SAMHS Hidden Histories page
SAMHS’ website has a new page for recording Hidden Histories: South Africa's
overlooked military monuments, see
http://samilitaryhistory.org/memorial/index.html
If you know of a South African military history monument, cemetery or grave that should be included, we welcome your contribution. Please contact either the Society or me by WhatsApp to 082 331 6223 or e-mail to culturev@lantic.net.
SAMHSEC meeting 9 February 2026
Arnold v Dyk told us about the Battle of Zuurvlakte which took place on 14 July 1901 between Aliwal North and Jamestown in the north-eastern Cape Colony during the guerrilla phase of the South African War. Boer commandos under Commandants Willem Diederik Fouche and Stoffel Myburgh engaged the Connaught Rangers during British operations to suppress Boer mobility in the Cape Colony. The talk included an introduction on the context and background of the guerrilla war in the Cape Colony. Of particular interest were photographs of the area from the album of a British Officer who was involved.
Arnold’s talk is in the SAMHS Zoom library.
SAMHSEC Requested the Pleasure of your Company to talk about military history on 23 February 2026
In session 1, Barbara Ann Kinghorn shared her childhood memories of family friend Lt Norman “Flash” Biden SAAF, who was KIA in the Korean War. This was a sequel to her November 2025 presentation on another family friend also KIA in Korea. Recordings of Barbara Ann’s presentations are being prepared for posting in the SAMHS Zoom library.
In session 2, Franco Cilliers reviewed the book “Logistics in the Falklands War: a case study of Expeditionary Warfare” by Kenneth Privratsky. The logistics challenges of the War were huge, including lack of preparation time, long distances and the need to requisition ships from trade.
The book describes the rush to organise and deploy a large task force, the innovative solutions to sustain the force, the vital staging base at Ascension Island, the in-theatre resupply, the setbacks and restoring order after victory.
SAMHSEC meeting 9 March 2026
Chris de Coning is to speak on anti-submarine operations by 262 Squadron RAF operating out of Congella during WW2.
SAMHSEC Requests the Pleasure of your Company to talk about military history on 30 March 2026
RPC meetings are opportunities for you to share your knowledge of a military history subject or book with fellow military historians. Presentations should last approximately 15 minutes to allow time for sharing the pleasure of one another’s company. You can do any number of RPC presentations per year. Please contact André at andrecrozier@gmail.com if you want to share your knowledge.
Restoration of Fort Selwyn and the Old Provost in Grahamstown
A PE company has been contracted by the Albany Museum to coordinate the restoration of Fort Selwyn and the Old Provost in Grahamstown. SAMHS has delegated SAMHSEC to represent SAMHS on this project. Pat Irwin & Stephen Bowker are to represent us in Grahamstown & PE respectively. Pat attended a stakeholder site visit on 26 February 2026.
We have established a project WhatsApp group. Please contact me by WhatsApp 082 331 6223 if you want to be added to the group.
SAMHSEC
Chairman: Malcolm Kinghorn culturev@lantic.net
Secretary: Stephen Bowker stephen@stephenbowker.co.za
Speaker coordinator: André Crozier andrecrozier@gmail.com
Scribe: vacant
Field trip coordinator: vacant