EASTERN CAPE BRANCH
OOS-KAAP TAK

General

Preparations are in place to undertake a one day field trip to the Nanaga area on Saturday 18 September. This area is only about 60km from Port Elizabeth and to the unassuming, it is associated with dairy cows and the well-known Nanaga Farm Stall. But the back roads of the region have a different tale to tell and we will be covering the contribution made not only by the 1820 Settlers, but also by the Trek Boers and the Black tribes who form the typical rich mix that is so much part of Eastern Cape history.

The field trip comes at no cost to you and it is a good opportunity to enjoy the easing of COVID restrictions and see a part of the Eastern Cape that you may have simply passed through on your way to your destination. The warning order has been out to members and we welcome your support.

Passing of SAMHSEC member Peter Gray

SAMHSEC regrets the passing of fellow member Peter Gray from Oudtshoorn.

SAMHSEC has a new member!

We welcome André Rudman from Cape Town as a SAMHSEC member. André lives on the other side of the druiwegordyn, but, in real life, he is an Eastern Cape frontiersman. We trust that you will enjoy your membership and look forward to your company, André.

South African Legion Port Elizabeth Branch Centenary

SAMHSEC congratulates the Port Elizabeth Branch of the South African Legion on the Centenary of the foundation of the Branch in August 1921.

“The Polish Children’s Home in Oudtshoorn 1943 to 1947” presented to SAMHSEC’s RPC on 26 July 2021 by Stefan Szewzuk

This talk was a sequel to Stefan’s presentation on 14 June 2021 on the Polish-Soviet War 1919 to 1921, see SAMHSEC newsletter number 202 of July 2021 and the SAMHS Zoom library

Following the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, Russia invaded Poland on 17 September 1939. Between 10 February 1940 and 20 June 1941, 1,7 million Poles were deported to Siberia. With the outbreak of German- Russian hostilities in June 1941, the surviving deportees were released to make their own way to freedom. The Union of South Africa Government agreed to accept 500 Polish orphans, accompanied by 10 adults, who were accommodated in the Polish Children's Home in Oudtshoorn, where they arrived on 10 April 1943. The Home was closed in 1947.

Stefan’s presentation is in the SAMHS Zoom library

The discussion after Stefan’s presentation is also there.

Pat Irwin’s review of three books on the role of “Women in War” during the 26 July 2021 RPC was the start our celebration of August as Women’s Month

The books reviewed were:

• Army Wives: from Crimea to Afghanistan. The real lives of the women behind the men in uniform by Midge Giles, published by Aurum Press, London, in 2016
• It’s my country too: Women’s military stories from the American revolution to Afghanistan by Jerry Bell and Tracy Crow, published by Nebraska University Press, in 2017
• The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser, published by Phoenix Press, London, in 1988

Army Wives examines in an objective yet penetrating way, the lives and circumstances experienced by the wives of soldiers of all ranks in the British Army from the time of the Crimean War to the end of the Cold War. Each conflict produced its own set of challenges to wives, ranging from the arduous journeys they experienced in accompanying their husbands to the Crimea, where they were among the last wives to witness battle, to the flag-draped coffins returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years. Giles also focuses on how the wives of soldiers have coped with such fundamentals as constantly having to move and establish new homes as their husbands are transferred from one base to another according to military contingencies, their children’s education in a military environment, supporting their husbands (who may sometimes return from a tour of duty, traumatised, or suffering from some degree of PTSD), and supporting each other, both socially and in times of difficulties.

Throughout the text, the voices of the wives themselves are brought to the fore. The book gives us rich and well written panoply of insights into how military wives cope with and manage situations, which very few of us will ever experience.

It’s my country too deals with American women in combat. The two editors, both military women themselves, clearly have as one of their aims the breaking down of gender stereotypes about women in military roles. They do this through reasonable argument, using case studies as examples. The book ranges in subject matter from women masquerading as men in the armed forces and in battle, during the time of the American Revolution and through the Civil War to those with combat experience in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. This is expressed entirely through the voices and writings of the women themselves, revealing how, and why, they chose to break with the social norms of their time, and how they experienced the results of it, both positive and negative.

