Reminiscences south african pioneer

This book is the third in a trilogy of books about aspects of flying training in the SAAF. The earlier books are FACTA NOSTRA VIVENT and GOING AROUND AGAIN by the same author. Langebaanweg has a long and important history as a SAAF air base. This book with its many pages of colour photographs is a modest attempt to record a small piece of history. It is not an official record but a scrapbook of memories. Chapters include: A short history of Langebaanweg Air Force Base, flying the Spitfire, the Vampire and the Impala MB 326M. Other  contributors include  memories  of retired  AFB Langebaanweg Commanding Officers, the  secret training  of Rhodesian pilots and over 100interesting, amusing and personal stories and reminiscences from people who remember  times and events from the post-war Spitfire days in the nineteen fifties  through  to the  departure  of  the  Impalas  in  1993. There are  tables  of accidents  (courtesy  historian  Steve Mclean) and  a full  history  of  the  SAAF Vampire (courtesy Geoff Timms and The De Havilland Society). A detailed paper (in Afrikaans by Sophia de Preez also details the early base history (courtesy Military Society). COMPILED BY: ANDREW EMBLETON First Published in June 2017, hardcover, 342 pages with colour photos.

Buy SOUTH AFRICA - GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL - AS 30256 PTE. M. MOTELETSANA - AFRICAN PIONEER CORPS for R1,245.00

Formed in 1916 as The Rhodesia Native Regiment, its troops were blooded with honour in the East African campaign. Disbanded in 1919, the regiment was re-formed in 1940 during World War II as The Rhodesian African Rifles, seeing action in Burma. In the 1950s, the regiment distinguished itself further during the Malayan Emergency. During the 1960s and 1970s, the regiment was at the forefront of hostilities in the bloody Rhodesian bush war. Ironically, it was after Zimbabwean independence in 1980, that the RARs finest hour came, when, fighting for their erstwhile enemy, Mugabe, the soldiers of the RAR defeated Nkomos invading ZIPRA armies at the battles of Entumbane in Bulawayo. Masodja  London launch address - Brigadier D. Heppenstall: 09/11/07 Lord Salisbury, our President, General Lord Michael Walker, the son of our battalion 2ic in Burma in World War 2, honoured guests, members of the Association, ladies and gentlemen. Like the Battle of Waterloo, this has been a close run thing. Yesterday morning I received four copies of Masodja from the printers in Durban, South Africa, by special delivery, and the main consignment only arrived at Heathrow yesterday evening. The main reason for the four by special delivery was so that we could present one of them to Prince Philip when he signed our Regimental Drumskin at lunchtime yesterday. He was most intrigued when Tobias Mutangadura pointed out to him his photograph taken at the Malayan Independence Merdeka celebrations fifty years ago in 1957. Anyway to get back to the main topic, the reasons why we almost didnt succeed in getting the books here for the launch were several. Firstly it was published and printed in South Africa on the one hand and the author and Regimental Association in the UK on the other. This of course prevented close liaison between the two sides although the use of email made things far easier than they used to be. Most of the text was completed by Alex Binda several years ago, although there were gaps in the records available, and more information was received right up to the last minute. Originally we had planned to have the Launch last April to coincide with our Regimental Day, Tanlwe Chaung Day. This was deemed too early, and it was put back to July, the month in which the Regiment was formed. In the meantime, however, in conjunction with Chris Cocks, Alex had written the History of the RLI, The Saints, which had a very impressive Launch last June. Chris Cocks, our publisher at 30 Degrees South, advised us that a July Launch would be too close to the Saints Launch and recommended that it be postponed to Remembrance Weekend  which we agreed and set the wheels in motion to hire this hall and invite our VIP guests. Apart from the distance between publishers and originators, other mitigating factors included the sheer volume of photographs of which about 75% have been included. These were still being annotated about ten days before the book went to print! Another major factor which nearly caused a postponement was the bad reaction to a new course of medicine prescribed to Kerrin Cocks. This resulted in her being rushed into intensive care followed by a two week break to recuperate. Kerrin is a vital cog in the 30 Degrees South machine, but was soon back on line to rush things through. Pinetown Printers in Durban did a great job in completing those books which we have here today, and in fact they were working 24 hours over the whole of last weekend. We owe a debt of gratitude to all involved in the publication, to Chris and Kerrin Cocks for their expertise, to Pinetown Printers and to Bill Welsh for acting as our Marshal Blucher and arriving with the books in the nick of time. Apart, of course, from Alex Binda, I owe a special thank you to John Hopkins, Iain Harper, Bridget Wells-West and all those who supplied photographs and reminiscences of their time in the Regiment. I would now like to deal with our four members whom we invited over from Zimbabwe. This has been possible due to the magnificent support given by the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League who paid all their expenses. Our four who came over are: Captain Machakada Patrick Nelomwe: He attested in time to go to the Canal Zone, Egypt, with 1RAR in 1952, and has subsequently seen service in Malaya, the Nyasaland Emergency, the Congo border and the Rhodesian bush war. He rose from company clerk in A Company to ORQMS in the 1st Battalion in 1980. He was commissioned, subsequently in the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA). Major Tobias Chenharu Mutangadura DMM: A member of the Rhodesian Army Education Corps who served almost all his time with 1RAR. By 1980 he was a WO1 and had been awarded the Defence Forces Medal for Meritorious Service (DMM). He was commissioned in the ZNA, and retired as major. He was curator of the Gweru Military Museum for several years. RSM Gibson Zanago Mugadza BCR: A very talented half back in my battalion football team in his younger days. In the Rhodesian bush war he was awarded the Bronze Cross of Rhodesia (BCR) for outstanding leadership and bravery in action. He retired from the Army after 1980 as RSM at the School of Infantry, Gwelo. RSM Obert Veremu DMM: Obert was in my platoon in Malaya where he was a junior NCO, leading scout and tracker. That was exactly 50 years ago. He rose steadily through the ranks, was a champion 110 mile marcher and was awarded his DMM in 1972. He was RSM 1RAR from 1977 to 1978 and 3RAR from its formation in 1978 until after independence when he retired and went farming. The four are ideally situated throughout the country. Patrick is in Bulawayo, Tobias in Gweru, Gibson in Harare and Obert in the Vumba. They will be able to tell all our old comrades that the Regiment is still very much alive! I must now emphasise that the main reason that they arrived here at all is thanks to Lt-Col Malcolm Clewer, the Chairman of our Association in Zimbabwe and also the Chairman of the Harare Branch of the Legion

