Foster Gang

In the article below, Lucille Davie unpacks the story of the Foster Gang, a tale that continues to fascinate South Africans. The piece was first published on the City of Johannesburg's website on 3 January 2003. Davie has spent a large part of her life writing about the people and places of Johannesburg. Click here to view more of her work.

The police were out in force. Roadblocks were thrown up around the city. Residents were tittering with nervousness. Word spread: the gangsters had been traced to a hideout in a cave.

The crowd had to be held back behind a fence as the tension mounted. Then shots were heard from deep inside the cave, and it was all over. The Foster Gang, wanted for murder and robbery, had chosen to take their own lives rather than surrender to the police.

It was one of the most remarkable criminal sagas in early Johannesburg history. The gang, consisting of William Foster, John Maxim and Carl Mezar, had evaded police for months during the year 1914. They were wanted for a string of robberies across the Reef, and the murder of three policemen and a passerby. But nine other people also died because of the Foster Gang, among them a distinguished Boer war general.

Foster Gang Mug Shots (source unknown)

Tracker dogs had led...

The story of the Foster Gang is one that continues to grip audiences around South Africa and the world. Below is a remarkable recollection of the saga by A.J. Hoffman, one of the detectives on the case. The piece was translated from Hoffman's book 'Op die Spoor van die Misdadiger' by his grandson Andre. Thank you to the team from Kensington Heritage for sending it through.

Before my mind's eye I see them now; Robert Foster, aka Robert Ward Jackson, the most notorious gang member in the history of South African crime; John Maxim, alias Maxwell, originally an American cowboy and Carl Mezer alias Smith the youngest of the gang and also the worst. I can still see Foster's thin face and his shaggy hair hung in tatters over his narrow forehead as I remember. His eyes were far from one another, and his lips thin and crooked. John Maxim was well built and wide, he was dark with a thick moustache. Carl Mezer was shabby and messy and there was a wild look in his eyes. He always looked a scared and pathetic figure.

As a detective my responsibilities were largely in locating native criminals, I seldom encountered murders committed by whites. But when the Foster gang was in operation, every officer was put on the trail of the bandits. I also...