Although he was Jewish himself, Hyams senior insisted that his two sons  have a Catholic upbringing, in accordance with their mother’s religious background. Accordingly, on March 10, 1922, Daniel George Hyams (or simply Danny, as he came to be known throughout his life), was baptised by Fr Francis in St Anne’s Catholic church in the eastern Johannesburg suburb of Belgravia, with his maternal grandfather Louis Bretton and aunt Lucy Bretton as sponsors.