Durban Branch October 1997 News Sheet No 273

PAST EVENTS:

The main video for the evening was the "The Boer War" produced by Castle Visions which took the place of our advertised programme on the "Buller/Botha Debate" - the video of which was inadvertently erased in an unfortunate accident while in our Chairman's safe-keeping.
"The Boer War" proved to be a worthy substitute and immediately appropriate to our Branch's forthcoming "Battlefield's Tour" to the Kimberley Anglo-Boer War Expo '97. In some eighty minutes of concentrated viewing the producers of the documentary were able to cover the events leading up to the start of the Boer War, the initial phases culminating in Black Week, the subsequent reliefs of the besieged towns of Kimberley, Ladysmith and Mafeking, Robert's victorious march to Pretoria, the last set piece battle of the War and finally, the deadly guerrilla tactics of the "bitter-einders' and the systematic destruction of the Boer Republics to the Peace of Vereeniging. It was a fairly accurate depiction of the events and relatively free of the usual TV artistic licence that seems to pervade most historical documentaries these days. Those members who did not attend are advised to view this video as a build-up to the Anglo-Boer War Centenary which starts in exactly two years time.

FUTURE EVENTS:

Oct 8th-12th

Kimberley 2nd Annual Anglo-Boer War EXPO '97.

Oct 16th

Visit to Umvoti Mounted Rifles Base at 105 Haig Road, Redhill.

(Please note this is the 3rd Thursday in October. Time: 19h30)

Nov 11

Armistice Day Service at the Warriors' Gate on corner Old Fort Road and NMR Avenue. The Remembrance Service will start at 10h40.

Nov 13

DDH Talk - "Hometown V.C." A talk by fellow-member, Bill Brady.

Main Talk - "The Bayeaux Tapestry - A Pictorial History of the Norman Invasion of England in 1066". An illustrated talk by Neil Lee who will be coming down from Johannesburg to give this talk.

Dec 11th

Annual Dinner. This year it will be at the Westville Country Club. The cost will be R60,00 per head.

PLEASE LET KEN GILLINGS KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IF YOU ARE COMING SO THAT EXACT NUMBERS CAN BE ASCERTAINED.

No money required at this stage.

ANGLO-BOER WAR CENTENARY:
Preparations for the Centenary are progressing apace and our Chairman, Ken Gillings will be going over the London in November this year to promote Natal's side of the planned activities at the International Travel Fair.

BATTLEFIELDS' TOUR GUIDES:
Training of prospective Battlefields' Tour Guides will be undertaken by Mrs. Pam McFadden at the Talana Museum in Dundee at a cost of R400,00 per course.
Interested persons should contact her by telephone at (0341)22654 for further details.

The venue for all meetings will be the 1st Floor lecture theatre, Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Natal, Durban, which is housed in the building on the right of the Memorial Tower Building (opposite the entrance to the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre), commencing at 19h30 on the second Thursday in the month. Please bring your own refreshments and glass. VISITORS AND INTERESTED PERSONS ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND. Charge R2,00 - Students and Scholars free.