Arthur R

My thoughts, after reading these documents (with very limited knowledge of German) :

1 (Vertrag) is Müller's employment contract with the Landespolizei, effective 20 August 1907.

2 is a letter from the government in Windhuk replying to a query about pay and allowances.

3 (Abschrift) is a certified copy dated 1923 of a document issued on 18 February 1908 confirming that he had been awarded the Military Decoration 2nd Class as a Gefreiter in the Schutztruppe.

It appears that Müller was a soldier in the Schutztruppe, rising to the rank of Gefreiter and earning the decoration. He then joined the Landespolizei, where he was promoted to sergeant.

Unless he was demoted for some reason, it doesn't seem that the decorated Sgt Müller of the police would be the Cpl Müller of seven years later. Neither 'Otto' nor 'Müller' are uncommon names -- there could well have been two or more men of the same name in GSWA.

The badge consists of a silver-gilt Maltese cross with eagles between the arms. The obverse is green, with an orange-white-blue centre disc framed in a red circle inscribed "Honoris Crux". The reverse displays the 1910 South African national coat of arms, with early examples (before 1961) also displaying the Royal Cipher of Queen Elizabeth II.

The ribbon is green with red and white edges.

As a matter of historical interest, the design was based on insignia which had been designed in 1894 for an order of merit which President Kruger's government in the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek wanted to introduce. The order did not see the light of day because of public opposition (the Boers thought it was too monarchical for a republic), but the drawings came in useful later on, when the Union of South Africa was creating its own honours system.

The Honoris Crux was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II, by Royal Warrant dated 26 January 1953, retrospective to 6 April 1952 (Government Gazette 5311 dated 16 July 1954).

Instituted on 1 July 1975 in four classes to replace the Honoris Crux, the Honoris Crux Decoration was also awarded for selfless acts of gallantry. The highest class, Honoris Crux Diamond, was never awarded and the sole specimen made was donated to the South African National Museum of Military History in 2009.

This story that only one specimen was made has been around for a few years now, but yet there is photographic evidence which seems to contradict it.

On the HCD shown in your photo, (a) there is a voided space between the horizontal bar and the protea flowers on the suspender, and (b) the diamonds are not aligned with the middle lines of the arms of the cross.

But the photo of the HCD which was issued on a postcard by the SA Post Office in 1984, the photo in Alexander, Barron & Bateman's SA Orders, Decorations and Medals (1985), and the photo on the SANDF website all show (a) a solid suspender without the space between the bar and the flowers, and (b) the diamonds aligned with the middle lines of the arms of the cross.

The Honoris Crux (as in, the fourth class of the revised decoration) is made of silver but with a white-enamelled cross rather than a green one. Its ribbon has a double white edge... and I haven't found a picture yet

I also have not found the regulations for the establishment of any of this, just the one of 25 July 2003 that finally discontinued it (Government Gazette no. 25213).

The HC Decoration was instituted by President Diederichs by Warrant dated 30 June 1975, published in Government Gazette 4792 dated 18 July 1975. Unfortunately, it's not available online, and I don't know where you'll get a copy.

Pics of the former SADF and other decorations and medals can be seen at : http://www.army.mil.za/aboutus/uniform/formerforcesmedals/index.htm

So this is all I found at Kew. Thanks again arthur. Only cost me 3 quid too.

Great! So, he enlisted in the RNAS in December 1917 and transferred to the RAF when it was formed in April 1918.

I believe the last ribbon would be the Fire Brigade Long Service Medal and not the 1937 Coronation,

You're right, it does make more sense.

It looks as though there are two "firsts" here : one of the founder members of the RAF in 1918, and one of the earliest recipients of the Fire Brigade LSM in 1954/55.

Colin,

Have you seen this on the UK National Archives website?

http://www.nationala...Edoc_Id=7063548

I don't know if I'm reading it correctly, but this page, and the linked page for ADM 188/636, give me the impression that there's an entry for your grandfather in a Royal Naval Air Service register for 1917 (register F44), his number being F44726.

Some additional evidence - a photo of my grandparents and my Mum at the Palace Feb '55. With a close-up of the medal bar and no WWI awards in sight.

