Bullets and Bombs - Gordon Webster

Despite his innate modesty and desire for anonymity, Gordon Webster, who has died at  the age of 58, was at the centre of several hugely dramatic episodes in the 1980s when he commanded an Umkhonto weSizwe unit which carried out a series of sensational propaganda bombings in the Durban area.

Sometimes those most deserving of our attention, never having sought the limelight, simply seem to slip away from us, modest and unassuming even in their final passing, just as they had always been in life. So it was with Gordon Webster, one of the most remarkable and unlikely of MK freedom fighters, who has died at the age of 58

A quiet, thoughtful and extremely gentle soul, Gordon was the most unlikely of combatants. As a young trainee teacher in Durban, barely in his twenties, he should never have had to pick up a gun in the Struggle for liberation. He was, however, all the more remarkable for having done so, and should be honoured today precisely because he took up arms without ever asking for, or expecting, anything in return for his outstanding bravery and considerable sacrifice.

Despite his innate modesty and desire for anonymity, Gordon was at the centre of several hugely dramatic episodes in the 1980s when he commanded an Umkhonto weSizwe unit which carried out a series of sensational propaganda bombings in the Durban area.

Having survived an almost fatal shootout with security police, then being freed from hospital in a famous raid by his comrade, Robert McBride, and later being sentenced to 25 years on Robben Island, two weeks ago Gordon and his wife of many years became victims of South Africas road carnage. Anne died almost immediately and earlier this week Gordon was taken off life support.