Cecil Margo
Encyclopedia
Judge Cecil Stanley Margo (born 10 July 1915, Johannesburg, died 19 November 2000, Johannesburg) was a member of the South African judiciary. He was the fifth child of Saul Lewis Margo and Amelia Hilson, South African immigrants of eastern European Jewish
descent.
and was called to the Johannesburg
Bar in 1937 where he practiced as an advocate
.
. During this time he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
and the Distinguished Flying Cross
.
asking him to come out to the Israel to serve as Ben Gurion's chief advisor on the establishment and organization of the Israeli Air Force
. Though he had been in combat for years as a pilot in World War II and now had a wife and small child, Margo 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 including some elite divisions and its prospects of survival were dim ("Final Postponement" Margo's memoirs). Ben Gurion, who knew that air power would be critical to Israel's short and long term survival also knew from his commanders such as Chaim Laskov that Margo's record as a commander and combat pilot as well as his expertise in desert warfare made him ideal for the job. When Margo arrived in Israel, he assessed the issues and needs of the Israeli Air Force and hammered out visionary blueprints and strategies that provided the foundation on which the modern day Israeli Air Force was built. Ben Gurion, who developed an admiration and fondness for Margo, asked him to remain in Israel as commander of the Israeli Air Force with the rank of Major General, but Margo declined, preferring to resume his legal practice in South Africa ("Final Postponement"). He remained a staunch supporter of Israel through the years, often returning and visiting Air Force bases (ibid).
Considerable controversy surrounds a couple of these inquiries, despite the fact that they were international commissions with leading experts from different countries including Britain, the U.S. and Japan. It has been suggested, by people such as Graca Machel
(Nelson Mandela
's wife) that the investigations conducted by Cecil Margo's international commission were a cover-up for illegal activities by the apartheid South African government. The Mozambican Tupolev Tu-134 air disaster, involving military pilots of the Soviet Union, killed her former husband Samora Machel
. The South African government re-opened this inquiry in February 2007 on account of "new information" which led the government to believe the manner in which Margo had carried out the original enquiry prevented the truth from coming out.
In the case of the Helderberg air crash, it is still frequently claimed that the plane was carrying sanctions-breaking chemicals for use in the development of South Africa's atomic bomb, and that these chemicals caught fire on board. It is claimed this meant that Cecil Margo was secretly called upon by the apartheid South African government not to draw international attention to the cargo and to instead find a different cause of the crash.. The fact that Margo appointed other international experts in aircrash investigations to this commission and insisted that the cockpit voice recorder
be recovered at great expense from the wreckage (which lay at a depth greater than that of the Titanic) suggested otherwise. Years later, the 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.
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 International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists
; and Honorary Fellow of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
. He continued flying until his late 70's and died in 2000 after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease
. He is survived by his wife, Marjorie, who resides in Sydney, Australia, and three sons from a former marriage.
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
descent.
Early life and studies
He received his law degree at the University of the WitwatersrandUniversity of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
and was called to the Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
Bar in 1937 where he practiced as an advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
.
Military career
During the Second World War Cecil Margo completed three tours of duty, in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, flying no fewer than 190 strike missions and eventually assuming command of the renowned 24 Bomber Squadron of the South African Air ForceSouth African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
. During this time he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
and the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
.
Post War and Israel
In 1948 Margo had started a flourishing career as a trial lawyer aided by his record as a war hero ("Diaspora", by Howard Sachar). One day, he returned to his chambers from Court and found an urgent telegram from David Ben-GurionDavid Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
asking him to come out to the Israel to serve as Ben Gurion's chief advisor on the establishment and organization of the Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
. Though he had been in combat for years as a pilot in World War II and now had a wife and small child, Margo 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 including some elite divisions and its prospects of survival were dim ("Final Postponement" Margo's memoirs). Ben Gurion, who knew that air power would be critical to Israel's short and long term survival also knew from his commanders such as Chaim Laskov that Margo's record as a commander and combat pilot as well as his expertise in desert warfare made him ideal for the job. When Margo arrived in Israel, he assessed the issues and needs of the Israeli Air Force and hammered out visionary blueprints and strategies that provided the foundation on which the modern day Israeli Air Force was built. Ben Gurion, who developed an admiration and fondness for Margo, asked him to remain in Israel as commander of the Israeli Air Force with the rank of Major General, but Margo declined, preferring to resume his legal practice in South Africa ("Final Postponement"). He remained a staunch supporter of Israel through the years, often returning and visiting Air Force bases (ibid).
