The South African
Military History Society

Die Suid-Afrikaanse Krygshistoriese Vereniging



Cape Town Meeting schedule

Meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday evening of each month at 8-00pm (unless the 2nd Thursday is on a public holiday).

Meetings are held at:
S.A.Legion's Rosedale Complex
Lower Nursery Road
Off Alma Road
Rosebank
Cape Town
Contact:John Mahncke, (Vice-Chairman/Scribe), (021) 797 5167

Non-members welcome!

A fee is charged for non-members.

Lecture programme 2007
Date Lecturer Title
8th February Lt Cdr Herb Farrow THE NATIVE MILITARY CORPS AND THE SINKING OF THE SS MENDI on 21.2.1917
8th March Colonel Lionel Crook THE FINAL BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN IN OCTOBER 1942 - continued from October 2006
12th April   1) ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
  Achilles Kallos 2) THE BALKAN WARS FROM 1821 to 1922
10th May Colonel Lionel Crook The final battle of El Alamein - October 1942
14th June Mr Colin Eglin WAR IN ITALY - A Personal Experience
12th July Mr Dennis Croukamp BUSH WAR IN RHODESIA - Personal Reminiscences
16th August Col Tom Seccombe CBE RM (Rtd) INDONESIAN CONFRONTATION 1962 TO 1966
13th September Mr Rodney Warwick THE RAND REVOLT 1922

Lecture programme 2006
Date Lecturer Title
19th January Commander W.A. Mac Bisset SOUTH AFRICAN AND BRITISH CAMPAIGN MEDALS FROM WW I AND WW II.
9th February Jochen Mahncke UNDER THREE FLAGS.
A Prussian Officer's Career from 1909 to 1947.
9th March Bishop Reginald Cawcutt MMM My years as Naval Chaplain in Simon's Town and my service to the Army National Servicemen at Youngsfield.
13th April   1. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - PLEASE ATTEND
  Brig-Gen R.S. "Dick" Lord 2. RAF BOMBERS OVER GERMANY IN WW II
11th May Sgt. Richard Dollar, USMC Deputy Detachment Commander, Cape Town THE US MARINE CORPS
Organization and history, concentrating on WW II, Vietnam and Iraq.
8th June Johan van den Berg THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME - JULY 1916
In the footsteps of the South African Brigade 90 years on.
13th July Simon Norton THE LIFE AND CAREER OF MAJOR-GENERAL DAN PIENAAR.
10th Aug Rodney C. Warwick, MA BA(Hons) HDE (UCT) THREAT PERCEPTIONS AND STRATEGIES DURING THE 1960s and the SADF's Assessments and Responses.
14th Sept Major Helmoed Roemer Heitman AN UPDATE ON THE MILITARY/POLITICAL SITUATION ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT.
12th Oct Colonel Lionel Crook THE FINAL BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN IN OCTOBER 1942
A Talk on the South African involvement.
9th Nov Francois de Wet TRAGEDY AT KUFRA
An illustrated talk on the disappearance of three SAAF Blenheims in North Africa in 1942 in which his uncle, Major de Wet, was lost.
December . In recess

Lecture programme 2005
Date Lecturer Title
20th January Johan van den Berg OPERATION MARKET GARDEN - ARNHEM REMEMBERED
10th February Brigadier General John A. Del Monte SM & Bar, MMM THE CURRENT SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE FORCES AND THEIR FUTURE ROLE
10th March Dr. Dan Sleigh XENOPHON's MARCH OF THE TEN THOUSAND
14th April   1) ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
  Major Helmoed Römer-Heitman 2) AN UPDATE ON THE MILITARY/POLITICAL SITUATION ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT
12th May Ms Nel I was Churchill's Secretary, 1942-1945
9th June John E. Feitelberg M.I.M.M. NAPOLEON IN EGYPT
14th July Brig Gen R S "Dick" Lord My Career in the SAAF
11th August Dave McLennan 1)THE ZONDERWATER PRISON - Italian POWs in South Africa during WW2
  John Mahncke 2) MORE U-BOAT ANECDOTES
8th September Col Ivan Bester Namibia/Angola
13th October Col Lionel Crook The Fall of Tobruk, 1942.
10th November Richard Benson Die Franse Generaal (de Villebois-Mareuil)
December . In recess

