Welcome to 'The duPs' - The website of Paul and Margaret du Plessis - Margaret a former Medical Social Worker, Paul a physician.
They served with The Salvation Army in Zambia, the United Kingdom, India, and their homeland of South Africa. They retired to live in Bromley, in southeast London. Margaret passed away in 2019.
Their children, Catherine and Andre, and the wider family have always meant a lot to them. Placing Paul’s poems and other information on a website has been a family request for some years. Grandson, David, took on the project and became the website architect.
Please enjoy reading Paul's poems which reflect something of their life experiences.
Margaret has researched the life of Louisa Mary Tucker, the first wife of pioneer Indian missionary, Frederick Tucker.
Please use the menu on the left and the search function in the top right to navigate through the site.
Here is Paul's most recent poem:
A Safe Place?
- Details
- Written September 2025
With ancestral refugees hounded by hatred
That bursts into flames when fanned by fear,
Prejudice outstripping reasonable thought.
They hoped they'd be made welcome
With sympathy and understanding,
But ploughshares sharpened on the anvil of evil
Are beaten into swords of confrontation
And blood is shed, fertilising the valley,
Their spirits lingering in ruined castle walls
Echoing sadness in the silence of tears,
While bats and swallows wait their turn
To find their nest in peace,
Knowing they too are under threat.
The four castles, Lastours.
September 2025