Background
He was born on the farm Geelbeksfontein on the West Coast on 3 November 1938.
He was born on the farm Geelbeksfontein on the West Coast on 3 November 1938.
Until 1962, he studied at the Paarl Training College to become a Physical Education teacher, after which he taught in Namibia and Cape Town. In 1969 he completed his Bachelor Degree in History and English Literature at the University of South Africa (University of South Africa). Sleigh then completed a Master of Arts Degree cum laude, followed by a Doctorate in History in 1987 at the University of Stellenbosch.
He matriculated at Vredenburg High School and then joined the South African Navy. Until his retirement in 1996, Sleigh worked at the Western Cape Department of Education. He made his literary debut in 1974 with the volume of poetry entitled Duif oor water.
This was followed by historical works for young people, like Die buiteposte and Tussen twee vlae.
This novel was later also awarded the Washington Hofmeyr, RAU, M-Net and Helgaard Steyn Prizes. C Louis Leipoldt Prize (1971) – Duif oor water
Washington Hofmeyr Prize (2003) – Eilande
RAU Prize for Creative Writing (2003) – Eilande
M-Net Prize for Creative Writing in Afrikaans (2004) – Eilande
Helgaard Steyn Prize (2004) – Eilande
Medal from the Academy for Science and Culture (2007)
List of published works
Poetry
1971 Duif oor water, Tafelberg
Prose: novels
1972 Die nege-maande-mars, Tafelberg
1973 ’n Manitoba om te hardloop, Tafelberg
1977 Sersant Barodien, Kaapse Korps, Tafelberg
1978 ’n Kanon vir Barbier, Tafelberg
1979 Vryburger Tas, Tafelberg
2002 Eilande, Tafelberg
2010 Afstande, Tafelberg
2011 Wals met Matilda, Tafelberg
Prose: youth novels
1974 Tussen twee vlae, Tafelberg
1975 Onder die bittervaan, Tafelberg
1976 Anselm en die jut, Van der Walt
Non-fiction
1978 January Kompanjie: die wêreld van die Verenigde Oos-Indiese Kompanjie, Tafelberg
1979 Ruiters teen die Ryk, Nasou
1993 Die buiteposte, HAUM
1996 The Forts of the Liesbeeck Frontier, Castle Military Museum
1999 The Ride Against an Empire, Castle Military Museum
Translations
Eilande (2002) into English (Islands, 2004) and Dutch (Stemmen uit zee, 2004)Afstande (2010) into Dutch (De lange tocht, 2011).