The South African
Addresses given to the Society at Monthly Meetings
11June 1981 Mrs Janice Farquharson — Front-line experiences of Poets on the Western Front, 1914-1918
9 July 1981 Mr Peter Fox — Airborne Lifeline: the Role of the Royal Air Force over Burma, 1942-1945
13 August 1981 Major D.D. Hall — At the Call of King and Country: An Infantry Subaltern on the Western Front, 1917 (slide show).
3 September 1981 Professor J.C. de Villiers — Medical Services during the Anglo-Boer War, 1899-1902
8 October 1981 Dr Felix Machanik — Fortifications
12 November 1981 Dr C.A.R. Schulenburg — Breaker Morant
10 December 1981 Film: Breaker Morant
14 January 1982 Dr Ian B. Copley — Robin Hood and Feudal Times: Fact or Fiction?
11 February 1982 Cmdt J.R. McGregor — Arabian Peninsular Contingencies
11 March 1982 Mr W.J.P. Carr — 1922 Strike
The Committee arranged a day visit to Heidelberg on Sunday, 15 November 1981. which was attended by about 70 members of the Society and their friends who provided their own transport and lunch packs. The party assembled near the Concentration Camp Cemetery overlooking Heidelberg at 09h30 and, after brief introductory talks by the Chairman, Mr H.W. Kinsey and Mr Ian Uys on the Concentration Camp and the military actions which had taken place in the vicinity of the town, thereafter assembled again at St Ninian’s Anglican Church. Here Mr Kinsey and Mr Uys spoke on Maj J.M. Vallentin, the Officer Commanding ‘Vallentin’s Heidelberg Volunteers’, and other personalities associated with the region; members were able to view the beautiful stained glass windows, memorial plaques and other noteworthy aspects of the Church.
Thence to the old jail where Mr Uys gave the party more details of personalities and events related to the Second South African War of 1899-1902. The party then proceeded to the Kloof Cemetery where Mr Uys and Mr Kinsey spoke on the British soldiers and Burghers as well as certain other personalities, such as the Afrikaans poet Dr A.G. Visser, who were buried there.
Then on to the Transport Museum, housed in the old Heidelberg Station built in 1895, where steam engines and railway coaches, vintage and veteran cars, bicycles and other items delighted those enthusiasts who take a nostalgic interest in such matters. After lunch the party moved to the Klipkerk Museum, housed in a cellar below the Church. The Museum depicts many facets of the history of Heidelberg. Thereafter the Mayor and Mayoress, who had welcomed the group at the Klipkerk Museum, invited the party to the Mayor’s parlour for refreshments. It was a most enjoyable outing which ended on a high note with afternoon tea at the Uys’s farm.
The Committee also arranged a very successful braai in the grounds of the Museum on the evening of Friday 30 October 1981, which was attended by more than 80 members of the Society and their guests. The weather was kind, giving us a lovely evening, and Pipe Major A.B. Watters of Pretoria, ex Black Watch, who had served at Alamein, made the evening even more pleasant with his piping. Special thanks are due to the Museum Staff for their help. The evening enabled members to meet on a quiet informal social basis, instead of the hurried passing conversations at tea time after the monthly lectures.
Both the Durban and Cape Town branches have contined to be very active and have enjoyed interesting and informative lecture programmes, whilst the Durban branch has contined with its periodical one-day outings and trips.