His ribbons appear to be :

Upper row : OBE - KPFSM - British War Medal

Lower row : Defence Medal - Queen Elizabeth II Coronation (1953) - King George VI Coronation (1937).

The two coronation medal ribbons are the wrong way round, and the Victory Medal ribbon is missing. Given that these ribbon bars must have been made up in a bit of a hurry between the gazetting of the OBE and the presentation a few weeks later, perhaps the tailor got a bit flustered, or didn't have any Victory Medal ribbon in stock.

I wonder why the group of miniatures is missing the George VI coronation medal.

Something else : a Fire Brigades Long Service Medal was authorised in 1954. It was awarded after 20 years service. Your grandfather ought to have qualified for that too, once the authorities began awarding it.

Here's another possibility....perhaps the two WWi campaign medals would be his brother Clement's as he was awarded those two. Alick was born Feb 1900 so we would have been too young to see legally join up, train and a month's worth of action before Nov 1918. Plus I never heard a word about army service for him.

Found this discussion saying one could wear a close KIA relative's medals on a blazer if worn on the right...and these minis would have been worn on civies I presume. http://www.arrse.co....-relatives.html Interestingly the medals are mounted in reverse order of precedence unless they were intended to be worn on the right on a blazer.

A very long shot, I think, Colin. It's one thing to wear a deceased relative's medals on Remembrance Day, and another to wear them permanently on one's uniform. As a county fire chief, he would have set a very bad example by wearing medals to which he wasn't entitled.

If he was born in Feb 1900, he could have enlisted early in 1918, and been sent overseas in the second half of the year, just in time to qualify for the medals.

The miniatures are mounted in the correct precedence for the 1940s. At that time, the KPFSM ranked after campaign medals. It was moved up to its present position some years later.

This may be another family legend but I believe he was heavily involved in Coventry in 1940. I was told as a child that he had to step in when his senior officer had some sort of stress breakdown. He was visiting here when the book "The Ultra Secret" hit the media and I still recall his rage when he diccovered that they knew about Coventry in advance and did nothing. It would be great to fin out more aout that too but I have no clue on how to approach research.

Small world : my father was in the Auxiliary Fire Service in Coventry in 1940. He'd just finished school, and was not yet old enough to be called up, so he was placed in the part-time AFS in the meantime. Certainly a baptism of fire on the night of 14-15 November 1940!

The story goes that the government found out about the planned raid from German comms which they intercepted with the captured Ultra machine, but decided not to evacuate the city because that would have tipped off the Germans, who would have changed their codes. They did, however, place the fire brigades of neighbouring counties on standby for an "exercise" so as to have them available on the night. So, the people of Coventry were sacrificed to enable military intelligence to continue using the captured Ultra machine for the greater good. The story has been denied -- whether there is any hard evidence either way available in National Archives I don't know.

So I am reduced to looking for documentaiton. As far as I know he was not in a serving unit and I cannot find anything military on ancestry - no pension, enlistment, awards etc. So how could he have the WWI campaign pair? I do know his brother Clement was KIA in Aug. 28, 1918 serving as a Pvt with 14 Service Bn Royal Welsh Fulisiers.

If he was in the fire service in late WWI, is there any way he could have earned these medals for UK service? Could he have been posted to France as a fire officer?

The conditions of award for both these medals, as set out in Taprell Dorling's Ribbons and Medals, expressly require service in an theatre of war.

If your grandfather's brother was in the RWF, he may well have enlisted there too. However, according to the RWF Museum website [ http://www.rwfmuseum.org.uk/en_re.html ] 60% of the regiment's WWI records were destroyed in the blitz in 1940, which might perhaps explain the absence of anything on Ancestry.com.

It might be worth trying the Montgomeryshire Genealogical Society http://home.freeuk.net/montgensoc/ ] They ought to know what records exist of local lads who joined up in the war - there might have been notices in the local newspapers, for instance.

Is there anyway to determine his fire service record - eg join date?

Why not contact Staffordshire Fire & Rescue? As he was their chief, they ought to have some record of him - perhaps there was an article about him in a magazine when he retired. Their website : http://www.staffordshirefire.gov.uk/

Hi Colin

According to London Gazette 40366, pages 13-14, Alick Finney was awarded the OBE in the 1955 New Years Honours. Much better than a BEM.