Refreshingly, the book is not dogmatically partisan and has no apparent ideological drum to beat, but records with a depth of understanding, the achievements of a wide social spectrum of American military women. It also records some of the difficulties and obstructions, from women as well as men, they have faced, as well as the support they have had in gaining their achievements, such as they are at this stage.

Although there was no overt agenda to press the point, one of the features of the book that stood out was the amount of opposition and outright chauvinism expressed by males of all ranks in the American Armed Forces: men who have at every turn taken the opportunity to trivialise and denigrate roles which women fulfilled, as well as constantly questioning their competence and ability. This viewpoint has sometimes been vociferously supported by women. Against this, it must also be stressed that there have been many men, particularly among middle ranking and senior officers, who have actively supported and promoted women’s entry to and progress within the Armed Forces. This book is both informative and insightful.

The Warrior Queens is a remarkable work by a very accomplished historian, biographer and novelist: a person who is a refreshingly clear thinker with a razor-sharp mind. She is the recipient of numerous awards including a knighthood for services to literature in 2011. In this book she writes about and comments on about 25 women who constitute her corpus of ‘warrior queens’.

She starts with the first century Celtic queen, Boudica, and ends with Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. She then examines in greater depth, the lives and military activities of ten of these women. These are:

• The relatively well-known Boudica, Queen of the Iceni tribe in southeast England, who, in AD 60-61, led an unsuccessful uprising against the Romans, who had invaded and occupied Britain twenty years earlier. During the uprising her forces burnt two Roman cities to the ground, slaughtered thousands of Romans and pro-Roman Britons, and annihilated a Roman legion. Boudica’s large but undisciplined army was however subsequently defeated by the Romans after which, it is alleged, she committed suicide.
• Zenobia, a 3rd century Queen of the Palmyrene Empire who, aged 30, personally led her troops in the conquest of most of Rome’s eastern provinces, extending her empire to the area which would today stretch from Turkey through Syria to Egypt. She is recorded as a cultured monarch whose court was open to scholars, philosophers and all religious perspectives. Her empire was after some years, reconquered by Rome which, breaking with tradition, did not execute her, but allowed her to live out the rest of her life in exile in Rome.

Other queens in this category are:

• Matilda of Tuscany who in the 11th century led the armies of Pope Gregory VII against the German Emperor.
  Maude (aka Matilda), Queen of England, who, in the 12th century conducted a 19-year civil war against King Stephen, who had usurped the crown.
  • Tamara, Queen of Georgia (aka “Lion of the Caucasus”) who, in the 12th century, carved out an empire, the rump of which today still exists as the country of Georgia.
  • Isabella, Queen of Spain, who together with her husband, Ferdinand, ruled over a newly united Spain in the late 15th century. She militarily expelled the Moors from Spain in 1492. She also authorised and financed Columbus’ voyages of exploration and set the scene for the high days of Spanish conquest in central and South America.
  • Elizabeth I of 16th century England, unlike most of the other warrior queens, is only known to have donned armour on one occasion, that being for her well-known address to her troops at Tilbury Docks while awaiting the invasion of the Spanish Armada.

    After referring to her male ancestry, including King Henry VIII, at some length, she made the enduring statement: “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too… I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field….”

    Having made her point, she then followed it with: “My lieutenant general shall be in my stead, and by your obedience to my general… and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over these enemies of my God, of my kingdom and of my people.”

  One is apt to wonder how often words to this effect have been said by other warrior queens.

