Letters of John Ellerman II and Piet Beukes, 1960-1978 Correspondence (letters and some cable notes) between John Ellerman II and his South African friend Piet Beukes, the editor of the Afrikaans newspaper Die Landstem in Cape Town. Beukes was the press secretary of General Jan Smuts, leader of the United Party and the Prime Minister of South Africa. When John Ellerman II had retired and was living part-time in the Western Cape he read a human interest story written by Beukes about Rachel Swart, a woman who had been born without arms or legs in a small, rural community in the Bredasdorp District of South Africa. Ellerman offered his assistance via Piet to Rachel, and so began a friendship between the three that lasted until 1955, when Rachel Swart died unexpectedly after the birth of her second child. Rachel’s death deeply affected Ellerman and, together with Piet, he established a fund in her honour to help people with physical disabilities. The Rachel Swart Fund was officially registered as a welfare organisation in 1960. The letters mostly comprise of general news concerning the two men, about shared acquaintances, travels, health, general politics and the weather. While John and Esther are mostly based at the Dorchester Hotel in London, they increasingly spend more months of the year in South Africa (as well as in France). The majority of the letters are written in Afrikaans and have been translated into English by Chandra Finaughty and Rosa Deen. A PDF guide, which includes English translations, background research and a full inventory, is available as an attachment on the online catalogue. Additional letters between Esther Ellerman and Piet Beukes (1976-77) and papers relating to John Ellerman and Piet Beuke's friendship have been located in files UKPA/JEF/1/1/5/8-10. 12 April 1960- 7 June 1978