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Editor: Carol van Rensburg

SAAFA – JOHANNESBURG SEPTEMBER 2020

CHAIRMAN’S CHATTER

By Trevor Slade

Warm greetings to every Air Force Association Member and reader of this issue of Skyline. Welcome. On the 21st September 19…?....( a prize of a SAAFA 75 tie to the first person who can tell me the year)…Captain John Inglesby of 1 Squadron was the first South African pilot to break the Sound Barrier in South Africa in Sabre 352. This exhilarating “breakthrough of a barrier” that at one time appeared impenetrable, created new possibility horizons; not only for military aviation but also for the pride of the Air Force and for the people of our country. Just recently President Ramaphosa announced that on the 21st September 2020 we will be entering a new phase in “freeing” ourselves from the Virus “barrier” as we move to level 1. We have not only struggled with the “Darkness Barrier” of Load Shedding but we are also in a fight now against that insidious Corona virus that threatens to kill hundreds of thousands of our people. Our economy is almost destroyed causing massive unemployment and poverty. Family bonds have been broken and there have been deaths of friends.

Surely the time is now right for South Africans to once again break through those “barriers” hell bent in condemning us to become a failed nation, a failed society. Surely the time is now right for every South African to be creating new opportunities for Life and Wellbeing…Creating new Behaviour Patterns that will build Faith and Trust in our Society where the Honour and Respect of every South African is unquestioned. On the 24th September we will be celebrating Heritage Day. Surely it is time to celebrate a Heritage that identifies a new South Africanism in which we proudly can all share and participate. I am hoping that we will be able to celebrate “breaking the barriers” with a Branch lunch at the end of October. The sun is beginning to cause the edge of dark clouds to be streaked with silver that we may live in the Bright, New, Vibrant, Positive land of South Africa that we all love so much. A very Happy New Year to our Jewish Members and friends celebrating Rosh Hashanah on the 19th and 20th September. Baruch Haslem. Yours in service to SAAFA,

Trevor Chairman

SAAF ASSOCIATION

JOHANNESBURG BRANCH

NPO 083-072 PBO: 18/11/13/4374

PO Box 66266 Broadway 2020 31 Astra House 11

th Avenue

Kensington Johannesburg Tel: (011) 616-7406

Fax to Mail: 086 5148139

WEBSITE: http://jhb.saafa.co.za email: info@jhb.saafa.co.za

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CALL TO MEMBERS!

Please let us have your wartime stories and service records to keep on file. It is so distressing when we look for obituary reports and can find NO details for our members who have died. Keep the stories rolling in!!

DON’T WAIT TILL IT’S TOO LATE! – GET THOSE STORIES AND

DETAILS TO OUR OFFICE

IN MEMORIAM

AL RAE DFC (USA) Air Medal

PASSED AWAY 12 AUGUST 2020

Al Rae with Hannah Kim, the Korean War Veterans Goodwill Ambassador who visited South Africa in

March 2020

Al Rae was a member of SAAFA JHB, joining in 1970, although we had had no contact with him since 2015. He was a Korean War Veteran – a fighter pilot on Mustangs and Sabres, over the periods 6th December 1951 to 9th May 1952, and again from 13th January 1943 to 16th October 1953. He was quite active in the Korean War Veterans Association and this picture was taken from the last newsletter sent out by Dirk Louw, their Chairman. He had had a fall some months ago and sadly passed away in August.

OUR CONDOLENCES GO TO HIS FAMILY AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN KOREAN WAR

VETERANS ASSOCIATION.

REST IN PEACE

SAAFA Johannesburg is blessed by

generous donations, payment of subscriptions, memorial fees, sponsorships, time and assistance given us by so many of

our members and various Trusts.

In addition, we are now being kept afloat financially in our beneficiary work by the kind

and generous legacies left to us by the late Emma Weir and Mick Mitchell, who we

remember each day with gratitude.

We are also grateful to Margaret Neuborn who has given us a donation for a year in memory of her mother and father, Bonnie and Blackie Swart, and several in memory of her husband, Barry, who passed away on 21st August 2018. Thank you to John Mackenzie who gave us donations for many years. Also thank you to Glenn Brownrigg, and Graham Robinson who give us a monthly amount. We also thank those like Trevor Slade and Pete Laatz who give us R75 a month for the SAAFA75 Lockdown appeal each month and all who have given donations for SAAFA75.

SO, we appeal to you, if you are able, leave us a legacy and/or give us a monthly grant.

You will be remembered always with deep and lasting gratitude.