  • Closer to home is, Queen Jinga (aka Nzingha), who ruled a large empire in 17th century Angola. She was renowned for her intelligence, brilliant battle tactics and diplomatic skills, masterfully playing off the Spanish and the Portuguese against each other in their encroachment on her territory. She was a strong opponent of slavery and died at an advanced age, having reigned for 37 years.
  • Louise, Queen and consort of King Frederick William III of Prussia, was a glamorous figure of her day renowned for her beauty, charm and intelligence. Not discounting these factors, she endeared herself to all in urging her reluctant and pacifistically inclined husband to war, without apparently, emasculating his manhood, although she herself donned armour and personally encouraged and led his armies into battle. She is remembered in Prussia today as a great patriot.
  • Lakshmi Bai, was a Rani (i.e. Queen) of Jhansi, a princely state in India during the mid-19th century. Her kingdom had been a loyal client state of the British until 1857 when, in the aftermath of the ‘Indian Mutiny’/ ‘Uprising’ depending on one’s perspective, the British decided to annex it, against the advice of senior British officials in India. The net result was that Lakshmi Bai was pushed into a corner where she had no option but to fight. She trained and led her army in the field and was killed in battle during the siege of her capital, Gwalior. Despite attempts by colonial officials to paint her as a ‘modern Jezebel’, she was much admired by the British troops for her courage, fearlessness and refined culture, and is today regarded as a heroine in India. During the campaign for Indian independence in the 1940s she was one of the emblematic symbols of resistance.

  Following Einstein’s injunction that the most practical thing is good theory, Fraser, drawing on many further examples, pulls her story together into a useful theoretical framework using the concept of ‘syndromes’ to facilitate understanding. These syndromes, which, although individually identifiable, overlap and interact with each other, are: The Appendage Syndrome, the Shame Syndrome and the Chaste / Voracity Syndrome.

  • The Appendage Syndrome posits that few outstanding women in history have achieved, or been granted, their place without the benefit of some kind of male-derived privilege, generally that of descent /or a relationship with / or a strong connection with men. The phrase “I am descended from mighty men” echoes in one form or another among many of the warrior queens.

    A subset of the Appendage Syndrome is the Motherhood Syndrome, which suggests the unsuitability of the mother, the giver of life, to do battle and/or kill. This is an area, Fraser suggests, in which “the wits of the Warrior Queens have been most subtly exercised.” It is significant too, she argues, how many warrior queens have been seen to act on behalf of their children, Cleopatra, Zenobia, Tamara and Lakshmi Bai being examples. Outraged motherhood has also given moral authority to Warrior Queens, Boudica being the possible progenitor of the idea.

    ‘Motherhood’, Fraser reminds us too, has often been an expedient employed by warrior queens to successfully win the support of men they have commanded. Catherine the Great; Golda Meir and Indira Ghandi come to mind, “Nearly all men need a mother figure” even if a distant one, Fraser observes.

  • The Shame Syndrome is one in which the Warrior Queen contrasts her own willed courage with that of the lassitude and lack of courage of the men around her. Isabella of Spain, Xenobia and Louise of Prussia can be seen in this context.
  • The Chaste / Voracity Syndrome are two sides of the same coin.

  Quoting from Fraser herself: “The presumed sexual voracity of the Warrior Queens, at least up until the 20th century … is one of the recurring themes of her treatment at the hands of her contemporaries and of history. Conversely another [parallel] theme is her chastity: on occasion maintained under the most remarkable circumstances – against all the available evidence. Sometimes the same woman (for example, Mathilda of Tuscany leading her armies in the cause of the Pope) bore both accusations. This treatment of the Warrior Queens as a supernaturally chaste creature put against that other image as preternaturally lustful seems to indicate that, because her sex is first and foremost, what makes the Warrior Queens remarkable, her sexuality must always be called into question as well”.

• The Tomboy Syndrome is a related concept based on the observation that many of these warrior queens, as girls growing up, eschewed girls’ toys and traditional activities, preferring activities such as hunting, riding, shooting, and even weapons training. Indira Ghandi, for example, prime minister of India in the 1960s and seventies, as a child used her dolls as pretend soldiers to play out battles.

