Revil John Mason died on 23 August 2020 at the age of 91 years, scarcely a year after receiving the Golden Eagle award on Gaudy Day at St John’s College in 2019. Revil was born on 10 February 1929 and grew up in Saxonwold. He entered St John’s Prep in 1936. After matriculating in 1946, Revil studied at the University of Witwatersrand and obtained a B Com. degree, garnering several prizes, including the Aitken medal for the best graduate in Commerce, together with the Chamber of Industries medal and the Dean’s award.
St John's College (The Heritage Portal)
Wits Great Hall (The Heritage Portal)
However, after attending a lecture by Prof Dart he became fascinated by archaeology and proceeded to study Archaeology at the University of Cape Town where he again excelled in his studies and obtained a doctorate at the age of 28 years old. At the young age of 24 years he successfully excavated Makapansgat, discerning three layers of the Stone Age, a new discovery in South African Archaeology. During the 1950s he often visited St John’s, talking to the boys about new archaeological...
