Brett Hendey

I have received an e-mail from a friend who has ties with the Transvaal Scottish. In it he details some of the recent events concerning the appointment of the regiment's first black CO, who was eventually relieved of his command on October 30. An account of some or all of this affair was given in the newspaper, 'Beeld'. These events are even more distasteful than those revealed earlier on this forum concerning the first black CO of the Durban Light Infantry. The fact that the Transvaal Scottish man was eventually fired gives one a faint glimmer of hope, but how a man with his qualifications and poor record came to be appointed in the first place is beyond any civilised comprehension. In South Africa today, the facts that the two officers who behaved badly were black and the criticism of them came from me, a white person, would be considered proof that I am a racist. If the criticism were to come from another black person, he would be dismissed as a 'cocoanut'. Brett

Will The only Karkloof military unit I can recall was the 19th Century Karkloof Carbineers, which was absorbed into the Natal Carbineers and which therefore had no WWI connection. Having just moved to smaller accommodation, I do not have access to my books yet but, if necessary, I will check on other possible Karkloof references. Regards Brett

Mervyn Terrible news! I was one of the misguided people who believed that after the saintly Nelson Mandela became President of the "new democratic" South Africa in 1994 our country had a great future. Since he retired, it has been all downhill and this country has increasingly becoming a basket-case banana republic where corruption and criminality rule. Instead, it could have followed the example of Singapore and other ex-colonies and built on the foundations that brought them civilisation and the advantages that go with it. The colonisation of the world by European nations was far from perfect, but it stopped people sitting around thinking about inventing the wheel and written languages, to say nothing of the countless positive benefits that are still enjoyed today by the ex-colonial oppressed (e.g. cellular telephones, BMW's, sunglasses, and Kentucky Fried Chicken). Regards Brett

Thank you for posting this very interesting link. Regards Brett

Richard The person I have used is Audrey Portman (rhino.research@icon.co.za). If I can be of any other assistance, please do not hesitate to PM me. Regards Brett

Richard The SAEC was represented in all the theatres in which South African troops were involved. They were: German South West Africa, German East Africa, Egypt & Palestine, and France/Flanders. While all would have received the War Medal together with the Victory Medal, those who served in GSWA were awarded the 1914/15 Star as well. Single War Medals were also issued to service personnel who did not see active service. There will be a service record for your man in the military archives in Pretoria, but you will need a local researcher to copy it. These records vary considerably in size and detail, so can be disappointing. Regards Brett

Paul I do not have numbers to back my suspicion that the majority of women in uniform during WWII did not leave South Africa and so were not entitled to campaign stars. I also suspect that those women who did serve with South African forces in North Africa and Italy were nurses at the military hospitals in those theatres and perhaps numbered only in the hundreds. Hassett's service record can be obtained from the military archives in Pretoria. Regards Brett

Anthony Mac Bissett may be able to help with information on Leslie's RM service. Regards Brett PS After giving the matter some thought, I decided that this group may well be unique to a South African. There is only a small chance that a SANF man seconded to the RN had the same combination.

Hi Anthony Many thanks for sharing a particularly fine group of WWII medals to a South African. Because of my own interests, I liked his connection with the Royal Natal Carbineers. Since he apparently went to East Africa with the RNC in 1940, I wonder if he would have qualified for the Africa Star? Also, for his long service on the Officer's Reserve, might he have been entitled to an award such as the John Chard Decoration? If you have not already done so, it would be worth contacting Izabel at the NC museum in Pietermaritzburg. Regards Brett

Mervyn Perhaps he served "behind the lines" in North Africa long enough to qualify for the Defence Medal but not the Africa Star, while his period of service in Italy was too short to qualify for the 1939/45 Star (i.e less than 6 months). Regards Brett

Mike A fine collection of medical QSA's and very well displayed. Thank you for showing them. Regards Brett

It is good to see that Colonial history is still being commemorated in Namibia. Regards Brett

Mervyn Both pairs seem fine to me and tracking the two people concerned on 'Ancestry', 'FindMyPast' and angloboerwar.com would be worthwhile. If the two did indeed become husband and wife, it would add to the interest and value of the medals. Regards Brett

Brian Welcome to the GMIC. You have a lot to offer it, so I will look forward to your posts. Regards Brett

Tony The book by Francis L Coleman, 'The Kaffrarian Rifles 1876-1986', has a chapter on the role played by the KR in both GSWA and the Rebellion in South Africa. It is likely that your man saw no action at all. The South African National Defence Force Archives in Pretoria will be unhelpful and usually have only a single card with minimal information as a record for men who served in GSWA. Regards Brett

He does mention the bar - ".... a ring suspension, deleting the claw and bar of other coinages".