  In her concluding discourse, Fraser draws many threads together including mulling over what are perceived by men and many women to be “masculine women” and “iron ladies”, and the criticism such women have been subjected to. Here she offers the examples of Margaret Thatcher and Golda Meir. She also explores other notions such as women being accorded ‘honorary male’ status, and the not uncommon elevation of militarily successful women to ‘goddess’ proportions. Some such as Mathilda of Tuscany have even been sanctified and entombed in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. For others, such similar recognition was long in coming – in the case of Jeanne d’Arc, it took 500 years. On the issue of successful military women often being accorded ‘honorary male’ status she notes too, that it has not, however. stopped many of the warrior queens from appealing at the same time to the chivalrous instincts of the men around them and using various forms of seduction as a manipulative tool.

  Fraser makes no call for condemnation or action, feminist or otherwise, but does suggest that understanding the forces that have governed these women’s lives can lead us to a clearer picture of matters we should be aware of, where we are today and might be heading and what considerations should be taken into account.

  Pat’s talk is not in the SAMHS Zoom library as only audio was recorded and there are no podcast facilities on the website. The link to the audio of Pat's Women in War talk is
  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bGgfGlpixXUu6nhCY4BP2iUe3NUe2Jh8/view?usp=sharing.

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  Military History Journal June 2021

  The June 2021 edition of the MHJ has been received. Thanks to Editor Joan Marsh and her editorial panel for another excellent contribution to recording South African military history.

  Thanks also to Stephen Bowker, Andre Crozier, Peter Duffel-Canham and Ian Pringle for distributing copies to members living in Port Elizabeth and Pat Irwin for distributing to members in Grahamstown, Port Alfred and Kenton-on- Sea.

  Congratulations to Peter Duffel-Canham on having his photographs taken during SAMHSEC’s August 2019 field trip selected for the inside of the front cover of the Journal.

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  Border Historical Society

  The BHS plans to meet at Hogsback over a weekend in October 2021 pandemic conditions permitting - for a tour of the early mission sites of the Glasgow Missionary Society that gave rise to the formalisation of isiXhosa as a written language.

  The proposed itinerary would be from Hogsback to Tyume (Gwali), then to Old Lovedale and on to the Lovedale Printing Press at Alice. A visit to Burnshill mission might be possible, time permitting. It is hoped that Dr. Sandra Rowoldt Shell, authority on the Glasgow Missionaries, will be able to address an audience of those attending this event on the Saturday night of the tour, at either The Edge or at Hunterstoun.

  Anyone interested in attending this event is welcome. Please send your details to the Secretary of the BHS at border.historical.society@gmail.com

  Some members of the Border Historical Society (BHS), under the leadership of Dr Patrick Hutchison, undertook a search for the ruined foundations of Old Lovedale Mission station. This is in close proximity to the Ross infants' tombstone which is thought to bear the first inscription in isiXhosa anywhere (1825/1828). This search was eventually crowned with success on Mandela Day in 2020. The search and the outcome was captured in a talk by Dr Hutchison to the BHS AGM on 18 May 2021. A recording of the talk - with illustrations - has been loaded on YouTube, see https://youtu.be/s-avhr6p868.

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  War in the Horn of Africa

  A map of the control of Ethiopia’s Tigray region in August 2021 (https://www.polgeonow.com/2021/08/ethiopia-tigray-control-map.html#more) was received from a reader in response to Martin Plaut’s 13 May 2021 presentation to the SAMHS Johannesburg Branch “The historic context of the war in the Horn of Africa”. Martin’s presentation is in the SAMHS Zoom library.

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  The military career of Major General André Bestbier
  by Malcolm Kinghorn

  McGill Alexander’s tribute to Brigadier General Frank Bestbier in SAMHSEC’s August 2021 newsletter mentioned that Frank’s brother, André, was not well. André has since died. It is an honour for me to record André’s military career because he was my friend.

  André and I were in Standard 1 together in 1954 when our fathers were Union Defence Force colleagues stationed in Oudtshoorn. We met again when we were on the same Junior Leader’s course at the Army Gymnasium in Voortrekkerhoogte in 1964. After our Gym year, I went to the Military Academy and André was posted to 2 South African Infantry Battalion Group in Walvis Bay.

  André was an Officer Instructor at the Infantry School in Oudtshoorn when I was posted to Oudtshoorn after leaving the Academy. We became good friends while we were both bachelor living-ins at the Oudtshoorn Officers’ Mess.