LEAVE US A LEGACY

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ROMANY CREAMS AN ARTICLE SENT IN BY TREVOR SLADE

The story behind the biscuit we enjoy so much: It began with a young South African, Ian Vernon Pyott, the son of a Scotsman John Pyott. John was born in Dundee, Scotland and was a baker’s apprentice at aged 10. Due to ill health, John was advised to go to a better climate so he came to Cape Town, South African and in 1880 moved to Port Elizabeth where he manufactured sweets, cakes and jams before later moving into bread and biscuits. On 1 December 1900, Pyott converted his business to a limited liability company and named it “Pyott Limited”. Highly successful between 1898 and 1924, the company received 70 medals at various exhibitions across the country. Ian Pyott was born in P.E. on 31 August 1895. He was educated at Grey High School and Watson’s College in Edinburgh. He returned to South Africa and trained as a miller in the family business. At the outbreak of World War 1, Ian Pyott returned to England in February 1916 enlisting in the Machine Gun Corp ‘MGC (Tanks). He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in June. After attending flying school he was posted to 36 Squadron’s ‘A’ Flight, based at Seaton Carew and flew a two-seater Royal Aircraft Factory BE 2c No.2738 biplane. A few months later he became one of the heroes of the war. On the night of 27 November 1916, he met a German Zeppelin airship (L-34) on a high altitude night bombing raid. Two groups of Zeppelin airships set out from Germany to bomb England that fateful night, with the first group of five ships crossed into England near Scarborough while the second group of four flew toward the Tyne River mouth. Zeppelin L-34 was massive – 148 metres long and a diameter of about 15 meters (on average). Lt Ian Pyott was flying out of Seaton Carew aerodrome; he was on his second patrol night. Tasked with looking for Zeppelin airships and destroying them, he took off at 22.30 and although his BE 2c normally carried an observer he flew solo this time, this weight saving allowed him more fuel and therefore more flying time.

L-34 crossed the coastline into England in the neighbourhood of Blackhalls, a handful of miles north of Hartlepool. Turning southwards towards Tees it was spotted and searchlights brought to bear on it. Once spotted, L-34 immediately started dropping bombs in an attempt to neutralise the search-lights. In all it dropped 13 bombs near Elwick – a little village just west from West Hartlepool. The bombing proved ineffectual with minimum damage on the ground (two cows were injured). Now under attack from anti-aircraft fire, L-34 turned seawards passing over the thickly populated area of West Hartlepool. At this stage Lt. Pyott had been in the air for one hour when he saw the Zeppelin heading in his direction. He reported that he was at 9800 ft and the Zeppelin was a couple of hundred feet below him. He attacked the Zeppelin at right angles to the middle of the airship, firing all the way and then flying underneath it. The airship turned east and Pyott and the Zeppelin’s machine gunners duelled for about 5 more miles. Eventually Pyott got some tracer rounds into the left side of the Zeppelin’s envelope and the Zeppelin was rapidly engulfed in flames. On fire, it continued east over Hartlepool, broke in half and plunged nose first into the Tees river mouth. The virtually instantaneous combustion of 45 000 cubic metres of hydrogen on board used to inflate the airship ensured there were no survivors. Only two bodies were found, the rest sadly incinerated or lost. Shooting down a Zeppelin was a very big deal in WWI; they were heartily armed, flew at incredibly high altitudes for the day and were formidable. When Pyott landed, all the members of his base ran out to cheer him. He promptly collapsed, not due to injury, but because he was frozen stiff from fighting at such a high altitude. They took him from the cockpit and carried him aloft on their shoulders in victory, no doubt taking him to warm up. Following the victory, Ian Pyott was to become a national hero, wined and dined by the British elite. On 15th December he was awarded a DSO. In part, his citation read “in recognition of conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in connection with the destruction of an Enemy Airship”. He was promoted to Captain. His proud father sailed from South Africa and was present when King George V presented him with his DSO at Buckingham Palace.

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ROMANY CREAMS (Cont.)

Zeppelins were so feared by the British Public that they were branded “Baby Killers” as the bombing of civilians carried with it such public outrage. A commemorative coin to celebrate Captain Pyott’s actions and resultant DSO, was minted and presented to him at Hendon Aerodrome by none other than General Jan Smuts. This brave South African was again mentioned in Despatches (London 25 January 1917) whilst later serving with No. 55 Squadron on the Western Front. He also claimed another victory on 23 April 1917, while returning from a bombing raid when a formation from 55 Squadron was attacked by 9 hostile aircraft that dived on them. Pyott and his observer, 2nd Lt. A D Taylor, in DH4 A2147, claimed a German Albatross Scout Plane over Boue. NOW, how does Hollywood superstar Marlene Dietrich fit into this story? The Commander of Zeppelin L-34 on that fateful night in September 1916, was Kapitanleutnant Max Dietrich, Marlene’s uncle. He had been regarded as an experienced commander, with a total of 41 sorties in Zeppelins. Because only two bodies were recovered from the L-34, Marlene and her family lived for a time in the hope that Max Dietrich could somehow have survived. At last they lost hope and Max was mourned as a hero who had given his life for his country. Marlene, born in Berlin from a strong military family, held both German and American citizenship. The film The Blue Angel (1930) made her a superstar. She became the darling of both British and German troops. And recorded ‘Lili Marleen’ translated by Lale Anderson, in English as a morale booster for American, British and Commonwealth troops. It became the Theme Song of the Eighth Army and the South African 6th Armoured Division, and during WW2 the English version and German versions were sung by troops along their opposite lines. SO, how do ROMANY CREAMS fit into the story? Well after the war, hero Captain Ian Pyott returned to South Africa and took up a position in the Bakery business. John Pyott died in 1947. His other son Robert became

