Roger James was also interested in researching the same De Meillon ancestors. Roger W. James MBChB MMed (AnatPath) FRCPath is a 5th generation descendant of HC De Meillon. Although a medical doctor and Pathologist by training he has had a long interest in genealogy and South African history. He was intrigued as a child of family stories of the De Meillons being descended from French nobility or Napoleon Bonaparte. When his parents bought a copy of Anna Smith's book Cape Views and Costumes he was struck by the beauty and simplicity of the paintings as well as the historical significance of the images. He started researching the artist and his descendants as so little was known about this significant South African artist. Years later he met Louis Cabri and they decided to collaborate to produce a publication of their findings significantly adding to what is known about the artist his work and his descendants.