  André was then posted to 1 Parachute Battalion in Bloemfontein. During this time, he played rugby for the Free State and was a member of the Springbok Rugby Tour to France in 1974.

  He served as South African Defence Force Liaison Officer in Rhodesia and was then posted to 1 Reconnaissance Regiment (1 RR) in Durban. He was the Officer Commanding 1 RR when I was posted there in 1982/83.

  André was the Defence Attaché in Portugal before becoming the Officer Commanding Orange Free State Command in Bloemfontein during the integration of the former statutory and non-statutory forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in 1994. He retired as the Chief Director Joint Operations at SANDF Headquarters as a major general in 2001.

  André was my friend. “Stil, Broers, daar gaan ‘n man verby”.

  SAMHSEC’s August Meetings

  SAMHSEC’s celebration of Women’s Month includes inviting a lady to address our August meeting.

  Barbara Ann Kinghorn’s subject at our 9 August meeting was “The American Field Service”. The American Field Service (AFS) started as the American Ambulance Field Service, a volunteer ambulance corps which served in both World Wars. AFS has transformed from a wartime humanitarian aid organisation into an international secondary school exchange to help build a more peaceful world by promoting understanding among cultures. A summary of Barbara’s presentation will be included in a future newsletter.

  SAMHSEC Requested the Pleasure of the Company of historians to discuss military history on 30 August to celebrate the first anniversary of our RPC meetings. Average attendance of RPC meetings to date is 40. Thanks to our speakers, André Crozier for coordinating the speaker roster and our fellow military historians whose company we have enjoyed.

  In the first session on 30 August, former SAMHS National Chairman and fellow member Professor Ian Copley, who is a neurosurgeon with operational experience as a surgeon in the British, Rhodesian and South African armies, spoke about

  Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in War and Peace.

  “PTSD has only recently been admitted for compensation following road accidents and is attended to by Psychologists who can give counselling and provide psychotherapy. It is left to the medically qualified Psychiatrist to prescribe medication for mood related conditions such as anxiety and depression. The Neurologist might attend to severe headache, whilst in head trauma cases, the Neurosurgeon may be needed.

  “The operative word is “stress”, which can be acute, as in, for example, an aircraft emergency, football crowd panic, a ship sinking, battle conditions or collisions.

  “Trauma can be experienced or witnessed, for example by medics, as described to the SAMHSEC meeting in Grahamstown in 2019 by an American medic veteran of the Vietnam War, who still has PTSD symptoms.

  “Stress can also be chronic, as experienced in battle situations with noise of shelling and poor sleep.

  “Chronic stress is not uncommon after road accidents, but may be added to the effects of associated brain damage causing various changes in mentation. Brain recovery can occur over the following 2 years, but is never back to 100%. The outcome may be affected by the overlying PTSD, which, in up to 13% of cases, may become permanent. Common symptoms are nightmares and flashbacks, particularly if passing the accident site.

  “The poorly understood condition of PTSD came to the fore in the trenches of the Somme in 1916, where the terms “battle fatigue” and “shell shock” were used. Apart from the horrible conditions in the trenches, there was the stress of going over the top, the sight of bodies of pals and, possibly, their putrid remains to be buried.

  “Fear is a normal survival instinct, but there is also the fear of being afraid and, especially under military conditions, being seen to be afraid.

  “It was thought that the Medical Officers were being too soft when clemency was recommended as court martial papers went up the chain of command and many were turned down and the offender shot for “cowardice”.

  “There were four times the number of cases in that year and the Army was concerned about it becoming of epidemic proportions, hence the reluctance to consider leniency. Chlorine gas was being used and then phosgene to add to the horror. Depending on the severity, Shell shock S (sick) casualties were sent to the support lines or base hospital for rest, sleep and decent food. Severe cases, Shell shock W (wounded) casualties were sent to asylums in Blighty with symptoms such as mutism, shaking, crying and abnormal behaviour.”