Chairman and held that position until his death in 1964. From 1949, Pyott Limited began specialising only in biscuits. Following Robert Pyott’s death, his brother Ian Pyott became Chairman and Managing Director. The early 50’s saw the beginning of the fight for market share between Bakers, Baumanns and Pyotts. Under Ian Pyott, in mid-1965, Pyott Limited collaborated with Cadbury’s Chocolates in Port Elizabeth to produce a chocolate variation of a traditional English treat known as “Gypsy Creams” – two round topped biscuits sandwiched with white cream filling. These were never a big seller but Pyotts then made a similar biscuit with an improved “Shell” and a chocolate filling. They called them ROMANY CREAMS and held the market, despite Bakers making a competitive product called Tuscany Creams. In 1969 Ian Pyott resigned and died shortly afterwards in 1972. The company had been sold to Nabisco Inc. Many buy-outs and takeovers later Pyott Limited became part of the Anglovaal Industrial Group. In 1994 Bakers, Pyotts and Baumanns were regrouped under the title Associated Biscuits, then in 1996 the member companies of National Brands Ltd were combined into a single company. This transformation included Willards. Today the familiar Pyott’s logo on Romany Creams has been replaced with their old competitor’s logo – the Baker’s logo. The range of flavours has expanded and the packaging design has changed, but the ‘original’ flavour chocolate ROMANY CREAMS developed by one dapper, Zeppelin shooting South African fighter pilot and war hero, Captain Ian Pyott DSO, are still a best seller.

SAAFA JHB JULY LUNCH

Sadly as the Lockdown was still in force, there was no lunch.

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Patron MIKE MULLER Born 28.7.1930 – celebrates his

90th Birthday. We congratulate him and wish him well.

SAAFA JHB AUGUST LUNCH

As the Covid 19 Lockdown is still in force no lunch was held.

Patron BASIL HERSOV

94 18TH AUGUST 2020

Basil Hersov, a member of SAAFA JHB and a

wonderful supporter of our Branch in so many ways. We congratulate him on his birthday and wish him

many more happy and healthy years to come.

120 CLUB WINNERS 2020: January – 1

st – Don Burnett,

2nd

– Karl Jensen, 3rd – John Durrant Attendance: Glenn Brownrigg February – 1

st – Trevor Wallace,

2nd

– David Dwyer, 3rd – Chester Chandler Attendance: Casey Wilford March – 1

st – Grant Lotter,

2nd

– Henk Viljoen, 3rd

– John Durrant Attendance: NO LUNCH - NO PRIZE April – 1st – Carl Bollweg, 2

nd – Bruce Rowan, 3

rd – Derek du Plessis

Attendance: NO LUNCH - NO PRIZE May – 1st – Andre Janse van Rensburg, 2

nd – Michael Yorke, 3

rd – Carl Bollweg

Attendance: NO LUNCH - NO PRIZE June – 1st – Sharen Wickens, 2

nd – Braam Hechter, 3

rd – Basil Hersov

Attendance: NO LUNCH - NO PRIZE July – 1st - Ray Ledlie, 2nd -Richard Durrant, 3rd – Graham Robinson Attendance : NO LUNCH – NO PRIZE August – 1st - Don Burnett 2nd –Dirk Ackerman, 3rd – Bruce Harrison Attendance : NO LUNCH – NO PRIZE September – 1st - Glen van Heerden, 2nd – Geoff Fish, 3rd – Amalie von Maltitz Attendance : NO LUNCH – NO PRIZE PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT US IN 2020! LETS SEE IF WE CAN AT LEAST MAKE 120 THIS YEAR!! We now have 83 numbers taken! YOU ARE VERY WELCOME TO TAKE MORE THAN ONE NUMBER!! WE HOPE YOU WILL!! Remember the 120 is for the PRICE IN RANDS FOR THE YEAR, not the number of members! It’s a fun way to raise much needed funds and we thank you for your generosity.

Thank you again to SO many of you who donate your prizes to SAAFA or to the WAAFS each month!

SAAFA JHB SEPTEMBER LUNCH

Sadly once again there was no lunch in September.

Although Old Edwardians is open, the Social Distancing

would be a problem

(Only 4 at a table)!!

