PAST EVENTS
Our national chairman, Major Darrell Hall, was the guest speaker at our August get-together, and kept his audience spell-bound with little known and even generally unknown details about "The Secret War 1939-45". True enough, William Stevenson's book "A Man Called Intrepid", published in 1976, had lifted the veil on the "Secret War"; but a critical, almost clinical analysis supported by information more recently released by the British Government, enabled our speaker to expose many inaccuracies and semi-fictitious accounts contained in that book and the recent TV series on this subject. Illustrated by transparencies the talk presented an up-to-date resume of those aspects of World War II which dealt with the collection of information, espionage and intelligence; counterintelligence and deception; coding and code-breaking; courage and sacrifice without thought of glory or award. If ever a saying was true it is that truth is often stranger than fiction, especially when applied to the secret war of 1939-45.
The capture of a German "Enigma" coding machine through Polish underground agents and the successful concealment of this fact enabled Britain to monitor German secret orders and messages during vital years of WWII and to plan and put into circulation false information to confuse and deceive the enemy. Activities which in sophistication and technical finesse went far beyond the traditional cloak and dagger concept made a major contribution towards the eventual victorious outcome of the war in favour of the allies; and Darrell's talk made a major contribution towards our knowledge and better understanding of the true facts of the "secret war". For this fellow-member Denis Sheil-Small thanked the speaker in well-deserved terms, on behalf of the meeting.
FUTURE EVENTS
DELVILLE WOOD - OPENING OF THE NEW MUSEUM IN JUNE/JULY 1986.
A tour, co-ordinated by Mr George Tatham, Chairman of the Ladysmith Historical Society, is being organised on behalf of Major Holt's Battlefield Tours. No figures as to costs, etc., are available at this stage but persons interested in receiving more information should contact George at Tel. 0361-27___ (Ladysmith). Address: Box 3nn Ladysmith 3370.
WELCOME
A warm welcome is extended to new member Mrs. Anne Paton.
PROGRAMME OF MONTHLY GET-TOGETHERS
September 12th Fellow-member DR FRANK MITCHELL is coming all the way from Cape Town to present a slide talk on Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor, V.C., D.S.O., M.C. Bar, D.F.C., 84 Sqn R.F.C., South Africa' s most decorated hero.
October 17th PLEASE NOTE THAT THE OCTOBER MEETING WILL BE HELD ON THE THIRD THURSDAY IN THE MONTH. Commodore A.S. Davis will present a slide talk on "Forty Years with the S.A. Navy".
November 14th Mrs. Belinda Gordon, Curatrix of the Greytown Museum, will give a talk entitled "Finding out about the Past" (with some emphasis on the Anglo/Zulu War of 1879 and its effect on Greytown and district).
December There will be no meeting in December.
1986
January 9th Mr. Jeff Mathews will present a talk on "General Lord Chelmsford".
February 13th Major Denis Sheil-Small -"A Pictorial History of the Gurkhas" (slides)
March 13th Major Darrell Hall - "Above the Trenches" WWII
April 10th Commandant Justin: Hulme - "50 Years Ago" (SADF 1929- 1933)
The venue for all meetings will be the Lecture Room, lower ground floor, 'SB' Bourquin Building, the Natalia Development Board's head office (formerly Port Natal Administration Board), on the corner of Jan Smuts Higway and Buro Crescent, Mayville, (entrance in Buro Cresc.) on the second Thursday in the month, unless otherwise announced, commencing at 8 p. m. There is ample parking under guard in the grounds. Glasses and ice will be supplied so please bring your own bottled or canned refreshments. FRIENDS AND INTERESTED PERSONS ARE WELCOME TO COME ALONG.
(Mrs) Tania van der Watt,
Secretary, Durban Branch,
S.A. Military History Society,
Box 870, HILLCREST, 3650.
Tel. (031) vvvvvv