Gerald (or Gerard) Duncan Sutton, or "Jerry" as he was widely known, was the son of George Gerhard Sutton and his wife Agnes Gertrude Watermeyer. He obtained a diploma in Sheep and Wool at the Grootfontein Agricultural College (at Middelburg, Eastern Cape) and spent a year working on a farm in England before starting his studies in the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Pretoria at Onderstepoort. After qualifying in 1936 he joined the civil service and was posted as State Veterinarian to Allerton (Pietermaritzburg, 1937) and then Middelburg (1938-1943) where he also lectured at Grootfontein College. In 1944 he transferred to the Onderstepoort Research Institute where he did some research in bacteriology and was responsible for the production and bottling of bacterial vaccines and managed the institute's experimental animals. From 1948 to 1987 he was a part-time senior lecturer in animal management for generations of veterinary students. For almost 20 years (1968-1987) he also acted as liaison officer of the institute, until his final retirement. In January 1841 he married Eleonor Isabes Rhodes, with whom he had a son and a daughter.

List of sources:

Author and Subject Index to the Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Science and Animal Industry (1933-1950) and the Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research (1951-1968). Pretoria: Department of Agriculture, June 1969.

Bigalke, R.D. In Memoriam: Dr G.D. Sutton. Veterinary News, September 2001, p. 19.

FamilySearch: Gerard Duncan Sutton. https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/GCRZ-MBR

Compiled by: D.W. Verwoerd

Last updated: 2026-01-06 11:33:42