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WARSAW FLIGHTS 2020

Report by Jean Urry

Katyn Memorial in Ethel Gray Park – the venue for the Annual Warsaw Flights service for many years

“The Annual Warsaw Flights Commemoration Service will take place on Saturday 5 September this year. Our situation has changed somewhat, owing to Covid-19 and the protocols in place to combat it, and we need to keep strictly within the limits laid down by government and the organisations that assist us. We hope to hold a very limited service – speakers, who are able to attend, and a few wreath layers at the Katyn Monument, and no reception. If this is not permissible to the Council and Parks Department, we will look at an alternate venue, again with very limited numbers, or otherwise only an online service. Whatever the case, the service will be streamed live by the Dziembowski brothers for us. Once we have everything in place, we will send out the link, and we hope that you will be able to join us on line, as we remember this very important event in our history. ”

Editor’s Note: There was a live service

with very limited attendance at the Polish Church in Norwood, which was livestreamed on Saturday 5th September. SAAFA was represented by National President Mike Louw who also delivered an address at the service.

MEMORIES OF PAST YEARS The best fly past ever seen over the Katyn Memorial was at the service in 2012.

This huge Hercules 310, flown by Hermann Olmesdahl was at something like 500ft above the memorial. The pictures below also show clearly how low it was flying.

Just above the trees

Coming in over the Monument

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WARSAW FLIGHTS (Cont.)

National President, MIKE LOUW, giving the address at the ceremony held on Saturday 5th September at

the Polish Church in Norwood.

Richard Durrant and his daughter laying wreaths at the Polish Church in memory of his father Brig. John Durrant, and for Brig. Jimmy Durrant, Col. Jim Williams, and 31 and 34 Squadrons.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

All wreaths were laid in front of the Stained Glass Windows, shown in the picture on page 6. These Stained Glass windows will be installed in the church in Oudtshoon where many Siberian deportees (children) were settled. (STORY FOLLOWS)

THE POLISH SIBERIAN DEPORTEES

During the 1800’s, during the partitions of Poland by the Russian, Prussian and Austrian Empires, Russia deported Polish freedom fighters to Siberia. The largest of these deportations occurred from 10 February 1940 to 20 June 1941, when Russia deported approximately 1,7 million Poles to Siberia. During this time Jan Smuts provided a sanctuary in Oudtshoorn to care for 500 Polish children displaced in the war. A Pathe newsreel film gave the account of the “new life” afforded these children and brings to light the character of South Africa at this time - especially the care and benevolence shown by Oubaas and Ouma Smuts.

Jan Smuts and South Africa’s sanctuary for Polish refugee children

Not many South African’s know this, but during the Second World War – Jan Smuts opened South Africa to care for Polish orphans and children traumatised and displaced by the war. Ouma Smuts also played a leading role in ensuring they were correctly tutored and continued to have high appreciation of their rich Polish cultural heritage. Many in the Polish community in South Africa to this day can trace their roots to event and this very orphanage. It is part of South Africa’s history on which we can all stand very proud.

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MAJOR GENERAL J.T. DURRANT Picture & story sent by his sons, John and Richard

Brigadier James (Jimmy) Durrant CB,DFC was seconded to the Royal Air Force as Air Officer Commanding RAF 205 Heavy Bomber Group based in Foggia, Italy, with the Mediterranean Allied Air Force (M.A.A.F.) in 1944/45. Shortly before VE Day on 8th May 1945 he was transferred to South East Asia and took over the command of RAF No. 231 Heavy Bomber Group based in the Cocos Keeling Islands on 15th June 1945, with the rank of Major-General. He held this post until the surrender of Imperial Japan and the final end of World War 11 on 15th August 1945. The above photograph shows Major-General Jimmy Durrant cancelling all planned bombing raids by 99, 356 and 321 Squadrons on 15 August 1945, after which he returned to South Africa in October 1945. On his return to South Africa he took up the position of Director of Air Training and then later was promoted to Director General South African Air Force in 1946, a position he held until his resignation from the SAAF in early 1952.

VJ DAY 75TH ANNIVERSARY: SOUTH AFRICAN REPRESENTATION

To many South Africans ‘VJ’ day – Victory over Japan celebrations – the official end of the 2nd World War is seen as an American, Australian and British endeavour and not really a South African one – but they could not be more wrong. Little do they know that South Africa had official representation at the surrender – and for a very good reason. The 2nd of September is a significant day in the history of the world, it’s the day Japan formally surrendered to finally end World War 2. The ceremony took place on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay in 1945, and the South Africans where right there too, represented by Cdr A.P. Cartwright, South African Naval Forces. Cdr A.P. Cartwright is seen here, overseeing the signature of Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser on behalf of the United Kingdom on the Instrument of Surrender. He’s standing in the row of four naval officers left and right of General Douglas MacArthur (behind the

microphone), Cdr A.P. Cartwright is on the far left.

