Profile Text
Birth Name: Adolph Gysbert Malan
Date of Birth: 3 October, 1910
Place of Birth: Wellington, Cape Province, Union of South Africa (now South Africa)
Date of Death: 17 September, 1963
Place of Death: Kimberley, Cape Province, South Africa
Ethnicity: * father – Afrikaner [French Huguenot, Dutch, German, smaller amount of Belgian] * mother – English
Sailor Malan was a South African fighter pilot, and later an anti-apartheid activist. He was in the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1932 to 1946, and was a flying ace in the RAF during WWII. He led No. 74 Squadron during the Battle of Britain, and was one of the most famous pilots of the conflict. In the 1950s, he led the Torch Commando, an anti-authoritarian organisation that opposed the introduction of apartheid.
Sailor was the son of Evelyn (Jordan) and Willem Adolph Malan. His father was born in Wellington, Cape Colony. His mother was born in Southsea, Hampshire, England. Sailor was married to Lynda Malan (born Lynda Irene Fraser), with whom he had two children.
Sailor’s patrilineal ancestry can be traced to his sixth great-grandfather, Jacques Malan, who was a French Huguenot settler.
Sailor’s paternal grandfather was Jan Gysbert Malan (the son of Petrus Jacobus Malan and Hester Maria Hugo). Jan was born in Wellington, Wagenmakersvallei, Cape Province, South Africa. Petrus was born in Wagemakers Valey, Cape Colony, the son of Jacobus Francois Malan and Maria Susanna Rossouw. Hester was born in Daljosaphat, Paarl, the daughter of Jan Gysbert Hugo/Hugot and Magdalena Margaretha Retief.
Sailor’s paternal grandmother was Maria Johanna Joubert (the daughter of Wilhelm/Willem Adolph Júbert/Joubert and Anna Johanna Minnaar). Maria was born in Paarl, South Africa. Wilhelm was born in Wagemakersvallei, Cape of Good Hope, the son of Gideon Johannes Joubert and Johanna Catharina Magdalena Krige, whose paternal grandfather was born in Brochterbeck, Germany. Sailor’s great-grandmother Anna was born in Wagenmakersvallei, the daughter of Johannes Minnaar, whose paternal grandparents were from Provence and Saint-Armand, respectively, in France, and whose maternal grandfather was Dutch; and of Maria Johanna Krynauw/Krijnauw, whose paternal grandfather was from Grabow, Scheindenmül, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Sailor’s maternal grandfather was Alfred Jordan (the son of James Jordan and Elizabeth Screaton). Alfred was born in Groby, Leicestershire, England. James was born in Groby, the son of Elizabeth. Sailor’s great-grandmother Elizabeth was the daughter of Frederick Screaton and Ann Bolton.
Sailor’s maternal grandmother was Flora Frances/Francis Jordan (the daughter of Henry Ford and Emma Tasker). Flora was born in Gussage St Michael, Dorset, England. Henry was born in Shillingstone, Dorset, the son of John Ford and Mary Hatcher. Emma was born in Weymouth, Dorset, the daughter of Mary.
Sources: Genealogies of Sailor Malan – https://www.wikitree.com https://www.geni.com