BC
1196 B.COWPER SMITH PAPERS
Manuscripts & Archives
University of Cape Town Libraries
Cowper
Smith (BCS) was born in Pretoria in 1917. He was the son of Benjamin Smith of
London, a well-known sculptor, and Mamie Putterill, of Harrismith. Benjamin
Smith undertook several important commissions in the early part of the last
century, including the decoration of the Union Buildings (Pretoria) and the Law
Courts (Bloemfontein).
Cowper
Smith matriculated in 1936 and became articled to a firm of Chartered
Accountants, Close and Company, in Cape Town, the following year.
It
was at this time that he began keeping a detailed record of income and
expenditure, a practice that he continued, without interruption, until 1994, the
year before he died.
He
served in the Royal Navy for the duration of the war, spending several years in
Britain on MTBs. He also spent some time in what was then Ceylon and in India.
The end of the war saw him as part of the naval force preparing for the invasion
of Singapore.
When
the war ended he returned to Close and Company. He qualified as a chartered
accountant in 1956 and he remained with Close and Company until his retirement
in 1975.
He
married Georgina Barbara Martin (GBS), of Leicester, in 1948. She had come out
to South Africa from England in 1944 to teach at an agricultural college in
Harrismith, where Cowper had grown up and where his family still resided.
Cowper
and Georgina lived in Fish Hoek until 1975 and then moved to a smallholding in
Noordhoek. They returned to Fish Hoek in 1987.
They
had four children. Leonard Cowper (LCS) born 1950, Ethel Jacqueline (EJS and
EJF) born 1952, Barbara Elizabeth (BES and BEM) born 1958 and Jennifer Diana
(JDS and JDR) born 1961.
Leonard
Smith, 2000
|
A1
|
Cash
books: Daily expenditure |
|
A1.1 |
Jan.
1937- Oct.1938 |
|
A1.2
|
Jan
1941-May 1947 (includes personal accounts, April 1944-Jan 1947) |
|
A1.3 |
May
1947- Mar 1953 |
|
A1.4
|
Apr
1953- Oct 1959 |
|
A1.5 |
Nov
1959- Sep 1967 |
|
A1.6 |
Oct
1967 - Feb 1983 (The first part of this book contains the Day Book of
Smith & Gross, 1912 - 1914) |
|
A2 |
Cash
books (include daily expenditure and monthly “Income and expenditure
balances”) |
|
A2.1
|
Feb.1942-
Aug. 1945 (includes Income & expenditure: Feb.1942- Jun 1945) |
|
A2.2
|
Sep.1945-
Feb 1947 (includes Income & expenditure Jul 1945- Jan 1947) |
|
A2.3
|
Mar
1947- Aug 1948 (includes Income & expenditure Feb 1947- Aug. 1948) |
|
A2.4
|
Oct.
1948- Jan 1950 (includes Income & expenditure Sep 1948- Nov 1950) |
|
A2.5 |
Income,
expenditure and balances, Dec 1950 - Jun 1952 (loose sheets) |
|
A3
|
Journals:
Daily expenditure, accounts and investments |
|
A3.1
|
Feb.1950-
Jan 1966 |
|
A3.2
|
Jan
1966- Aug 1982 |
|
A3.3
|
Mar
1983- Mar 1995 |
|
A4
|
Cash
books: Monthly expenditure |
|
A4.1 |
Feb
1950 - Jan 1956 |
|
A4.2 |
Mar
1956 - Mar 1960 |
|
A4.3 |
Apr
1960 - Apr 1964 |
|
A4.4
|
May
1964 - Jul 1972 |
|
A4.5
|
Aug
1972 - Oct1980 |
|
A4.6 |
Mar
1981- Mar 1987 |
|
A4.7 |
Apr
1987- Sep 1991 |
|
A4.8 |
Mar
1993 - Mar 1994 |
|
A5
|
Analysis
of expenditure |
|
A5.1 |
Jul
1952- Feb 1966 |
|
A5.2 |
Jul
1961- Oct 1962 |
|
A5.3 |
Mar
1973- Jul 1975 |
|
A6 |
Summaries
of Accounts |
|
A6.1 |
Nov1938-
Dec 1940 |
|
A6.2 |
Jan
1941- May 1942 |
|
A6.3 |
Dec
1945- Dec1949 |
|
A7 |
Records
of investments |
|
A7.1 |
Jan
1941- Jun 1952 |
|
A7.2 |
Aug1944-
Jul 1952 |
|
A7.3 |
Jul
1952- Feb1977 |
|
A7.4
|
Brokers'
notes |
|
A7.4.1 |
Mar
1964 - Apr 1969 |
|
A7.4.2 |
May
1969 - Feb 1972 |
|
A7.4.3 |
Mar
1972 - Feb 1974 |
|
A7.4.4
Jan 1974 - Jan 1978 |
|
|
A7.5 |
File
of investments, 1965 - 1984 |
|
A7.6 |
Book
containing records of investments of B E Smith and Jennifer Diana Smith |
|
A7.7 |
Investment
register (B Cowper Smith) |
|
A7.8 |
Investment
register (Mrs G B Smith) |
|
A7.9
|
File
of investments, 1975 - 1995 |
|
A8 |
Particulars
of tax assessments |
|
|
Nov
1943 - Feb 1977 |
|
A9 |
Ledger |
|
|
Mar
1994 - Feb 1995 (not in B Cowper Smith's handwriting) |
|
B |
Benjamin
Smith: Financial records |
|
B1 |
Wages
book for sculpture commissions,1912 - 1929 |
|
B2 |
Ledger,
1912 - 1919 |
|
B3 |
Salary
list, Jan 1933 - Sep 1938 |