The title 'Royal' was granted to the Carbineers to mark King George V's silver jubilee in 1935, so this badge would date from between 1935 and 1964.

Very nice, Mervyn. From the look of it, this CPO served quite a bit after the war - at least until the late 1950s, but not long enough to earn a long service medal (18 years in those days). The lion badge replaced the orange diamond around 1949, and the springbok buttons were worn between 1959 and 1972.

Nice little bar. It's obviously seen quite a bit of wear.

You're correct, Noor - it should be worn with the Zimbabwe Independence Medal in first place.

The Rhodesia GSM was a campaign medal, issued from 1969/70 onwards, for service in operations against the liberation armies during the 'bush war' between 1966 and 1979. The independence medal was issued in 1981, to mark the establishment of the new state in 1980. It seems to have been issued to the uniformed services and civilians.

An excellent group of medals and badges. The shield-and-anchor device is the old civic coat of arms of Cape Town. The motto is also from the civic arms.

Arthur R - Many thanks for the speedy and detailed response. You have confirmed, clarrified & added to some of the information I had. The pictures are excellent!

I'll attempt to add pictures of the few items I have. From the above it would seem to be mostly pre 1986 other ranks badges and titles. My cloth flashes are scarlet on khaki. I have also seen gold on green ones but am not sure whether they are genuine issue or not (I know most infantry units had gold on green flashes on the bunny jacket in the 1960s). I also have a WW2 cap badge and a shoulder title that I think says "2/Dukes". Was there a 2nd Bn at some point?

The pictures are indeed excellent. I don't know who took them, but there's certainly lots of eye candy for people keen on militaria.

Re shoulder titles : I believe the cloth titles were introduced in the late 1940s and were worn until the mid-1970s, the crimson on khaki (I think the regiment calls the colours 'cherry red' and 'old gold') being for the officers and WOs (and perhaps SNCOs) and the gold on green for the other ranks. The 2/Dukes title will date from about 1923 to 1932, when the regiments was numbered '2nd Infantry'.

As it happens, there was a 2nd Battalion, for a few months in 1901, before it became a separate unit under the name 'Colonial Light Horse'. At the beginning of WWII, too, the regiment was divided administratively into two battalions, the 1st being the men who volunteered for active service and the 2nd those who didn't or who weren't accepted for health or other reasons, but I don't think this arrangement lasted very long.

Photo of the Dukes' band at the 2010 Cape Town Military Tattoo :

http://www.capetatto...500D_047636.jpg

Some changes in uniform, I see : different pattern helmet, and the colours of the helmet flash have been reversed.

Lots of excellent photos of uniforms, medals, badges, etc, including some pics of Dukes officers in service dress :

http://www.saairforce.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2923&start=15

(Warning : very heavily laden with images, chews up a lot od bandwith and CPU)

The Dukes have been around for 156 years, and have changed their uniforms and insignia many times during that period.

When I knew them in the 1970s/80s/early 90s, officers, WOs and senior NCOs wore standard SA Army service dress ('stepouts'); all ranks wore nutria field dress; officers and the RSM wore regimental mess dress; officers,WOs and senior NCOs wore undress blues; and the band wore regimental full dress. I don't think much has changed since then.

All ranks wore the same beret badge, bimetal for officers and WOs, chrome for SNCOs, and brass for lower ranks (until 1986(?), when they too were given chrome). A diamond-shaped cloth patch, divided horizontally into gold over crimson, was sewn onto the beret behind the badge.

Regimental distinctions on service dress were : bronze collar badges for officers and WOs; brass 'DUKES' metal shoulder titles; regimental lanyard (left shoulder); brass springbok buttons; Sam Browne belts for officers and WOs; swords for officers and the RSM; scarlet sash and white waistbelt for SNCOs. In the early 90s, they decided to wear regimental association ties (crimson with gold stripes) instead of the brown uniform tie, and around 1994, they resumed the orange-red shoulder tabs indicating that the regiment had served voluntarily in WWII.

On nutria, officers, WOs and SNCOs wore lanyards, and from 1984 all ranks wore stable belts (upper half gold, lower half crimson, thin rifle-green stripe in between. In the early 1990s, officers, WOs and SNCOs took to wearing the 1950s/60s-era cloth shoulder titles (crimson letters on khaki) on the nutria jersey.

