Brett Hendey

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:

Mervyn, thanks for the mention of my family connection with the Natal Mounted Police and the Zulu War. My great grandfather, Albert Elkington, was amongst the earliest recruits (No. 18) into the Natal Mounted Police after the unit was formed in 1874. He left the NMP in 1876 to become the Gaoler at Msinga, an outpost near the Zululand border about 25 km from Rorke's Drift. After the Battles of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift on 22 January 1879, there was panic amongst the inhabitants on the Natal side of the Buffalo River. A British supply convoy had halted at Msinga and it was decided to improve the defences of the settlement to create a place of safety for the district's inhabitants. The Msinga Gaol was emptied of prisoners and it was fortified. Since Gaoler Elkington no longer had prisoners to guard, the Magistrate, Henry Francis Fynn, allowed him and his pregnant wife, Annie Sarah, to leave and seek refuge in Ladysmith. A week after the Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift battles, their first child, a son, was born. A further family link with Isandlwana was the escape from the battlefield by Trooper Charles Lennox Stretch of the Buffalo Border Guard, who was the elder brother of Annie Sarah Elkington. In the 1880's Albert Elkington became a transport rider carrying goods by wagon between the port of Durban in Natal and the Johannesburg goldfields in the Transvaal. The family eventually settled in Vryheid, Transvaal, where their eighth and last child, a daughter, was born in 1895. This daughter died during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, when the family also lost their Vryheid property. A postscript about the Elkington son born during the Zulu War came with his enlistment for service in the South African Infantry Brigade, which was fighting in France and Flanders during World War I. After the heavy losses suffered by South Africa during the Somme battles of 1916, a wave of patriotic fervour led to these losses being replaced by men like the 38-year-old Albert Henry Charles Elkington. He was to die of wounds in Flanders on 21 September 1917 during the Battle of Menin Road, which was part of the 3rd Ypres offensive. (I will post a picture of relics of 'young' Albert in a more appropriate place.) A few years later, in 1921, the patriarch Albert Elkington also died, but his redoubtable wife, Annie Sarah Elkington (nee Stretch) lived for another 20 years, finally dying aged 83 in 1941. Regards Brett

I had previously seen only a photo of the plaque, but I now have it at hand. It is 14 cm in diameter and it weighs 1.5 kg, so it is a substantial object. The reverse is plain, with no sign of the method of fixing to another surface. It still has earth adhering to it, but a greenish tinge shows through on the metal suggesting copper in involved. The previous owner of the house where the plaque was found evidently served in the RAF during and after WWII. He died recently and had no local relatives. I will try to find out more about him but I suspect that, if there was a link between him and the plaque, the story died with him. I wonder if the ?negro slave breaking his bonds depicted on the HMS Hawkins' emblem has something to do with the RN's fight against slave traders? Perhaps there was an earlier HMS Hawkins that was so engaged. Regards Brett