Black Valour: The South African Native Labour Contingent, 1916-1918 and the sinking of Mendi By Norman Clothier Softcover with. 204 pages. 1st print 1987 by University of Natal Press  The book are in a good condition. A good collectible book on South African History.   The sinking of the  Mendi  is the central episode in  Black Valour. The rest of the book presents a full picture of the South African Native Labour Contingent, recruited in 1916 and 1917 to support the Allied armies in France. Though disappointed that they were not allowed to bear arms, more than 20,000 men volunteered for service overseas. The highly readable narrative with numerous quotations from reminiscences and letters provides a lively and rounded picture of life in the Labour Contingent, and adds significantly to the growing literature on the black experience of war.   Please see the Photo's as part of the description. Sold as per scan.   International Bidders Welcome (Please enquire about shipping costs) Postage and Packaging: Shipping includes time, labour, packaging material and travel costs Post Office: R58, --- Courier R120 Items can be combined request.                               

Black Valour: The South African Native Labour Contingent, 1916-1918 and the sinking of Mendi By Norman Clothier Softcover with. 204 pages. 1st print 1987 by University of Natal Press  The book are in a good condition. A good collectible book on South African History.   The sinking of the  Mendi  is the central episode in  Black Valour. The rest of the book presents a full picture of the South African Native Labour Contingent, recruited in 1916 and 1917 to support the Allied armies in France. Though disappointed that they were not allowed to bear arms, more than 20,000 men volunteered for service overseas. The highly readable narrative with numerous quotations from reminiscences and letters provides a lively and rounded picture of life in the Labour Contingent, and adds significantly to the growing literature on the black experience of war.   Please see the Photo's as part of the description. Sold as per scan.   International Bidders Welcome (Please enquire about shipping costs) Postage and Packaging: Shipping includes time, labour, packaging material and travel costs Post Office: R58, --- Courier R130 Items can be combined request.               

