When the farm owned by Helena Neethling’s father in the Riviersonderend district, about 100 miles due east of Cape Town, South Africa, went bankrupt in 1927 the young woman had no intention of remaining in the area. Nor, when she decided to take up a teaching post in Greytown, Natal, did she imagine that she would one day produce a son who would design a famous sports car, as well as an innovative workbench that would sell by the millions world wide. Nor did she imagine that her son would be awarded an OBE. Such thoughts must have been the furthest from the mind of a young woman intent on establishing a new career far from home.
In Greytown, Natal, about 1000 miles from home, the plucky Afrikaans (derived from Dutch) speaking farm girl met and married bookkeeper, Cyril Hickman. They produced five children and the second son, Ronald Price, was born on October 21, 1932.
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