NEWSLETTER - MARCH 2024

On 15 January Errol Back-Cunningham spoke from Johannesburg about Edward, Mrs Simpson and the 3rd Reich: How the Nazis seduced Western Royals, Aristocracy and Capitalism.

While some of us might have heard rumours over the years that indicated that Edward and Mrs Simpson were too close to the German hierarchy (i.e. the Nazis) for Churchill's comfort, Errol's painstaking research in the Kew, London, archives, shows that some of the known activities must have been of such a nature that some files were sealed for a hundred years after the events!

Using what has been unsealed he told of how Edward as Prince of Wales with Mrs Wallis Simpson were fêted, wined and dined in the early thirties on their visits to Germany. They certainly mixed with senior Nazi hierarchy. After the abdication, their marriage and their move to France as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, almost their first visit had been to Berlin. As France fell they fled to Spain then Portugal - unaware of a German plot to kidnap them there - until the British Government fetched them and Churchill gave the Duke an ultimatum from which he chose to become the Governor of the Bahamas for the war's duration.

Wallis seems to have had a stream of lovers including Fascist Italian and Nazi German diplomats and commanders. The successful invasion of Britain by the Nazi forces - which was averted by the heroics of the Battle of Britain - would have possibly seen Edward reinstated as monarch, with Wallis as his queen.

There was also mention of the Kennedy family with the American Ambassador to the Court of St James, Joseph Kennedy, also an enthusiastic supporter of the Reich's plans.

This well-illustrated lecture in two parts will intrigue even a non-royal follower as its large cast spells out what would make an interesting, if sometimes lurid, movie!

The recording of the Zoominars is on the website in the Video Library.

Monday 11th March 2024 at 19h30 and then at 20h15:

Speaker: Dylan Fourie
Subject: Audie Murphy

Thursday 14th March 2024 at 19h30 and then 20h15

Speaker: Dr Anne Samson
Subject: Pretoria at War 1914-1918 ... ever wondered how the capital fared in the war? Discover state funerals, rebellious activity, celebrations and bespoke medals.

The RPC Zoominar will be held on Monday 25th March at 19h30 and then 20h15. Speakers and topics to be confirmed by invitations.

Let scribe@samilitaryhistory.org know in order to be sent an invitation to the next ZOOMinar

For those members still anxious about Zoom lectures, please give them a try! Go onto the internet and find www.zoom.us then download the program. If using a cellphone visit the app store. Once you have it on your device - computer or cellphone - choose to join a meeting. Either use the link which is provided in the invitation or type in the meeting code and then the password, also from the invitation, as requested.

You do NOT need to have a camera - unless you are the speaker or a chairman- although it is always interesting to match faces to voices. As in the auditorium, you do not HAVE to ask the speaker any questions, but there are ways in which you can draw the chair's attention so you can do so.

Lectures are held on a Saturday afternoon, usually the second of each month. The starting time is 1.30 for 2.00pm. The venue is the St Cyprians Church Hall off Umbilo Rd, with secure parking and liquid refreshments available for cash from The Vicar's Alms.

Saturday March 9th Lecture

Speaker: David Hulme
Subject: The Berlin Airlift

Further details are available from:
Prof Phil Everitt Chairman
Cell: 084-437-1636 E-mail: everitt@iafrica.com
or
Charles Whiteing Vice-Chair
Cell: 082-555-4689 Email: charlesw2@absamail.co.za

Ronnie Glass reports that this Museum now has 10 complete aircraft on display.
The Museum is totally non-profit and they have produced a booklet which provides funds for its ongoing restoration projects.

The 36 page colour booklet retails for R 150 and is available from the Museum. Alternately contact John Austin-Williams at home john@austinwilliams.co.za to purchase the booklet.

Two priceless heritage sites occur on Toppieshoek, a Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) property on the banks of Hartbeespoort Dam within the UNESCO designated Magaliesberg Biosphere Reserve. One of them is the Broederstroom Early Iron Age archaeological site, the earliest known Black village in this region, occupied in about AD 350. The other is the former Leiden University Observatory Southern Station which includes two historic telescopes built in the early 1900s and operational at Toppieshoek for 25 years until 1978.

These are both national heritage treasures that offer unparalleled opportunities for experiential learning and teaching.

For the past year, a collaborative venture between the Magaliesberg Association for Culture and Heritage (MACH) and TUT has been assessing ways of restoring the sites. Vincent Carruthers and Professor Jane Carruthers have worked with astronomers and archaeologists in preparing realistic proposals for TUT on how the sites might be restored, responsibly curated and put to practical use for the benefit of students and the public. A comprehensive report with detailed proposals has been prepared, an extensive bibliography has been compiled, a book describing the sites and their history has been published, and six outdoor information boards have been erected.

To mark the successful conclusion of this project, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of TUT, Professor Tinyiko Maluleke will unveil a Blue Plaque at Toppieshoek on 9 March 2024. The celebration will include an exhibition of archaeological artefacts, the launch of the book The Heritage Treasures of Toppieshoek, and a talk on the history of the telescopes and the ancient African village.

Further details from Mike Benn on 071 3825905 or e-mail info@machbookings.co.za

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    Prof Phil Everitt    084-437-1636     everitt@iafrica.com

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