A total of 297 South African Naval Forces (SANF) personnel were killed in action during World War II, and that excludes many South Africans serving directly on British ships as part of the Royal Navy. Many of these South Africans were lost in actions against the Japanese – especially during Japan’s ‘Easter Raid’ against the British Eastern Fleet stationed at Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) which sank the HMS Dorsetshire and HMS Cornwall on the 5th April 1942 and the HMS Hollyhock and HMS Hermes on the 9th April 1942 – with the staggering loss of 65 South African Naval personnel seconded to the Royal Navy and on board these 4 British fighting ships. It was and remains the South African Navy’s darkest hour, yet little is commemorated or know of it today in South Africa, and this is one of the reasons why a SANF official was represented at the formal surrender of Japan.

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THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER 7th September 1920

On the 7th September 1920, in strictest secrecy four unidentified British bodies were exhumed from temporary battlefield cemeteries at Ypres, Arras, the Aisne and the Somme. None of the soldiers who did the digging were told why. The bodies were taken by field ambulance to GHQ at St-Pol-Sur-Ternoise. There the bodies were draped with the union flag. Sentries were posted and Brig.Gen. Wyatt and a Colonel Gell, selected one body at random. A French honour guard was selected, and stood by the coffin overnight. In the morning of 8th September, a specially designed coffin made of oak from the grounds of Hampton Court, was brought and the unknown warrior placed inside. On top was placed a crusader’s sword and a shield on which was inscribed: ‘A BRITISH WARRIOR WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1918 FOR KING AND COUNTRY’ On the 9th of November the unknown warrior was taken by horse drawn carriage through guards of honour and the sound of tolling bells and bugle calls to the quayside. There it was saluted by Marechal Foche and loaded onto HMS Vernon bound for Dover….. The coffin stood on the deck covered in wreaths and surrounded by the French honour guard. On arrival at Dover the unknown warrior was greeted with a 19 gun salute (normally only reserved for Field Marshals). He then travelled by special train to Victoria Station in London. He stayed there overnight and on the morning of the 11th November he was taken to Westminster Abbey where he was placed in a tomb at the west end of the nave – his grave was filled in using 100 sandbags of earth from the battlefields.

When the Duke of York (later King George VI) married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons in the Abbey in 1923, she left her wedding bouquet on the grave as a mark of respect (she had lost a brother during the war). Since then all royal brides married in the Abbey have sent back their bouquets to be laid on the grave The idea of the unknown soldier was thought of by a padre called David Railton who had served at the front during the Great War and it was the union flag they used as an alter cloth at the front, that had been draped over the coffin. It is the intention that all relatives of the 517,773 combatants whose bodies had not been identified could believe that the unknown warrior could very well be their lost husband, father, brother or son.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN Every year at this time RAFA Johannesburg normally has a celebration of the Battle of Britain that was fought by the Royal Air Forces and the Air Forces of the Commonwealth (Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Jamaica and Ireland) together with the pilots from the Nazi occupied countries (Poland, Belgium, Free French, and Czechoslovakia) and America in September 1940. This normally takes place mid-September at the St. Margaret’s of Scotland Church in Bedfordview. Because of the COVID 19 this will not take place but RAFA Johannesburg will be creating a commemorative book celebrating the 80th anniversary. This will be available both in digital format and hard copy.

For copies of the book Contact: Jim Powell(jimpowell@mweb.co.za)

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BATTLE OF BRITAIN (BY BRUCE HARRISON)

The foundation was laid long before the actual “Battle of Britain”. When the RAF was born in 1918, General Smuts was ahead of the pack not only acknowledging the need to defend England against air attack, but also noting ’we can only defend this island effectively against air attack by offensive measures, by attacking the enemy in his air bases on the Continent and destroying his power of attacking us.’ and the understanding of a new term called Air Superiority “we must dominate of the air so that an enemy is incapable of using it, and thereby using or dominating the sea and land below. The greater degree of superiority we have the lesser the enemy has”. After the German Blitzkrieg and the miracle of Dunkirk in May 1940, Churchill rightly pointed out that “Wars are not won by evacuations” and as the nation braced itself, only the Royal Air Force’s inexperienced Fighter Command could prevent the seemingly inevitable invasion from being attempted. As Churchill electrified the nation with his soaring oratory, strengthened the resolve of the embattled British people and gave them hope, it was a rather different character who would conduct the nation’s defence. A product of the formative years of the RAF, taciturn, prickly and politically inept, ACM Hugh “Stuffy” Dowding was everything Churchill was not. And yet, they shared some crucial qualities. Both had recognised the danger that Nazi Germany posed from the start and had done everything in their power to prepare for what they both sensed was an inevitable conflict. Now Churchill would allow Dowding to conduct the defence he had so carefully planned for, and as the enemy gathered at the gates, the men and women of Fighter Command, outnumbered but defiant, braced themselves for battle. The Battle of Britain was all about air superiority. On 10 July 1940, Germany was superior in numbers & arguably capability. By the end of the Battle of Britain they were not. Put simply, that is why we commemorate the achievement of less than 3000 young men from across the Commonwealth, including 25 from South Africa, who took up the call to save the free world from Nazi oppression. 544 gave their lives in the battle, and a further 790 were killed in the later air battles of the Second World War.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN : TRIBUTE TO AIR CHIEF MARSHAL LORD DOWDING

