Otto Siedle - Life

Life

Otto Siedle's life is described in a warm and amusing book "Siedle Saga" . He describes memories of Furtwangen as a young boy, schooling in London and early training in Stuttgart as a watchmaker, followed by routine employment in London and participation in amateur and professional music. Then, because the Siedles were friends of Daniel King Junior, son of the founder of the Bullard King line of steamers Otto was hired in 1882 as bookkeeper for their Durban office. He made a success of this job and of many others in the new country. Whilst starting as a shipping agent. handling delivery of coal to the harbours, he became a director of other companies connected with sugar, tea, wool, glass manufacture, hotels, wool washing and milling. He made many appearances on the concert platform as a bass soloist. He met Cecil Rhodes in about 1896 after the Matabele Rebellion; Mahatma Gandhi in industrial negotiations in the 1930s; and George Bernard Shaw, John McCormack and other performers while in charge of the Durban Orchestra. His daughter was the opera star known as "The Lady in White". Two of his sons played first-class cricket: one, Jack Siedle, represented South Africa in 18 Tests between 1927–28 and 1935-36. Otto Siedle died in Durban in 1945.