Vetnews | September 2024 32 « BACK TO CONTENTS Onderstepoort residence – houseparents 1952 to 1975 Written by Annette Boshoff and Heloise Heyne of the Veterinary History Society of South Africa The story of the three housefathers before 1976, was put together with the help of alumni, a search on the internet and the existing obituaries. The stories of the later incumbents were published in VetNews in April and July this year: Alischa and Tiaan Henning, the incumbents who took up their posts in 2018; Jan and Susan Myburgh (2004 – 2017), Japie and Estelle Venter (1988-2004), Marius Hornsveld (1985 – 1988) and the late Dr Eddie Genis and his wife, Christa (1976-1985. Glyn M J Horton – 1973 to 1975 Glyn Horton spent only a short time in South Africa and little is known about him. He was the housefather from 1973 to 1975. What was discovered is that he was born in Brighton England on 30 January 1942. His full name is probably Glyn Michael John Horton. He was an animal scientist, not a veterinarian. It is unknown where he qualified but he must have obtained a doctorate at some point because he was referred to as Dr Glyn M J Horton. Horton was employed at the Wye Agricultural College in Kent England before taking up the appointment at the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Onderstepoort in c.1973. Incidentally, Wye College was founded in 1447 and in 1890 became the Wye Agricultural College of the University of London. In 2000, after a merger, it was known as Imperial College Wye and in 2009 the Wye College was closed and converted into residential housing. Horton did research in livestock nutrition and published almost 20 scientific papers in this field between 1975 and 1995. Five of these publications were published by Onderstepoort. In 1976, Horton moved to the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and stayed there until c.1980, before taking up a post at the Agricultural Research Centre of the University of Florida in Ona in the USA. The research station at Ona is still in existence and is known as the Range Cattle Research and Education Center of the University of Florida. It is one of 600 such agricultural research stations in the USA. It is known that he had applied for a Social Security number from the USA in 1979. In 1983, Horton lived in New York and in 1986 he moved to Gladstone in New Jersey. From 1990, Horton’s scientific papers are from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in the USA. He died on 3 October 1995. Horton was probably a keen sportsman because he donated the Glyn Horton Trophy for the best all-around sportsman at Onderstepoort (Experto Crede no. 5, 1977). Peter Humphreys (BVSc 1978) won the trophy in 1977 (when Horton had already left Onderstepoort) and by all accounts, the Onderstepoort sporting teams had a great year in 1977 – including the new women’s teams. Lesley F Lunn (BVSc 1977) contributed the following anecdote about the Horton family: Glyn Horton had two children Sharon and Tristram. I used to babysit for him and his wife because the children were already in bed and I could sit and read or study and drink their coffee. One year they gave me a book inscribed by Sharon. I never figured out what the little poem meant and if Sharon wrote it or copied it. Mrs Horton spoke Afrikaans to the children, Mr Horton English.
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