Large hardcover coffee-table book, copy number 1114, 774 pages, profusely illustrated, as new   The Fourth Dimension – the untold story of military health in South Africa is a magisterial study of the subject just published by the South African Military Health Service. A weighty tome of just less than 800 pages, it is the most comprehensive study of military health ever attempted in South Africa. As such it records matters military medical reaching back to the turn of the 20th Century, with a look at the health support available to forces then engaged on both sides of the Anglo Boer War. Detailed and richly illustrated with what must be very rare photographs – the reviewer confesses to not having seen most – the story moves via the World Wars and Korea to the modern era. Captured also is the post-war growth of the health component of the SA Defence Force from a branch of the SA Army – the South African Medical Corps – to a fully fledged fourth service and its role in the Namibian-Angolan border war of 1966-1989. A full section – with reminiscences – are included regarding the medical services of the Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei medical services before their integration into the South African National Defence Force in April 1994. Given extensive treatment is the health services of the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress of Azania while in exile. Again, this is unique, readable material not published before. Also recorded for the first time is the struggle against apartheid in the health environment inside South Africa from the 1960s to 1994 – the medical side of the mass democratic movement. Also covered is white resistance to conscription (the End Conscription Campaign), the United Democratic Front and state reaction.  The last three chapters deal with the integration of various antagonistic factions into a new SANDF - and for health professionals, a new SA Medical Service, later renamed the SAMHS; the deployment of this new service onto the regional and international stage; and finally a bold look into the future.  Military health has here been given a comprehensive, fair and balanced treatment with substantial volumes of new information added to the narrative. “The Fourth Dimension – the untold story of military health in South Africa” sets a high standard and one hopes the other services and divisions of the SANDF, if not the organisation itself, will follow suit.  The Fourth Dimension – the untold story of military health in South Africa Col Ricky Naidoo (Editor-in-Chief) South African Military Health Service Department of Defence Pretoria

Ops Askari was a large-scale, cross-border, mechanised operation launched by the South African Defence Force in November 1983. As is the nature with an assault like this, the constituent parts of Ops Askari was a complex blend of fighting men and support personnel from different Defence Force corps and combat disciplines. This account does not strive to recount the exploits of all these different elements in all their various facets. The focus is a rather narrow one. It is the story of five disparate, yet very similar, groups of young men who took part in this great raid into enemy territory against a superior force holding most of the battlefield aces. These five groups feature in this story for one reason: they all took part in the two attacks on a rickety little town in Angola called Cuvelai, on the 31st of December 1983 and again on the 3rd and 4th of January 1984. They only formed part of a much larger effort. The entire force is the subject of a number of books, but in this account the focus is on the five groups which I call the Spine of Delta. The first of these groups was a company of National Servicemen, known as Alpha Company (A Coy,) hailing from 1 South African Infantry Battalion (1 SAI Bn) in Bloemfontein, 1983. I was their captain, and it was my privilege to be their company commander from March 1983 right through the training phases and for the duration of Ops Askari. Then there was Delta Company (D Coy,) also NSM from 1 SAI. They formed part of 61 Mechanized Battalion Group (61 Mech Bn Gp) during Ops Askari. Also from the 1983 intake in 1 SAI was an 81 mm mortar platoon from the units Support Company, a young squad who fought courageously as part of The Spine during the hectic final five-day struggle for the occupation of Cuvelai.  The fourth element was also trained at 1 SAI Bn but during operations it did not deploy as a group. These men were Ratel drivers allocated where they were needed. They were fondly referred to as Digue's Platoon, named after their indefatigable platoon sergeant, Pierre Digue. This platoon participated as drivers for The Spine. These four bands of comrades shared their military roots, all being trained at 1 SAI in 1983. There was, however, a fifth and quite different group. They werent national servicemen at all, but students from four University Military Units; from University of Pretoria, University of the Free State, University of Stellenbosch and Rand Afrikaans University. They had already completed their two years' commitment as NSM and were civilians once more. During the university recess they had the option to volunteer for deployment as individuals or as a group from various Citizen Force (CF) Regiments. This book is mainly a compilation of their stories; of the reminiscences of those young national servicemen from Alpha and Delta Companies, 1 SAI; the 81-mm Mortar Platoon from 1 SAI by way of 4 SAI, Middelburg; Digues Platoon, officially the Chief of the Armys Platoon of drivers, and the valiant students from Tuks, Kovsies, Maties and RAU. With 63 black and white photos from the operation and the authentic war journal by Ian Scott from the University of Pretoria Military Unit. FIRST PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2014, SECOND PRINT. SOFTCOVER, 163 PAGES AUTHOR: DAWID LOTTER  

