Newsletter/Nuusbrief 178
July 2019
We had to unfortunately cancel our June meeting at a late hour as our venue had been double booked. The venue belongs to the Eastern Province Veteran Car Society and they had scheduled a dinner to celebrate their major car rally the Milligan which attracts entrants from afar. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and to our speakers for the evening. We lend our assurance that they will in due course be afforded the opportunity to address us.
Matters of General interest.
Our annual away weekend is being finalised and will be held over the period Friday 2 to Sunday 7 August. It is envisaged that we will be spending the two evenings at Hogsback and the tour will be visiting Alice, the Tyumie Valley, Keiskamma Hoek and the Ntaba ka Ndoda area. A preliminary visit is being taken in the week before our July meeting by Messrs Kinghorn, Pringle and Irwin who will report more fully when we meet on Monday 8 July.
The area is rich in Frontier War history. It will include site visits to Fort Hare University, the old Woburn barracks, Burns Hill, Fort Cox, Boomah Pass and Keiskamma Hoek itself and will also include Bailey’s grave, that of Maqoma and the Battle of Amalinda which took place near the present day Dimbaza. This is a tour well worth undertaking. Much of that past history is disappearing and /or under threat and access to some sites has at various times been difficult. This will be a good opportunity to do so as the old forts are crumbling away and we must acknowledge that colonial history has its own meaning to others.
There is a variety of accommodation available on the Hogsback ranging from the superior Hogsback Inn to other licensed establishments and self catering places. It is the intention to meet on the Friday evening at a central venue and you will be advised of the options at hand when the debriefing is held at our July meeting
The 28th June marks the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty, referred to as the “Versailles Diktat” by the Germans, marked the end of the 1914-1919 war between the Allied powers and Germany. It was one of the outcomes of the Versailles ‘Peace’ Conference which ran from 18th January 1919 to 16th January 1920. Other treaties were also signed between some, but not all, of the belligerents before the conclusion of the conference.
The Treaty of Versailles was controversial both because of the way the conference was conducted and for its contents, which were primarily aimed at blaming, punishing and humiliating Germany. These aspects will be elaborated upon in a talk at SAMHSEC's 9th December meeting.
Mission – Destroy U-Boat 240 km South of Cape Recife.
A story was attached which makes for a good read. This was supplied through Dean McCleland whose other articles of historical nature may be found on the blog called “The Casual Observer” at web-site
http://thecasualobserver.co.za/category/micellaneous_topics/port-elizabeth-of-yore/
July Meeting – Monday 8 July at our usual venue of the EP Veterans Car Club. Proceedings commence at 19.30hrs.
Member’s slot – All Saint’s Church, Woodstock and its WW2 Memorial – Ian Pringle
Curtain Raiser – The Grey flag – Frank Collier
Main Lecture - Delville Wood – Declan Brennan
Members are invited to send in to the scribe, short reviews of or comments on books, DVDs or any other interesting resources they have come across, as well as news on individual member’s activities.
| Chairman: | Malcolm Kinghorn | culturev@lantic.net |
| Secretary: | Franco Cilliers | Cilliers.franco@gmail.com |
| Scribes: | Ian Pringle. | pringlefamily@telkomsa.net |