  The recording of Ian’s presentation is in the SAMHS Zoom Library, see
  http://rapidttp.co.za/milhist/zoomvideo/ptsdtrauma.mp4

  In the second session, John Stevens spoke about the book “In Danger’s Hour” by Douglas Reeman. The book is historical fiction set in a Royal Navy minesweeper during World War 2. A summary of John’s talk will be included in a future newsletter.

  The following was received from fellow member Peter Duffel-Canham after the RPC:
  “I refer to both Ian Copley's and John Stevens' excellent presentations on Monday. My father, John Duffel-Canham, served on one of the " little ship" whale catchers converted to minesweepers. In his book “Seaman Gunner, do not Weep”, he recalls how, with no ear protection, he suffered total deafness. He also developed a stutter. Luckily someone recognized this as PTSD and sent him ashore to a rest house in Alexandria. He was 17 at the time.

  The house had been given to St John's by a Greek family. A French nurse who had some experience of speech therapy, cured him of the stutter and his hearing recovered. Along with bicycle rides along the Corniche, he was soon ready to go to sea again. Quite progressive therapy for the day! The photograph below was in his diary.”

  
  

  SAAF WW2 air-sea rescue launch still going strong!

  The following is an extract from the Maasmond Maritime daily collection of maritime newsclippings of 2 September 2021:
  “Spotted recently on the River Orwell, restaurant boat ALLEN GARDINER. She was one of 20 identical vessels built in 1942 by the Miami Shipbuilding Corporation, Florida USA, for use as air-sea rescue launches by the South African Air Force during WWII. She came to Ipswich from Durban in 2013. Photo: Roger Hammond ©”

  
  

  During WW2, SAAF air-sea rescue launches saved almost 600 lives on the South African coast. The workhorses of this fleet were 20 Miami class launches bought from the US. They had flat bottom, hard chine, canvas covered, plywood hulls with four 550 hp Kermouth engines and were capable of 42 knots on 100 octane aviation fuel.
  https://www.google.com/search?q=20+identical+vessels+built+in+1942+by+th e+miami+shipbuilding+corporation%2C+florida+usa%2C+for+use+as+air+sea +rescue+launches+by+the+south+african+air+force+during+wwii.&oq=&aqs= chrome.5.69i59i450l8.873177026j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

  Google Analytics of users of the SAMHS website

  For interest based on a recent week's analysis by Google, 43 % of users are in South Africa, 18% in the UK, 14% in USA and 6% in Australia.

  SAMHSEC’s September Meetings

  September is SAMHSEC’S anniversary month as our first meeting was on 9 September 2004. In the past we observed the anniversary with round of drinks and a toast to our common interest in military history. We intend doing so again this year, the only difference being that you are invited to bring your own libation of choice and to join us in the toast to military historians at the beginning of our September zoomeeting. You are also invited to post an anniversary message to SAMHSEC in the chat box during the meeting. Your messages will be copied and posted in our October newsletter.

  During our meeting on 13 September 2021, McGill Alexander will tell us about “Wounded warriors – two eccentrically exceptional maimed men of war”.

  SAMHSEC Requests the Pleasure of your Company to talk about military history on 27 September 2021.

  André Crozier will give an illustrated report on SAMHSEC’s field trip to the Nanaga area on 18 September.

  This is the Captain speaking

  Happy birthday, SAMHSEC!

  One of the many reasons why SAMHSEC has come from its establishment in 2004 to where it is now is that our strategy from the start has been that we are here for the history and not the hassle. This strategy stood us in good stead when we migrated from roomeetings to zoomeetings because of the COVID pandemic. We now have one and a half times as many members and attendees at our meetings as we had before the pandemic.

  So, happy birthday, SAMHSEC, may there be many more!

  SAMHSEC

  • Chairman: Malcolm Kinghorn culturev@lantic.net
  • Scribe: Ian Pringle pringlefamily@telkomsa.net
  • Secretary: Stephen Bowker sbowker@telkomsa.net
  • Society’s Website: http://samilitaryhistory.org
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  South African Military History Society / scribe@samilitaryhistory.org