2014 paperback with 163 pages brand new. R50 postage in SA. I also do an affordable courier.....ask me!   Ops Askari was a large-scale, cross-border, mechanised operation launched by the South African Defence Force in November 1983. As is the nature with an assault like this, the constituent parts of Ops Askari was a complex blend of fighting men and support personnel from different Defence Force corps and combat disciplines. This account does not strive to recount the exploits of all these different elements in all their various facets. The focus is a rather narrow one. It is the story of five disparate, yet very similar, groups of young men who took part in this great raid into enemy territory against a superior force holding most of the battlefield aces. These five groups feature in this story for one reason: they all took part in the two attacks on a rickety little town in Angola called Cuvelai, on the 31st of December 1983 and again on the 3rd and 4th of January 1984. They only formed part of a much larger effort. The entire force is the subject of a number of books, but in this account the focus is on the five groups which I call the Spine of Delta. The first of these groups was a company of National Servicemen, known as Alpha Company (A Coy,) hailing from 1 South African Infantry Battalion (1 SAI Bn) in Bloemfontein, 1983. I was their captain, and it was my privilege to be their company commander from March 1983 right through the training phases and for the duration of Ops Askari. Then there was Delta Company (D Coy,) also NSM from 1 SAI. They formed part of 61 Mechanized Battalion Group (61 Mech Bn Gp) during Ops Askari. Also from the 1983 intake in 1 SAI was an 81 mm mortar platoon from the units Support Company, a young squad who fought courageously as part of The Spine during the hectic final five-day struggle for the occupation of Cuvelai.  The fourth element was also trained at 1 SAI Bn but during operations it did not deploy as a group. These men were Ratel drivers allocated where they were needed. They were fondly referred to as Digue's Platoon, named after their indefatigable platoon sergeant, Pierre Digue. This platoon participated as drivers for The Spine. These four bands of comrades shared their military roots, all being trained at 1 SAI in 1983. There was, however, a fifth and quite different group. They were'nt national servicemen at all, but students from four University Military Units; from University of Pretoria, University of the Free State, University of Stellenbosch and Rand Afrikaans University. They had already completed their two years' commitment as NSM and were civilians once more. During the university recess they had the option to volunteer for deployment as individuals or as a group from various Citizen Force (CF) Regiments. This book is mainly a compilation of their stories; of the reminiscences of those young national servicemen from Alpha and Delta Companies, 1 SAI; the 81-mm Mortar Platoon from 1 SAI by way of 4 SAI, Middelburg; Digues Platoon, officially the Chief of the Army's Platoon of drivers, and the valiant students from Tuks, Kovsies, Maties and RAU. With 63 black and white photos from the operation and the authentic war journal by Ian Scott from the University of Pretoria Military Unit.  

2014 paperback with 163 pages brand new. R50 postage in SA. Special edition limited to 200 copies. Numbered 162 and made out to a Van der Poel. I also do an affordable courier.....ask me!   Ops Askari was a large-scale, cross-border, mechanised operation launched by the South African Defence Force in November 1983. As is the nature with an assault like this, the constituent parts of Ops Askari was a complex blend of fighting men and support personnel from different Defence Force corps and combat disciplines. This account does not strive to recount the exploits of all these different elements in all their various facets. The focus is a rather narrow one. It is the story of five disparate, yet very similar, groups of young men who took part in this great raid into enemy territory against a superior force holding most of the battlefield aces. These five groups feature in this story for one reason: they all took part in the two attacks on a rickety little town in Angola called Cuvelai, on the 31st of December 1983 and again on the 3rd and 4th of January 1984. They only formed part of a much larger effort. The entire force is the subject of a number of books, but in this account the focus is on the five groups which I call the Spine of Delta. The first of these groups was a company of National Servicemen, known as Alpha Company (A Coy,) hailing from 1 South African Infantry Battalion (1 SAI Bn) in Bloemfontein, 1983. I was their captain, and it was my privilege to be their company commander from March 1983 right through the training phases and for the duration of Ops Askari. Then there was Delta Company (D Coy,) also NSM from 1 SAI. They formed part of 61 Mechanized Battalion Group (61 Mech Bn Gp) during Ops Askari. Also from the 1983 intake in 1 SAI was an 81 mm mortar platoon from the units Support Company, a young squad who fought courageously as part of The Spine during the hectic final five-day struggle for the occupation of Cuvelai.  The fourth element was also trained at 1 SAI Bn but during operations it did not deploy as a group. These men were Ratel drivers allocated where they were needed. They were fondly referred to as Digue's Platoon, named after their indefatigable platoon sergeant, Pierre Digue. This platoon participated as drivers for The Spine. These four bands of comrades shared their military roots, all being trained at 1 SAI in 1983. There was, however, a fifth and quite different group. They were'nt national servicemen at all, but students from four University Military Units; from University of Pretoria, University of the Free State, University of Stellenbosch and Rand Afrikaans University. They had already completed their two years' commitment as NSM and were civilians once more. During the university recess they had the option to volunteer for deployment as individuals or as a group from various Citizen Force (CF) Regiments. This book is mainly a compilation of their stories; of the reminiscences of those young national servicemen from Alpha and Delta Companies, 1 SAI; the 81-mm Mortar Platoon from 1 SAI by way of 4 SAI, Middelburg; Digues Platoon, officially the Chief of the Army's Platoon of drivers, and the valiant students from Tuks, Kovsies, Maties and RAU. With 63 black and white photos from the operation and the authentic war journal by Ian Scott from the University of Pretoria Military Unit.  

