Albert Thomas was born on the 17 November in 1932 in Simons Town Cape Town, in 1984. He went to primary school in Simons Town and awarded a bursary for highschool, he then attended Livingston High. He then received a BA degree with majors in History and Communication which he then received a scholarship for a University in Amsterdam. He started working at the then white only University of Cape Town (UCT) in the Student Advice Office. Considering this was during the apartheid era he tried to help people of colour get their study permits in order to study at UCT, help them with the legalities around it and finding funding for them, he eventually retired in 1993.

 

 At a young age of 18, he married Glady Thomas and had 3 children with her, in 1993 he alongside his wife founded Getwize, a theatre production and their well-known play is Time is Now which toured the peninsula and was part of the national arts festival in Grahamstown. During this period, he directed many plays with his wife and was an Echo columnist where he reported on the happenings of his community. He was a founding member of the Cape Housing Action Committee and compiled oral histories of coloured people that worked in the Dockyard. He died on the 27 February 2006.

 

Compiled by: Fawziyah Khan

 

References

The Archive of the Thomas Family at Simons Town Museum