It simply cannot be overstated. Eighty years ago, in the summer of 1940, Great Britain was well and truly up against the wall. Its army, decimated in France, was lucky to be pulled from the jaws of total annihilation on the beaches of Dunkirk, Northern France. With the army licking its wounds and the Royal Air Force with heavy losses in France, the population of Great Britain fully expected that there would soon be door-to-door fighting in London, in York, or in Kent. While the RAF, Navy and Army steeled themselves for coming fight, the ordinary people of Great Britain were readying themselves as well—for a fight to the death on sacred British soil. In anticipation of a Nazi invasion on British beaches, the British government had printed a poster which was to be posted in the event the Germans came ashore. It said in simple large letters beneath the King’s crown, “Keep Calm and Carry On”. It was never used. It would only surface 65 years later and become a modern day icon for ‘stick-to-it-iveness’. Though disaster was just over the horizon, there was one last battle to be fought - a battle like no other in history. This was the Battle of Britain. The Battle, the aircraft and the nearly 3,000 men who flew in the defence of Great Britain live today as unparalleled icons of courage and determination in the face of almost certain defeat. Its inspirational effect on Great Britain and the hundreds of thousands of young men and women who, upon hearing the story, would enlist in the RAF, RCAF, RAAF, RNZAF and SAAF is unquestionable. It not only stopped the advance of the dark stain of Nazism, it turned the tide. We owe a great debt to these pilots, ground crew, WAAFs, Bomb Disposal Squads, Air Raid Wardens, Home Guard, Ambulance Drivers, soldiers and civilians who endured...Many of their contemporaries did not survive their youth. On the night of VE Day, May 8th, 1945, Churchill stood on a balcony overlooking Whitehall and addressed the crowd below: “We were left all alone against the most tremendous military power that has been seen. We were all alone for a whole year. There we stood, alone. Did anyone want to give in? Were we downhearted? The lights went out and the bombs came down. But every man, woman and child in the country had no thought of quitting the struggle.

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So we came back after long months from the jaws of death, out of the mouth of hell, while all the world wondered. As Churchill concluded his speech, he remembered their sacrifice: “I say that in the long years to come not only will the people of this Island, but of the World, wherever the bird of freedom chirps in human hearts, look back on what we’ve done and they will say: “do not despair. Do not yield to violence and tyranny, march straight forward and die if need be – unconquered!” The Hurricanes and Spitfires were the fighting element of Britain’s air defences, but to serve their purpose, they needed to be effectively deployed. That was made possible by Fighter Command’s intricate defensive shield. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding had been appointed C-in-C of Fighter Command in 1936. He was due for retirement in 1940 but was asked to remain in his post due to the circumstances. His nickname was “Stuffy” in reference to his aloof, stubborn personality, but these were precisely the attributes that served Fighter Command so well. “A difficult man, a self-opinionated man, a most determined man, and a man who knew more than anybody about all aspects of aerial warfare” (Sir Frederick Pile) In the face of resistance from the Air Ministry, he had created a control system capable of withstanding the Luftwaffe. The key to Dowding’s system was Radar – known as RDF. A network of RDF stations had been built along the coast and was capable of tracking the approach of enemy aircraft from over 100 miles away. Details of incoming raids were reported to Fighter Command HQ Ops Room, and thence to the relevant Groups and Squadrons, which scrambled and were guided to meet the raiders. When the Battle of France showed all the signs of being lost, it was Dowding who first faced up to Churchill’s Cabinet and flatly refused to allow any more Fighter Command Squadrons to be sacrificed in that contest. The late Douglas Bader had the highest regard for AVM Keith Park, AOC 11 Group, who fought and won the tactical Battle, and for ACM Dowding, who provided the means and the strategy. He gave the address at the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Park, and wrote the following tribute to Dowding: “To the Fighter pilots of 1940 Dowding was the father figure. Seldom seen, many pilots did not even know how he looked. Nevertheless, we knew he was there in Fighter Command minding our affairs, so all

