Long-time SPCA pillar dies peacefully
"The world of animals has lost a great defender of those who were unable to speak for themselves," said Lucinda Lyell. Her husband, Hugh, was the chairperson of the SPCA a number of years ago.
A pillar of a man who had played an immense role in getting the Nelspruit SPCA to where it is today, peacefully passed away on January 27.
Hugh Lyell (88), whose family said he would be remembered for his passionate love of animals and extreme dedication to the Nelspruit SPCA, was the designer and builder of the present kennels and also chairperson of the SPCA for more than 30 years. His chairmanship was a number of years ago, but his memory lived on in his work.
Although she did not know him personally, the current chairperson of the SPCA, Lize Pienaar, said she wanted to honour him for his large contribution towards making the SPCA what it is today, and for his dedication and sacrifice to make the world a better place for animals.
When it came to his family, his wife Lucinda said he was a wonderful husband to her and father to their daughter Vilia.
“He was my north, south, east and west. RIP, Dad,” said Vilia as her last goodbye.
A close friend, Alan Bramwell, said Lyell was the best man he ever had the privilege to work with, not only as a colleague, but also a sincere friend.
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“His skills as an engineer were of the highest and his ethics those of a saint.”
His twin sister, Yvonne Cullen, said she and her family in the USA and South Africa would sorely miss her twin. The family thanked everyone for their kind words of condolences. In accordance with Lyell’s wishes, there will be no memorial service, only a private cremation.
“The world of animals has lost a great defender of those who were unable to speak for themselves,” said Lucinda.
In 2013, The kennels at the Lowveld SPCA, Nelspruit and White River, was named after Hugh Lyell. The reason for this becomes very clear when digging into history.
These kennels were founded in 1960 by Lucinda Lyell, Peggy Wood and veterinarian Peter Davies. During this time, residences were used as kennels with garages serving as sickbays, their backyards for older animals and front gardens for the more robust ones. Commercial pet food was unavailable at the time and mealie meal, rice, bread and butchery scraps were sourced and cooked daily at the houses of Lucinda, Hellen Moolman and Elma Pullen to feed the animals.
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In the mid ’60s, these shelters were moved from the private homes to the municipal pound, which consisted of two small fenced rooms measuring 3×3 metres. In 1973, the first kennels were established in Banket Street and were named Wil-Dien. They were situated next to the shooting range, which unsettled the dogs during weekend shooting practices.
Dienie Eshuys was the chairperson of the SPCA and she, with the help of Hugh and other committee members, aided in developing the kennels. The first large animal to live there was a stray donkey named Corrie. The municipality then expropriated the land after a couple of years to use it for domestic housing.
In 1989, after hours of research and hard work by Hugh, a final re-establishment was made to the present location and these kennels set the standard for other societies.
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