Mess dress : a scarlet 'bum-freezer' and waistcoat piped in yellow, and dark blue trousers with a scarlet stripe down the outer side of each leg. Regimental collar badge (bimetal) and, when available, the old DEOR waistcoat buttons which were globical with a thistle on them.

Undress blues : the usual type with stand-up collar, five buttons, four pockets, same trousers as mess dress. Bimetal collar badges for officers and WOs, brass for SNCOs; metal shoulder titles; DEOR buttons if available, otherwise springbok buttons; scarlet sash and white waistbelt (with UK royal crest buckle) for SNCOs.

Full dress : the British Army infantry pattern of scarlet tunic with buff-coloured facings, same trousers as mess dress and undress, white polo helmet with spike. Beret badge worn on the helmet (though rather small in proportion), and a feather hackle (gold over crimson) behind a cloth flash (crimson with a gold chevron) on the left side. Bimetal collar badges for officers and WOs, brass for everyone else, DEOR or springbok buttons, metal shoulder titles (I think); white waistbelt; scarlet sash for SCNOs, ceremonial sash (in use since 1891!) for the drum major. Women members of the band wore either the trousers or else dark blue skirts.

Would you like to post pics of the insignia which you have? Perhaps we can put them into their historical context.

.

The ribbon between the DSO and the 39-45 Star is probably the Order of St John. Maj Gen Poole was listed as a knight of the order in 1949, and he would no doubt have been a member of the order for some time before that.

As the badge bears the motto 'Truth will prevail', it seems likely to have been the Truth Legion's emblem,

Glad that De Villiers' article was helpful.

Thanks for the photos. The group pic is particularly interesting - it shows practically everyone who was anyone in the UDF in the late 1930s.

Brig-Gen van Ryneveld... hard to tell whether breeches or plus fours but they seem to be much lighter in colour than AJ Brink's.

They look like Bedford cord riding breeches, like Col George Brink is also wearing.

The two unknown standing officers are wearing the polo pattern helmet which puts this photo after 1934.

As H.S. Wakefield (third from left, next to Pirow) is wearing a general's cap badge, this photo must date from between 1937 (when he was appointed Deputy CGS and promoted to brigadier-general) and September 1939 (when Pirow resigned).

Hi Bilylev

It does indeed appear to be Italian. The British Museum has a medal with a similar obverse design, made in Italy in 1932 : http://www.britishmu...x&currentPage=1

There are some Italian medical/first aid organisations with have "non merito di nascere chi visse sol per se" as their motto. The initials on the reverse of the medal might indicate the specific organisation which issued the medal.

Certainly a splendid group, Mervyn. Thanks for showing us.

The MSM is certainly a mystery. Normally it's a Regular/Permanent Force long service medal, but in WWI it was also used as a gallantry award. I couldn't find any lists in the London Gazette ... but the LG does show that 295 S Sgt Charles Richard Tee SAMC received not one but two Belgian awards :

LG 31039 (26.11.1918) : Ordre de Leopold II - Chevalier

LG 31263 (28.03.1919) : Decoration Militaire - 2nd Class.

So there's another mystery : where's his Order of Leopold II?

Bisset's roll of the 1937 coronation medal recipients ( Military History Journal June 1975) lists C.R. Tee as "Member SA Mil[itary] Cont[ingent] (Ex-Servicemen)", which sounds as though he marched in the parade in London.

The National Archives of SA database shows that C.R. Tee was a lieutenant-colonel in 1947, and that the SA Museum of Military History in Jo'burg has a manuscript about the service records of various members of the Tee family, including Charles Richard. Might be worth following up.

My interest in the grey-green uniform is two-fold. (1) I am trying to establish what uniform would have worn when serving in the Permanent Force from 1922-1939 (2) it was, as far as I'm aware, the second attempt at creating a uniquely South African service dress uniform (the first being the short-lived Active Citizen Force uniform of 1913-14).