was well. We held him in esteem which after the War became affection. We read about him; how he fought the Treasury to get hard runways built on grass airfields, waterlogged and unusable in winter; how he had insisted on bullet-proof windscreens in our Hurricanes and Spitfires. After the War, at Battle of Britain Dinners we actually saw him and spoke with him. We were proud that he had been chosen to be known as Lord Dowding of Bentley Priory – our home from home – Headquarters, Fighter Command. At last we felt this gruff, withdrawn, inarticulate “Stuffy” Dowding really had become one of us. We thought it a bad show that he had not been made a Marshal of the Royal Air Force” As Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris later reflected: “He is the only Commander who won one of the decisive battles of history, and got sacked for his pains” This tribute was echoed by Chris Foxley-Norris, a Flying Officer during the Battle: “Stuffy Dowding was absolutely outstanding but not in an inspirational way. He never went to an operational airfield. His leadership was superb from the point of view of the wise husbanding and apportionment of resources. He was almost entirely responsible for the command and control system which Fighter Command built up. He’d already been there for three years before the War started and the junior people like me had enormous confidence in him. He was a sort of father figure. And you felt that as long as he had his hand on the tiller, all was going to be well.” And it was....At a meeting of his Commanders–in-Chief in Berlin on 14 September 1940, Hitler accepted that air superiority had not yet been achieved – but stressed that it must be won before invasion was attempted. This was Goering’s cue for a final air effort. At 11h00 the next morning, massive German formations crossed the Kent coast. They were engaged by numerous RAF Squadrons, including a “Big Wing” from Duxford. The bombers scattered and their bombs fell aimlessly. A second attack of 600 aircraft arrived over Kent and Sussex in the afternoon. 28 RAF Squadrons came up to meet them. By the end of the day, 56 German aircraft had been shot down, against 29 RAF fighters. Fighter Command had not been defeated. On September 17, Hitler postponed the invasion indefinitely. The plans for Sea Lion were never revived....

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A very interesting British War story (Sent in by David Dwyer)

Source: British History Online.

A 1916 extraordinary story of a British WW1 Captain released by the Kaiser from a German prison camp so he could see his dying mother in Kent – on condition that he returned to his cell. When British prisoner of war Robert Campbell asked the Kaiser if he could visit his dying mother, he was astonished to be given permission – on condition that he promised to return. The Army captain kept his word and returned to the German camp after the two-week trip in November 1916, remaining in captivity until the end of the First World War. Historian Richard van Emden, who discovered the incredible incident, said such an act of chivalry was rare even a century ago. ‘Capt. Campbell was an officer and he made a promise on his honour to go back,’ he said. ‘Had he not turned up there would not have been any retribution on any other prisoners. ‘What I think is more amazing is that the British Army let him go back to Germany. The British could have said to him, “You’re not going back, you’re going to stay here”.’ Capt. Campbell, who joined the Army in 1903, was leading the 1st Battalion East Surrey Regiment when his battalion took up a position on the Mons-Condé canal in north-west France just weeks after war broke out in July 1914. A week later, his troops were attacked by the German forces and Capt. Campbell was seriously injured and captured. The 29-year-old was treated in a military hospital in Cologne before being sent to the prisoner-of-war camp in Magdeburg. In 1916, he received word from home that his mother Louise was dying of cancer. He wrote to Kaiser Wilhelm II, begging to be allowed to see her one last time. The Kaiser gave him two weeks’ compassionate leave, including two days travelling in each direction by boat and train, on the proviso Capt. Campbell gave his word as a British Army officer that he would return. Capt. Campbell reached his mother’s bedside in Gravesend, Kent, on November 7 and spent a week with her before keeping his promise and returning to Germany. His

mother died three months later in February 1917. Mr van Emden, 48, discovered the amazing story after reading correspondence between the Foreign Office and their German counterparts and it is told in his new book, Meeting the Enemy: The Human Face of the Great War. He said of Capt. Campbell’s amazing story:

‘I think it is such a unique example that I don’t think you can draw any parallels. In my experience, this is a one-off and is one of those things that just tickles your fancy.’

After the war, Capt. Campbell was released and returned to Britain where he served in the military until retiring in 1925.

However, he re-joined his regiment in 1939 on the outbreak of the Second World War, serving as the Chief Observer of the Royal Observer Corps on the Isle of Wight. He survived that war unscathed and died in Britain in July 1966 aged 81. Mr van Emden’s book charts the personal contacts between Britons and Germans and their feelings towards each other as the First World War progressed. The highest display of respect he discovered was between pilots fighting above the lines. The pilots did not carry parachutes because they were too bulky for the narrow cockpits of the day. If their aircraft caught fire, they faced the choice of burning alive or jumping out. German pilots made it a habit to find their victims, dead or alive. If dead, they sent details of their names and burial sites across British lines. If found alive, they would invite them to a slap-up meal in their mess. Both sides were ruthless when fighting each other in the air but observed the rules of chivalry on the ground.