Appointment to the supreme court
In 1971 Margo was appointed to the South African Supreme Court. In the early 1970s he issued a landmark urgent interdict against the notorious security police to protect the life of an Indian detainee and apartheid activist named Essop (Star Newspaper, Rand Daily Mail, 1972).Aircraft accident investigations
Margo's career is highlighted by significant contributions to aircraft accident investigation. He was appointed to investigate the following high profile air disasters:- the DC-6 accident, on September 18, 1961 near NdolaNdolaNdola is the third largest city in Zambia, with a population of 495,000 . It is the industrial, commercial, on the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It is also the commercial capital city of Zambia and has one of the three international airports, others...
in what was the Central African Federation, and in which the then Secretary General of the United Nations, Dag HammarskjöldDag HammarskjöldDag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was a Swedish diplomat, economist, and author. An early Secretary-General of the United Nations, he served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. Hammarskjöld...
was killed; - the loss of the RietbokSouth African Airways Flight 406South African Airways Flight 406 was a scheduled passenger flight on 13 March 1967 that crashed into the sea on approach to East London, South Africa. All 25 passengers and crew on board were killed. The pilot of the plane suffered a heart attack while on approach and the co-pilot was unable to...
, an SAASouth African AirwaysSouth African Airways is the national flag carrier and largest airline of South Africa, with headquarters in Airways Park on the grounds of OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The airline flies to 36 destinations worldwide from its hub at OR Tambo International...
ViscountViscountA viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
airliner, which crashed into the sea off East London in 1967; - the crash of the PretoriaSouth African Airways Flight 228South African Airways Flight 228 was a scheduled flight from Jan Smuts International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa to London Heathrow International Airport that flew into the ground soon after take-off after a scheduled stopover in Windhoek, South West Africa . Five passengers survived...
, an SAA Boeing 707 which crashed after take-off from WindhoekWindhoekWindhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...
in 1968; - the Tupolev Tu-134 air disasterMozambican Tupolev Tu-134 air disasterThe Mozambican presidential Tupolev Tu-134A-3 aircraft crashed just inside South African territory on October 19, 1986. The aircraft was carrying Mozambican president Samora Machel and 43 other occupants on a flight from Mbala in Zambia to the Mozambican capital Maputo when it crashed 35 nm west...
in 1986 just inside South African territory, which killed Samora MachelSamora MachelSamora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique...
, then president of MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, and 24 others; - the Helderberg air disasterSouth African Airways Flight 295South African Airways Flight 295 was a commercial flight that suffered a catastrophic in-flight fire in the cargo area and crashed into the Indian Ocean east of Mauritius on 28 November 1987, killing everyone on board...
of 1987 which claimed 159 lives when an SAA Boeing 747Boeing 747The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
, the Helderberg, crashed into in the sea north-east of MauritiusMauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
.
Considerable controversy surrounds a couple of these inquiries, despite the fact that they were international commissions with leading experts from different countries including Britain, the U.S. and Japan. It has been suggested, by people such as Graca Machel
Graça Machel
Graça Machel, DBE is a Mozambican politician and humanitarian. She is the third wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela and the widow of Mozambican president Samora Machel...
(Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
's wife) that the investigations conducted by Cecil Margo's international commission were a cover-up for illegal activities by the apartheid South African government. The Mozambican Tupolev Tu-134 air disaster, involving military pilots of the Soviet Union, killed her former husband Samora Machel
Samora Machel
Samora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique...
. The South African government re-opened this inquiry in February 2007 on account of "new information" which led the government to believe the manner in which Margo had carried out the original enquiry prevented the truth from coming out.
In the case of the Helderberg air crash, it is still frequently claimed that the plane was carrying sanctions-breaking chemicals for use in the development of South Africa's atomic bomb, and that these chemicals caught fire on board. It is claimed this meant that Cecil Margo was secretly called upon by the apartheid South African government not to draw international attention to the cargo and to instead find a different cause of the crash.. The fact that Margo appointed other international experts in aircrash investigations to this commission and insisted that the cockpit voice recorder
Cockpit voice recorder
A cockpit voice recorder , often referred to as a "black box", is a flight recorder used to record the audio environment in the flight deck of an aircraft for the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents...
be recovered at great expense from the wreckage (which lay at a depth greater than that of the Titanic) suggested otherwise. Years later, the 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.
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 International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists
International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists
The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists strives to advance human rights everywhere, including the prevention of war crimes, the punishment of war criminals, the prohibition of weapons of mass destruction, and international co-operation based on the rule of law and the fair...
; and Honorary Fellow of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
. He continued flying until his late 70's and died in 2000 after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
. He is survived by his wife, Marjorie, who resides in Sydney, Australia, and three sons from a former marriage.