Tom Andrews was born on 28 October 1924 in Germiston.  He married Merlie Grunow in 1949 and from this marriage, 3 children were born namely Eileen, Denise and Desmond.

As a youngster his keen interest in the origin of Place names  was influenced by the publication of Pettmans.

During the Second World War he saw active service in Italy with the South African Artillery brigade.  After the War, he joined the firm Ellams Ltd.  During this time, he initiated a historical newsletter which he distributed to clients.

Tom’s continued research and  interest in place names, lead him to add on a study, which was named the “Grunow Room”.  The latter referring to the surname of his father-in-law, Max.  His home was named Emagameni, a Zulu name, meaning “The Place of Names”.   The entrance to his home depicted an Ox wagon Wheel, with a Zulu Shield and Assegaai.  The study soon grew into a Private museum.  It was in this room that Tom spent many nightly hours and weekends researching, and documenting the history and origins of Places and their names.  His research work, documentation, newsletters and books were all typed on a manual typewriter, edited and bound by himself.  Widely read, as he was, he was rarely seen, without a huge bundle of newspapers.

Tom’s historical haven became well known by Researchers, Reporters, and Students, always finding an open door to his knowledge, reference books and photographs.   His specialised knowledge on early Pretoria, resulted in the media referring to Tom, as “Mr Pretoria”,

He was a man strongly convinced of the ethics and correctness of his research work, to the end, that he would not hesitate to take a stand, even if this was in contradiction to other historians.

Tom loved nature and spent many holidays in the Kruger National Park. En-route to holiday destinations, frequent stops were made, visiting historical sites, and grave-yards

He joined the Old Pretoria Society in 1961 and served on the committee for 38 years . During this period he published 216 historical newsletters on behalf of the Society.  Tom, with the help of his wife, Merlie, initiated and conducted over 300 bus tours to historical sites in South Africa.  A further 170 historical tours was conducted after he became an accredited Tour Guide,.

His last tour, was fittingly, to the Old  Church Street Cemetery, in November 1999.

Not being able to totally retire, Tom started  a discussion forum,  where he was able to impart his knowledge and interesting  historical facts and Pretoria’s early history.

Tom specialised in the Old Pretoria Cemetery in Church Street, and became a recognised authority on the history of the persons buried there.  In 1973, with the assistance of the Girl Guides, he was the first surveyor of this Cemetery.  All graves were documented, resulting in the first book being published nl. “Pioneer Sketches” in May 1983, followed by “God;s  Acre” in 1987.   One of the entrance gates, leading off Church street, nl. Pioneers Gate was named by Tom..

He further served as a member of the War Graves Committee for 5 years.

Tom was a founder member of the former City Council of Pretoria Place names Committee, and served on this committee for 30 years as the Old Pretoria Society representative. It was in this role that he made his vast knowledge of Early Pretoria and its history available to  name many streets of new township development. 

As a result of his contribution to place names, he was made an honorary member of the names Society of Southern Africa and was presented with his membership certificate by Dr Peter Raper, who was  the then Chairman of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical names.

Tom Andrews served as Curator of the Klapperkop Military Museum for 9 years until his retirement in 1992.  During this short period, he did research on the military history and published a booklet titled “The ABC of Military Associated Place and Street Names in Pretoria and environs.  .

He gave invaluable inputs into the Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa, 1970 regarding place names in South Africa. 

During his life, he worked tirelessly to research historical facts and to present them in factually correct books and short publications. 

In recognition of Tom Andrews’s dedication to Pretoria’s history and Place Names he was awarded the following awards :

Certificate of Merit for many years of outstanding service – Old Pretoria Society

Honorary Life Membership of the Names Society of South Africa for his outstanding contribution to Onomastics .

Take Five Certificate for dedication to the Military Museum ,Fort Klapperkop – Commanding Officer ,Fort Klapperkop .

A Certificate of Commendation in recognition of commendable service to the South African Defence Force – Chief of The SA Defence Force ,1991

The Pre –Eminent Achiever in Excellence Award ( Community Service) – presented in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Pretoria and its community by the Mayor of the Former City Council of Pretoria , 1992.

The last award was one of Tom’s proudest moments, as it summarised his selfless dedication to the history of Pretoria , especially its place names and its old cemetery in Church Street .

His research stopped abruptly after suffering from a stroke in February 2000.  His last manuscript  “Place and Street names of Pretoria, has been placed in an electronic format and will  be available on the website www.emagameni.co.za. 

Tom passed away on 5 July 2002 .  His ashes finding their final resting place at Pioneer Gate, in the Church Street Cemetery, Pretoria.