Well-known photographer, foodie and adventurer/newsmaker
Peter Duffy collapsed and died of a presumed heart attack on August 4 while sitting
on a wall outside the Davenport Shopping Centre in Glenwood, not far from his
boarding house.
Colleague and long-term friend, Graham
Linscott who writes The Mercury’s Idler’s Column, described him as “a larger than
life character and a wonderful raconteur” whose life was filled with adventure
and he had the capacity to relate these adventures in a highly entertaining
way.
In an article in the Sunday Tribune on
August 6, 2017, Linscott writes: “In this prosaic way ended the life of a man
who fought as a mercenary in the Congo civil war of the 1960’s; became known as
a freelance social photographer in every nightspot in Durban; became a press photographer
who revelled in being at the sharp end of news gathering; joined a group of mercenaries
under Colonel “Mad Mike” Hoare and invaded the Seychelles Islands in an
attempted coup; hijacked an Air India airliner to escape when the coup attempt
went wrong and served time in Pretoria Central Prison.”
Born and brought up in Scotland, Duffy was
educated at the elite public school, Gordonstoun, which was attended by Prince
Philip and Prince Charles. After this he went to Tanganyika (now Tanzania) to
learn coffee growing.
Another colleague, Yogin Devan who joined
the Sunday Tribune in 1980 shortly before Duffy became involved in the
hijacking saga, posted these memories on Facebook.
“When he returned to the Tribune after
serving his jail sentence, I worked with Duffy regularly. Some journalists
frowned upon his antics as a mercenary and hijacker and gave him a wide berth.
I preferred going on out-of-town assignments with Duffy – the boredom of long trips disappeared as he regaled me with
stories about all his adventures. I also decided that Duffy could be handy when
interviews became tricky – he had a black belt in karate.
“Duffy and I
went on several exciting and dangerous missions into the then Transkei and
Ciskei – and once got caught in the violence following a coup in Bisho.
“Duffy was most
knowledgeable about gourmet cooking and alcoholic beverages. He bragged about
cooking a good few last suppers when he was in Pretoria Central Prison. He
recalled that one condemned prisoner’s last meal request was scrambled eggs.
Duffy was also a connoisseur of cocktails.
“When I left
journalism, Duffy and I kept in contact. In October 2016, I was responsible for
arranging the cordial meeting in Mumbai between Duffy and Captain Umesh Saxena,
the pilot of the Air India plane that Duffy and his fellow mercenaries had
hijacked. They shared their versions of the episode over beers and a meal. It
was believed to be the first such reunion between an aircraft hijacker and a
pilot.
“At midday on
Friday (4 August 2017), I got a call from Duffy. We arranged to meet for lunch
on Monday. Little did I realise it would be the last time we would talk.”
A group of Durban professionals and
businessmen decided to promote the publication of Duffy’s life story and Graham
Linscott was selected to write it, having known him for more than 40 years. The
book is titled Ricochets: Gordonstoun to
Africa’s Wars.
“How absolutely extraordinary and sad it is
that he should die as it was being printed,” says Linscott.
Ricochets will
be officially launched on August 17 at Adams in Musgrave Centre, Durban.
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