Kevin R Ingraham in his book, 'Honors, Medals and Awards of the Korean War 1950 - 1953' has this to say about the Belgian UN Korea Medal: "Belgium originally issued the standard French coinage. The unique Belgian style was a private purchase item which later became the official issue. It has a raised rim and a ring suspension, deleting the claw and bar of other coinages. The obverse is signed "J. DEMERET". The obverse is the same as the reverse of the Belgian Overseas Operation Medal" Regards Brett

I think Chris has an excellent suggestion, but I am sure that the politicians and the parasites that support them will find a cost factor (e.g. cost of badges) to deny implementing it. Robin's comment on foreign aid is very relevant in this matter. Recently, I read comparisons of foreign aid made over the past decades. For example, Germany and Japan were in a sorry state at the end of WWII but, with the help of foreign aid that did not continue indefinitely, they were soon up and running. Look at them now. Other examples cited where limited and temporary foreign aid was successful were Vietnam and Malaysia. Then, after the success stories came Africa, a continent that has been a bottomless pit for foreign aid since foreign aid was invented. Instead of needing less and less help, it needs more every year. The intended recipients often see no benefit at all, since the money is soaked up by bureaucrats and politicians. Also, there is little or no gratitude on the part of the recipients, real or intended, only requests for more. It is all so amazingly stupid that one has to wonder about the mental health of people involved in providing foreign aid. Brett

I think that politicians in Britain (and elsewhere) are like bankers, living in their our dreamworld and out of touch with the people they are meant to serve. If they really cared, they would get rid of the useless bureaucrats and thereby save enough money to maintain the status quo in the military. Perhaps even some past glories could be restored. However, how do you get useless bureaucrats (& politicians, bankers etc) to get rid of themselves? Brett

I was told recently of the widow of a South African ex-serviceman who discovered after his death that the medals he had worn on so many parades were in fact named to someone else. There was evidently no doubt that he had served during World War II, so it was assumed he had lost his orginal medals and replaced them with another set, perhaps bought at a local second-hand shop. Since the medals did not have her husband's name on them, she no longer wanted them and they ended up in the hands of a medal collector. Brett

Hi Mervyn A very good group of medals, with the bonus of many associated items. I presume you have applied for a copy of his service record, which should reveal his final rank and other facts about his life and naval service. A distant relative who died recently was also awarded the two Russian medals. The Russian Embassy tracked him down and arranged for the hand-over of the medals. This man was also MiD, in his instance it was for shooting down a plane during the landings at Salerno. Regards Brett

There is probably a medal missing from your grandfather's medal group. If he was active in France and the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, he would have qualified for the France & Germany Star. Your grandfather's next-of-kin can get a copy of his service record, which will tell you a great deal about his military service. I suggest you look on the Ministry of Defence website for information on where and how to get the service record, and a replacement F & G Star, if indeed it is missing. Brett

Another lesson from this excellent thread is that researching an individual has no time limits. Regards Brett

Hi Mike Another success for your diligence and Canadian record-keeping! Briscoe's SAC records will be in the Pretoria Repository of the SA National Archives and it would be worth getting a local researcher to copy them for you. The SAC records that I have seen have been far more detailed than those of other units raised in South Africa during the Boer War. In Briscoe's case, they may shed light on his move from the SAC to the TTP. I look forward to reading more about this man. Regards Brett

Mike My badge-collecting friend says that the Transvaal Town Police badge is a rare and valuable find. Congratulations on your good fortune. There cannot be too many Canadians with the service indicated by the three badges, assuming they were all worn by the same man, and I wonder if it would be possible to identify the possibilities? I am still in awe of Canadian record-keeping, so I hope you are successful if you do a search. Regards Brett