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:

Isolation

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Written March 2020
Locked up in solitary confinement on death row,
Awaiting the end for what I deserve.
On my own, as though preparation 
For the ultimate end on my Desert Island;
Silenced, but with recurring memories 
That swirl in a mind seething with rage,
Because I’m a danger to others.
 
But I hear the world’s gone into lock-down —
Possible carriers hibernating for safety sake
As a few strands of RNA combine;
The latest danger threatening all. 
Locked up, locked down; all of us afraid,
But someone came with divine intent
To free us from our rage — and fear. 
 
March 2020