We combine postage, so do look at our other items on offer. Postage prices outside of South African borders will differ. Please enquire before purchasing. Dispatched within 2 business days. Condition: Acceptable. Gary Zukav, one of the pioneer members of the New Age Movement in psychology, has built upon the contents of his first book The Dancing Wu Li Masters to show how we create our own reality through action and thought. The author argues that our souls evolve as we develop our own latent powers. This book examines cases of multi-sensory individuals, looks at conventional marriages and spiritual partnerships and at traditional and spiritual psychology. A remarkable treatment of thought, evolution, and reincarnation Library Journal Filled with wisdom, and written in a beautifully simple, almost poetic style, The Seat of the Soul is a book to be savored - Brian Weiss, Chairman of Psychiatry, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Miami, and author of Many Lives, Many Masters   About the author  () Gary Zukav is a graduate of Harvard University and lives in Northern California. He is winner of the American Book Award in Science for The Dancing Wu Li Masters.   Bibliographic information Title The Seat of the Soul: An Inspiring Vision of Humanity's Spiritual Destiny Author Gary Zukav Edition Paperback Publisher Rider, ISBN , Length 255 pages

This is the extraordinary tale of an extraordinary man. An honestly told story of his military career, of a man who was twice decorated for valour, who pioneered and developed the concept of "small team reconnaissance" within the South African Special Forces. He was a consummate warrior and gentleman and has told his story with humility and a disarming sense that what he did was simply the job he was given, when even the most cursory reading will show that it was anything but simple or easy. Paperback, 212 pages with photos & maps. Published June 2007   Andr (Diedies) Diedericks was born in Pretoria on 7 December 1955, the youngest of four children. He reported for compulsory National Military Service on 7 January 1974 and within a few weeks he volunteered for Special Forces selection, a course that he would successfully complete. Andre would eventually serve in the Special Forces for two decades and would also pioneer the concept of small team operations. He rose to the rank of Colonel within the SADF and was also decorated twice for valour: Decorations & Awards: Honoris Crux Silver (HCS); Honoris Crux (HC); Southern Cross Medal (SM); Military Merit Medal (MMM); Pro Patria Medal with Cunene clasp; Southern Africa Medal; General Service Medal;  Unitas Medal; Good Service Silver (20 years) & Good Service Bronze (10 years). Suffering from terminal cancer, Diedies passed away on 7 May 2005. 

Free Postage Within SA for Orders Over R900! Softcover. . Jacana Media. 136 pages. Based on more than 20 years of living in South Africa, this book of reminiscences recalls the flavor and timbre that can only be associated with this unique country. With each line beginning with "I remember," this memoir recounts such memories as the taste of Marmite and syrup and the sounds of African music on LM radio. With a mix of personal and public memories, readers are taken on a journey that will be savored. Very good condition. Africana / Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs / Sports / Literary Criticism / Social Science / Customs & Traditions / Sports & Recreation / Boxing Additional photos on request. Please ask any questions before placing your order.  Many more books on sale, click here to browse!