Prof Ian van der Waag was the speaker from Stellenbosch on 14 October 2021 hosted by
Johannesburg Branch. His topic was
"Almost entirely a medical war: The South African
Medical Corps in East Africa, 1940-1941"
A key part of any military campaign is the support provided by the medical services for the campaign forces. The talk detailed the medical resources that were assembled for the campaign in Abyssinia under the direction of the Director of Medical Services Brig Orenstein. Based on past experience from WW1 campaigns in East Africa, many battle casualties were expected, but that turned out to be the least of the medical issues that the service had to address. Jan Smuts commented in 1941 that "our losses were ridiculously small". The talk covered how the medical services had to deal mainly with non-battle casualties. The talk includes detailed graphs showing the different issues that had to be treated, and compared them with issues in other theatres of the war involving the South African forces.
Ian's comprehensive lecture is in the ZOOM video library as usual.
MEMBERS OF ALL BRANCHES
ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND ALL MEETINGS
Just let scribe@samilitaryhistory.org know in order to be sent an invitation to the next ZOOM meeting.
Contact your branch to confirm ROOM meetings while we are under Covid-19 restrictions.
December 2021 Military History Journal
Members are still welcome to send articles, poetry and similar contributions to joan@trolleyscan.com or to scribe@samilitaryhistory.org
FORTHCOMING ATTRACTIONS
ZOOMINARS
Johannesburg Branch
Our next zoom lecture will be on Thursday 11th November starting at 19h30
Speaker: Kathie Satchwell
Subject: Remembrance
Eastern Cape Branch (SAMHSEC)
Next zoominar will be on Monday 8th November starting at 19h30
Speaker: Peter Sutcliffe
Subject: "Operation Splinter - Rhodesian Counter Insurgency Operations on
Lake Kariba and the Zambezi River"
SAMHSEC's next RPC (request the pleasure of your company) will be on Monday 29 November 2021 at 19h30 South African time - details to be confirmed.
Invitations will be sent out as usual.
ZOOM LECTURERS WANTED
Members with an interesting presentation on any aspect of military history are sought for ZOOMINARS and ZOOMeetings. A nominal 30-40 minute lecture supported by Power Point or similar slides / photographs, but not video, is required.
IMPORTANT NEWS - ROOM MEETING
KwaZulu-Natal Branch
Next Meeting: Saturday 13th November
Time: 14h00 for 14h30
Venue: St Cyprians Church Hall in Umbilo
Contact Ulrich Duebi for details about the lecture: ulric@worldonline.co.za or 084 324 6583
Dr Anne Samson forwarded the following:
CWGC APPEAL FOR RELATIVES September 2021
AFRICA & ASIA PACIFIC AREA OFFICE
An appeal for relatives is a search to locate the next-of-kin for soldiers who fell in war. Could you be connected to any of these individuals?
In most cases the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is preparing to produce headstones for their graves and would like to contact any relatives to attend the unveilings.
| Surname | Forename | Date of death | Regiment | Rank | Cemetery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben | 20 Aug 1915 | SALC | Labourer | Maitland | |
| Bentley | Thomas Edward William | 15 Sep 1942 | Youth Training Brigade | Private | Potchefstroom |
| Curtis | Charles William | 17 Oct 1918 | Cape Cycle Corps | Cyclist | Maitland |
| Basson | Carel Wynand | 6 Oct 1918 | Cape Peninsular Rifles | Private | Maitland |
| De Bruin | Robert Henry | 14 Oct 1918 | SAMR | Constable | Kimberley (West End) |
| Esau | 20 Oct 1918 | SASC | Driver | Maitland | |
| Firth | John Henry Ackroyd | 10 Oct 1918 | SASC | Sergeant | Kimberley (West End) |
| Smit | Norman Herbert | 25 Dec 1942 | Youth Training Brigade | Private | Potchefstroom |
| Rae | Percy James | 21 Nov 1919 | SAI | Sergeant | Durban (West Street) |
| Visagie | Louis Christian | 30 Nov 1918 | SAMR | Rifleman | Kenhardt |
Full table and reply forms available at
https://www.cwgc.org/our-work/news/appeal-for-relatives-4-october-2021/
Branch contact details
Cape Town details contact Carl Burger 082 333 2706 c.burger@bissets.com
Eastern Cape details contact Malcolm Kinghorn 041-373-4469 culturev@lantic.net
Gauteng details contact Joan Marsh 010-237-0676 joan@rfidradar.com
KwaZulu-Natal details contact Charles Whiteing 082-555-4689 charlesw2@absamail.co.za
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