Brett Hendey

Hi Will & Thomas Very interesting medals and I am very envious. As a sideline, I have collected a few medals to non-whites awarded for service in pre-WWI conflicts in South Africa. They are: SA Medal with 1877-78 clasp - Sgt Minto, Kamas Native Levies (a very battered medal). Cape of Good Hope GSM with Bechuanaland clasp - 321 Native Pte Msabenzie, Cape Police. Bronze Queen's South Africa Medal with no clasp - 248 Syce Pannaswamy, Supply & Transport Corps. (South African blacks were not awarded the QSA. Men such as the Zululand Police saw active service and one was even MiD, but received no medal.) Natal Rebellion Medal with no clasp - Pack Leader Verasammy, Natal Mounted Rifles. - Pte Ndhlendhla, Zululand Police. Natal Rebellion Medal with 1906 clasp - Cpl John Silamlela, Natal Native Horse. - Pte Bangindowa, Zululand Police. Regards Brett

Hi Brian Many thanks for your informative reply. I have only recently taken an interest in the Korean War medals of countries other than the UK and South Africa. I had hoped that such medals would be cheaper and easier to find, but clearly that isn't so. I will have to think up a 'Plan B' for my future collecting! Regards Brett

I wonder if any GMIC member has examples of the medals awarded to Indian troops during the Korean War? The medals were: General Service Medal 1947 with bar "Overseas Korea/1950-53" Overseas Medal/Videsh Seva with bar "Korea" Pictures of these medals would be much appreciated. Kevin R Ingraham's excellent book on the medals of the Korean War has only black and white photos of these medals. Strangely, this book makes no mention of an Indian version of the UN Korea Medal. Regards Brett

Norman, thanks for the tip. Regards Brett

Nick Thanks for sorting out my post. I am the gremlin in my computer. Regards Brett

Hi Mike Try posting your query on the forum devoted to the RIC, which is as follows: http://constabulary.com/textfilebb/index.php I hope it helps. Regards Brett PS My post dropped part of the address.  It should be: constabulary.com/textfilebb

Many thanks for your prompt response, Chris. They were said to be OB badges when my friend bought them, but he has evidently always had reservations about the identification. He describes them as having an "Oswald Mosley Fascist Organisation-look" AWB is a possibility and I will suggest this when I see him tomorrow. Regards Brett

A friend has in his collection of German militaria two badges that are thought to have represented the Ossewabrandwag, a pro-Nazi organisation that existed in South Africa during World War II. Can anyone comment on their identity? I can also post pics of the back of the badges. Regards Brett

A South African Policeman, who is now combatting crime in another country, told me that he claimed his Combatting Terrorism medal after 1994. It was not awarded, the reason being that there had been no "terrorism" in South Africa in the days of the "liberation struggle", an opinion passed on to him by a senior officer. Regards Brett

Darrell Some of the vandalism of monuments and gravestones is of the mindless kind perpetrated by lower forms of humanity. For example, the cemetery at Chieveley near Colenso, where Lt Freddie Roberts VC is buried, once had a visitors book kept in a small 'house' mounted on a pole. This was gradually dismantled until only the pole was left. It may not help to have a guard at such sites. There is an instance reported where the guard used the filled pages of the visitors book as toilet paper. He was careful to ensure that there were still pristine pages for new visitors to sign. Sometimes the vandalism has a purpose, such as the excavation of graves at Isandlwana by local inhabitants in order to get battlefield relics (badges etc) to sell to visiting tourists. I believe that this has been done to orders give by militaria collectors. Also, some of the graves and monuments are excavated in the belief that there is treasure buried beneath them. There is even vandalism that might have been prompted by need. There is a collection of graves and monuments moved for protection from Colenso to the nearby farm of Clouston. A well-equipped restroom was built on site. When I last visited Clouston, the restroom had been largely demolished and its contents (toilet bowls, washbasins etc) and building materials had been removed for use elsewhere. (This is also the fate of farmhouses vacated by their owners for one or other reason.) There is a program, still ongoing I think, whereby people (and money) from the United Kingdom are restoring damaged battlefield sites in South Africa (e.g. the Chieveley cemetery). It remains to be seen if their good works will survive. KwaZulu-Natal battlefields are simply not as well respected and protected as those elsewhere in the world. Regards Brett PS I forgot to mention that South Africa probably has one of the highest crime rates in the world, so criminals abound, even at battlefield sites.