Lecture programme 1999
Date . Lecturer Title
December . . In recess
11th November . John Mahncke German aircraft operations in the German colonies 1911-1915
14th October . Johan van den Berg A tale of two skirmishes on 17 Sept 1901
1) Modderfontein
2) Blood River
9th September . Peter Humphries The Boer War at sea
1) The blockade of Lourenco Marques
2) The naval battles of the Boer War
3) The loss of HMS Sybil
12th August . Frank Bullen All the Queen's Men
8th July . . JOHAN v.d.BERG - Dockside Disasters
TONY GORDON - A letter after the Battle of Blouwberg 1806 + Bloemfontein Station Officers' register 1900
JOHN MAHNCKE - A POW in Egypt 1945/8 OR How to enjoy Egypt as an accidental Tourist free of charge
WOODY NEL - Stories of People in the Anglo/Boer War
P.W. SEARL - Boer Prisoners of St. Helena
10th June . Stan Lambrick Life and Times of General George Armstrong Custer
13th May . Maj Helmoed Roemer-Heitman Contemporary Subject to be advised
8 Apr . Alan Mountain 1)Annual General Meeting
2) The Sehkukhune War - 1879
11th Mar . Ken Gillings Zibhebhu - Zululand's Master of Ambush
11th Feb . Col. P Grobbelaar The Commando System
Lecture programme
Date . Lecturer Title
12 November 98 . Colin Rowe The Battle of Waterloo - 1815
8 October 98 . Stan Lambrick The role of the Navy in the American Civil War-Part II
10 September 98 . Robin Richards The Dolomite Front 1915-1916
13 August 98 . Maj Helmoed-Roemer Heitman Illustrated overview of developments of SA air-to-ground weapons
Strategic "Cooks" World Tour of current conflicts
9 July 1988 . Cdr Gerry de Vries Wingfield and its contribution to World War 2
11 June 98 . Garth Benneyworth Driefontein and the Advance on Bloemfontein 10-13 March 1900
14 May 98 . Johan van den Berg German Paratroops in Belgium and the Assault on Fortress Holland 1940
9 Apr 98 . Sqn Ldr P. Wells DSO Annual General Meeting
Experiences in WW2
12 Mar 98 . Angus McBride The History of Military Illustrations
19 Feb 98 . Cdr W.M. Bissett South Africa's Coast Defences
16 Jan 98 . Mr Stan Lambrick The role of the Navy in the American Civil War (Part One: The coastal war.)
Dec 97 . . In recess
13 Nov 97 . W C Newton The attack on Pearl Harbour 1941
9 October 97 . Col O Baker Panel programme on S.A.Women's Services - WWII
11th Sept 97 . Cdr. G de Vries The Dutch Signal System and the Muzzle Loading Guns of the Western Cape
14 August 97 . Mr K Gillings The Bhambatha Rebellion:1906
10 July 97 . Maj H.R.Heitman Angolan Campaign
19 June 97 . Col O Baker Panel programme on 2nd S.A. Anti Aircraft Regiment (1940 - 1942)
8 May 97 . Cape Militaria Collector's Society Display and discussion programme
10 April 97 AGM . Annual General Meeting
. ML Sqdn Ldr P Wells Second World War experiences in Malta, Middle East and Italy
13 March 97 . Garth Benneyworth Two battles fought by Lt-Gen Lord Methuen in the Anglo-Boer War:
Belmont, 23rd November 1899,
Modder River 28th November 1899
13 Feb 97 . Cmd W E Bisset The South African Navy

ML= Main Lecture


South African Military History Society / scribe@samilitaryhistory.org