Cecil Margo

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Cecil Margo

Cecil Stanley Margo

Transvaal, Union of South Africa, died 19 November 2000, Johannesburg, Gauteng) was an Allied World War II hero. Margo was also a Supreme Court Justice who oversaw a number of international air-crash investigations, including into the crash of South African Airways Flight 295
.

Family

Cecil Margo was the fifth child of Saul Lewis Margo and Amelia Hilson, South African immigrants of Eastern European Jewish descent.[1]

Military Career

During World War II, Margo assumed command of 24 Bomber Squadron, flying over 190 strike missions by day and night against the enemy in North Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Margo was awarded two of the most prestigious British Commonwealth medals - the

U.S. Army Air Forces
over Austria.

Post War and Israel

In 1948, Margo had started a flourishing career as a trial lawyer aided by his record as a war hero.[2] One day, he returned to his chambers from court and found an urgent telegram from David Ben-Gurion. Ben Gurion asked Margo to come out to Israel to serve as Ben Gurion's chief advisor on the establishment and organization of the Israeli Air Force.

Though Cecil Margo had been in combat for years as a pilot in World War II and now had a wife and small child, he later wrote in his memoirs that he felt he had to go. The newly declared State of Israel had been attacked by the armies of five Arab countries and its prospects for survival were dim.[3] Ben Gurion, who knew that air power would be critical to Israel's immediate and long range survival, had heard of Margo from his commanders such as Yaakov Dori and Chaim Laskov. Margo's effectiveness as a squadron commander, his expertise in air warfare in both the Desert and Europe during World War II, and his experience of high-level command in the Royal Air Force as Operations Staff Officer, Advanced Air HQ, Desert Air Force, made Israel request his assistance.

When Margo arrived in Israel, he assessed the issues and needs of the fledgling

Major General. But Margo declined, preferring to return to the Union of South Africa to resume his legal practice.[3] Upon returning to South Africa, he participated in formulating and monitoring the Advanced Pilots Training Course in Germiston, where South Africans were trained as pilots for the Israeli Air Force. He remained a staunch supporter of Israel through the years, often returning and visiting Air Force bases.[3]

Appointment to the Supreme Court of South Africa

His assignment in Israel completed, Margo returned to the Johannesburg Bar and began legal practice. In 1959, he took silk and became a

Queen's Counsel. In 1971, Margo was appointed to the bench as a Justice of the Supreme Court of South Africa. Soon after his appointment, Margo issued a landmark interdict against South Africa's notorious security police to protect the life of anti-apartheid activist Salim Essop.[5]

As a Justice, Margo also chaired commissions that reformed South Africa's tax, corporate and securities laws, as well as its aviation system.

Aircraft accident investigations and death

Margo participated and led investigations into major air crashes. He was appointed to investigate the following high-profile air disasters:

While the Margo Commission could not determine a definite cause of the fire in the cargo hold that caused the Helderberg disaster, its findings resulted in changes that have reduced the risks of fires on international airliners and enhanced safety of aircraft that carry both passengers and cargo. Rumours about a cover-up of the cause of the Helderberg crash abounded for years - including the suggestion that the fire was caused by illicit cargo of rocket fuel and ammunition. But the credibility of the Margo Commission and its international panel of experts, including Astronaut and

cockpit voice recorder be recovered from the wreckage, which lay on the ocean floor at a depth greater than that of the Titanic. Years later, South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission extensively investigated the findings of the Margo Commission and found that there was no evidence to justify repudiating the findings.[6]

Cecil Margo received numerous awards during his lifetime and was an honorary fellow of the South African Institute of Mechanical Engineers; Honorary Deputy President of the

The Royal Aeronautical Society
in London. He continued flying until his late 70's and died in 2000. He is survived by three sons from his marriage to Marguerite Gisele Margo and four grandchildren.

Controversies

Margo was criticised for discrediting testimonies of black witnesses during the investigation into the

1961 Ndola United Nations DC-6 Crash that killed Dag Hammarskjöld. Charcoal burners of the township of Twapia testified that they saw a second plane in the air, but were considered unreliable. Board secretary of Twapia, Timothy Kankasa, testified to Margo that he alerted the Rhodesian authorities of the location of the wreck, six hours before the wreck was found. This testimony was "ridiculed" by Margo.[7]

References

  1. ISBN 1-86842-071-X
    .
  2. ^ a b "Diaspora", by Howard Sachar
  3. ^ a b c "Final Postponement" Margo's memoirs
  4. ^ "Israel, A Personal History" by David Ben Gurion
  5. ^ Star Newspaper, Rand Daily Mail, 1972
  6. ^ Special Hearing: Helderberg Flight (Truth and Reconciliation Commission 1998-06-01), Text, archived from the original on 2002-06-17.
  7. ISBN 978-0-19-023-140-8
    .

External links
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