There are many well known and even more less well known battlefields in KwaZulu-Natal (formerly Natal and Zululand) dating from 1838 (Voortrekker settlement), 1842 (first British/Dutch confrontation), 1879 (Zulu War), 1880/1 (1st Boer War), 1899/1902 (2nd Boer War) and 1906 (Natal Rebellion). Almost unknown are the battlefields where Zulu factions fought each other while the Zulu kingdom was being established. Sadly, only some of these battlefields and their monuments are well preserved. Vandalism is common and it is not safe to visit some of them. Regards Brett

Thanks, Thomas. Brett

Hi Gary I collect items that relate to 2 Squadron in the Korean War, but no other SAAF material, so I don't have any other SAAF patches. However, tomorrow I am looking after a friend's militaria shop and I will check the stock there and, if it includes SAAF patches, I will let you know. He has had them in the past. Regards Brett

Knowing of my interest in the multiple VC action on Wagon Hill during the Boer War, a friend recently gave me a board of relics collected from this battlefield. The action took place on 6 January 1900 during the Siege of Ladysmith and was the only occasion when the Boers made a frontal assault on British positions. The relics are: A spur found near the 18th Hussars camp site. A helmet chain found at the 18th Hussars camp site. The above items probably postdate the Wagon Hill battle. .303 Enfield cartridges (British) and a spent 7mm Mauser cartridge case (Boer) from Wagon Point, where the Boers nearly overwhelmed the British. It was during this action that two of the five Wagon Hill VC's were won - Lieutenant R Digby-Jones (Royal Engineers) and Trooper H Albrecht (Imperial Light Horse). On the botton right is a damaged .303 Enfield cartridge from Wagon Point. Brett PS Mervyn will recognise this board. It was mounted in his shop.

Mervyn Many thanks for the additional information on Zulu swords. I have always thought that the one I have was more for show than for use as a functional weapon. By the way, the man who gave it to me was Sergeant Obed Buthelezi. I don't know how closely related he was to Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, but both represent a noble Zulu clan. The Chief is descended from a participant in the Battle of Isandlwana and acted in the film, "Zulu", so he will have been seen on film by the large number of fans of this film. His role in modern South African politics is more significant, but is probably less widely known. Regards Brett

Elsewhere in this forum an appeal is made for SAAF squadron patches, so I decided to open a new topic dedicated to this subject. My contribution is the patch of 2 Squadron, SAAF, the "Flying Cheetahs", which was adopted during the Korean War. As far as I know, prior to that SAAF squadrons did not have squadron patches. 2 Squadron was part of the US 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing in Korea and they copied the patch idea from their American comrades in this unit. The SAAF patches were made of silk in Korea by Korean ladies (and their sewing machines), who attached themselves to the UN forces to provide such housewifely services. 2 Squadron patches of this vintage are difficult to find. Brett

Amongst my Zulu artefacts is an unusual, and possibly unique, item. It is a Zulu copy of a British sword. It has on overall length of 615 mm and is apparently made from a hay-rake tine, the hay-rake being the large type towed behind a farmer's tractor. The scabbard is made of two crudely tanned pieces of leather sown together by thin wire. This sword was given to me in about 1945 by a South African Police Sergeant, who was the husband of our family's Zulu nanny. It was confiscated after a Zulu faction fight in the Tugela River valley near Weenen in Natal. Such faction fights continue to this day, although the weapons used now include automatic rifles, and they can be bloody affairs. I would be interested to know if anyone has seen a similar sword. Brett

In 1894 the Natal Police was formed through the amalgamation of the Natal Mounted Police, Water Police, Railways Police, various borough police and the Prisons of the Colony of Natal. In his history of the NP, Holt (1913) recorded that the borough police of Pietermaritzburg, Durban and Newcastle declined to join the new force. The history of the Durban City Police has been well documented, but I don't know anything of the history of the Pietermaritzburg and Newcastle Police. I suspect that they ended up as local traffic police, whereas the Durban City Police retained a limited crime-fighting role through most if not all their existence, one of the anomalies in Natal's position as a province of South Africa. They are now the Metropolitan Police of the Durban (or eThekwini) Metropole. Regards Brett

Thanks, Will. PS I hope we will see you again soon.

Will A wonderful family treasure and a great piece of South African history. Many of the men who served in the Irish Brigade were probably no longer in South Africa when the Boer medals were issued, so their medals were never claimed. Do you know of any others in existence? I expect that Henk Loots has some answers. Regards Brett

Will Thanks for putting me straight. I wish I had the King's Certificate for the man I mentioned. He was with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers during the Boer War and was wounded during the Battle of Colenso. He was a great research subject. I have ordered a copy of Vic Clapham's death notice for you. Regards Brett

I think these certificates were known as "King's Certificates", at least in South Africa. I have a service card for a South African that carries the following note: Awarded Silver War Badge 4755 and King's Certificate 4643 The man's medals came with the SWB, but the Certificate is missing. Regards Brett

Will Victor Clapham was born in London. He died in Natal (?Pietermaritzburg) in 1962 and his death is recorded in the PMB Archives: NAB. MSCE. 3329/1962. I can ask someone to copy this death notice, if you want it. Regards Brett

Will I wonder if the V Clapham named on the certificate is the same as Vic Clapham, who was founder of the Comrades Marathon? For those who don't know, the Comrades Marathon is an annual race run between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It was first run in 1921 to commemorate those who died in World War I. Although it now includes international professional runners, it still is mainly a race for South African amateurs and is noted for its good sportsmanship and mutual support amongst runners. It is due to be run again next Sunday. Regards Brett

I apologise for all the blank spaces above. I couldn't get my post to load, only to discover later that it had loaded half a dozen times. I would be grateful if a Moderator could eliminate the blank spaces to save me from further embarrassment! Brett :speechless: