Dolly Gamble was born in Rhodesia on the 24th of December 1913.
Christened Maria Magdalena Van Biljon, the name 'Dolly' was given to the diminutive child before the age of two. As the family and the children's tutor were gathered round the table one evening, this, the youngest of seven children, walked across the table without her head touching the pull-down ceiling lamp. "She's as small as a doll," cried the tutor - and the name stuck.
Although she can't remember this occasion Dolly does recall at the age of three collecting leaves for her mum who dried the leaves and smoked them in order to ease her chronic asthma. Not long after this the mother of seven contracted measles and ultimately died of pneumonia, aggravated by asthma. Dolly's father married a second time and this wife provided Dolly with a further three siblings.
The growing family gathered round the table every day for family devotions, led by Dolly’s father, a very religious man. Despite the daily ritual, to Dolly God remained an impersonal being until late in her life. And, said Dolly, the Dutch Reformed Church, which the family attended, was "more about wearing the right outfit than about being right with God."
© Brenda Daniels 2009
The growing family gathered round the table every day for family devotions, led by Dolly’s father, a very religious man. Despite the daily ritual, to Dolly God remained an impersonal being until late in her life. And, said Dolly, the Dutch Reformed Church, which the family attended, was "more about wearing the right outfit than about being right with God."
© Brenda Daniels 2009