These extracts from De Villiers' article ('Uniforms : SA Permanent Force' in Commando, Jan 1954) may answer (1):

"At the same time [i.e. the reorganisation of the PF] the colour of the service dress uniforms was changed from khaki to veld-green. The other ranks' tunics were the same as the officers' tunics except that they had five buttons down the front instead of four. In addition except for the SA Field Artillery, webb equipment was worn. The SAFA retained their bandoliers, and the SA Permanent Garrison Artillery wore webb equipment on parade, but bandoliers when not on parade. The gunners were proud of their highly polished bandoliers.

"All mounted personnel wore riding breeches, leggings and spurs, and dismounted other ranks trousers and puttees. All officers wore riding breeches and leggings or field boots, spurs being worn by mounted officers only. Later on breeches, marching and plus-fours (for the Air force) were introdced, but very few officers provided themselves with the breeches marching. All Air force officers were required to wear plus-fours and puttees."

"On occasions such as Royal or Governor-General's Escorts, Guards on Royal or Governor-general's residences, Guards of Honour or other special occasion, Review Order 'A' was worn. It consisted of service dress with field boots (and not leggings), Sam Browne belts with swords in leather scabbards, helmet with dome (or spike) and chain, medals and brown leather gloves. Officers of the Staff Corps wore the same dress but wore a spike (instead of the plume) andchain, and in addition aigulettes. However they seldom, if ever, paraded with the troops.

"Other ranks had only Review Order 'A' and they wore domes (or spikes) and chains on their helmets, and medals and stripped webb equipment. Otherwise their dress was the same as service dress. Lanyards with whistles were worn with all orders of dress except mess dress by officers, WOs and non-commissioned officers, the lanyard being worn around the right shoulder in mounted units and the left shoulder in others. Gunners, riflemen and privates did not wear lanyards."

"In 1925, the tunic of the other ranks was altered from the open-neck officers' type tunic (with 5 buttons instead of four) to a closed-neck stand-up collar pattern with breast pocket only."

"In 1932, the uniforms undewent a drastic change and khaki was re-introduced. Officers wore gaberdine tunics, a gaberdine cap and gaberdine shorts with Fox puttees for summer wear and a barathea tunic, barathea cap, gaberdine shorts with Fox puttees for winter wear. Other ranks wore khaki drill tunics, shorts and puttees all the year round. In addition, officers and other ranks were permitted to wear shirts only with their shorts.

"The veld-green uniforms were retained as Review Order 'A'. The khaki uniforms were optional, but everyone welcomed the change as the veld-green uniforms were very hot in summer, and very soon all officers and other ranks had provided themselves with the khaki uniforms. Shortly after, khaki canvas leggings repalced the puttees. Only members of the SAAF were permitted to wear stockings and shoes."

Does anyone have an example or good photos of the Green (or Grey) Veld uniform worn by some units of the SA Army during the 1930s. I have conflicting sources about when & by whom it was worn. Any help appreciated. Thanks.

There's a colour pic of a cigarette card (circa 1938) showing a soldier in this uniform at : http://samilitaryhis...g/vol122as.html.

According to an article by Col M. de Villiers in Commando magazine (Jan 1954), the veld- green uniform was introduced in 1922, though I've also read that it was introduced when the PF was reorganised in 1923. A khaki gaberdine uniform was introduced in 1934, and I understand that the arrangement was veld-green in winter and khaki in summer. During WWII, some officers began combining the veld-green tunic with the khaki trousers, and after the war (De Villiers says 1948) this 'two-tone' colour scheme became the norm, and it remains such today.

Hi Spaz

A similar badge was discussed on another forum in 2008, and the conclusion was that it was probably the 39th Worcestershire Rifle Volunteers. Ref : http://www.britishba...read.php?t=2126

Sailor Malan's medals were in the SA National Museum of Military History in Johannesburg in 1989, and are quite likely still there.

The museum has a website with contact details - http://www.ditsong.o...ry_exhibits.htm .

Mervyn,

You have a real talent for attracting interesting items. Thanks for sharing these.

The shield comes from the Cape Colony National Rifle Asociation, formed in May 1905

to replace the SA Wimbledon Association, which had fallen away during the Anglo-Boer War.

I see that the 'small print' at the bottom identifies it as the Inter-Colonial Grand Challenge Shield.

If Gaydon won it in the 1930s, the shield must have been taken over by whichever organisation

superseded the CCNRA after Union - perhaps the SA Bisley Association.