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WAAFS SHOWS AND REPORT

By Carol van Rensburg (Secretary)

We had booked 20 tickets for THE PRODUCERS at Monte Casino (R250) on 10TH MAY 2020 AT 14.30, but this had to be put on hold as the Lockdown was still active, and at this time is STILL active. We do not know whether the show will ever be put on, or what the next one might be. The WAAFS gave our 2 Beneficiaries a gift of R1000 for the usual “Christmas in July”. A third Beneficiary who has been granted benevolence for three months, was given R500 for “Christmas in July” No meetings have been held, and all at the moment, as with everything else, is in abeyance.

THIS SHOW WILL HOPEFULLY TAKE PLACE ONCE

THE LOCKDOWN IS OVER

AAD 2020

THIS HAS BEEN CANCELLED

AFB Waterkloof on the 19-20 September

THE PREMIER EXHIBITION OF AIR, SEA AND LAND TECHNOLOGIES ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT. The Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) is Africa’s only aerospace and defence expo that combines both a trade exhibition and an air show. Held biennially in the City of Tshwane – South Africa’s Administrative Capital, the AAD Expo is one of South Africa’s largest contributors to the country’s GDP in show years, and is regarded as a national asset.

An online event was held on Sept 19th at 6pm and on Sept 20th at 9pm.

A MEMORY OF

AL RAE

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BENEFICIERY NEWS BY CAROL VAN RENSBURG

Florence and Sarah Salomane taken on 14 Sept 2020

Tshepang Lucky Salomane, Florence’s great-grandson, and Sarah’s child, who is now 5 and in

Grade R

Florence Salomane’s late husband Walter served in the 2nd Field Artillery Native Corps from 1941 to 1943 when he was taken prisoner after the fight for Tobruk. After 5 months he was liberated and served in the SAAF till 1944.

From 1980, SAAFA JHB assisted with the education of his son Nimrod until 1984, when he passed Matric. SAAFA JHB then assisted Walter who was no longer well enough to work from 1987 until his death in February 1994.

After Walter’s death in 1994, his family evicted Florence, who was his 2nd wife. SAAFA JHB has assisted her since then.

Her granddaughter Sarah, with her in the above photo lives with her and her great-grandson in an RDP house in Boipatong. Sarah has lived with Florence since she was a small child, when Florence’s daughter disappeared and left her there.

So, Florence has been a beneficiary of SAAFA JHB since 1994. She turned 80 in May this year.

Hennie van der Walt, Chairman of Benevolence and I had a video call with Florence and Sarah on the 14th September.

Aside from Florence saying “I’m very, very sick!”, which she has been saying for some years now, she didn’t seem too bad to us. Although for some years now her hearing and eyesight has not been good.

She has also never managed to get used to the set of teeth which we paid for about eight years ago, and her knees have troubled her for ages.

She can no longer make the trip to Johannesburg, and as it is really not safe for us to go to Boipatong to visit her, we keep in touch via video calls and cell phone conversations, mainly with Sarah, who works for a Call Centre.

Sarah and Tsepang Lucky

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EDITOR: Carol van Rensburg EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: Trevor Slade, Bruce Harrison

PRINTED BY: UNFORTUNATELY WE HAVE NO SPONSOR SO IT ONLY GOES OUT ON E-MAIL ARTISTIC PHOTO ALIGNMENT and REVISED MASTHEAD by “Bald Eagle”

MASTHEAD: Originally designed by THE CHEESE HAS MOVED

THE BATTLE OF

SQUARE HILL In Memory of the Cape Corps in Egypt

19TH SEPTEMBER 1918

A VIRTUAL COMMEMORATION SERVICE WITH FILMED WREATH

LAYING BY INVITED GUESTS

(National President Mike Louw laid a

wreath for SAAFA National and Trevor Slade led the service.)

AT RAND REGIMENTS MEMORIAL NEXT TO DITSONG MUSEUM IN

SAXONWOLD

(This will be livestreamed on Sunday 20th September at 14h00)

In July 1918 the First Battalion Cape Corps (ICC) was assigned to 160th Infantry Brigade of the 53rd Welsh Division, one of several making up the Egyptian Expeditionary Force headed by General Allenby. Facing the EEF were three Ottoman Armies of 3 000 horseman, 32 000 infantry, and 402 guns. The ICC entered the line on 19th August against the 53rd Division of the Turkish Army, about ten miles north of what is today Ramallah. The battalion faced heavy artillery fire on a continuous basis for the next month.

Allenby planned a major offensive to commence in the early hours of 19th September and the unit was ordered to undertake reconnaissance and rehearsals in preparation for the offensive, by thinning out the front lines and concentrating on their attack positions. The 1/17th Indian Infantry Brigade was to be the advance guard, followed by the ICC. The ICC would pass through them, take Square Hill and then protect the right flank of the Brigade. The Cape Corps succeeded in their objective taking Square Hill in an attack that lasted from 18.45 on 18th September to 04.00 on 19th September 1918. They captured 181 prisoners, 8 officers and 160 members of other ranks, as well as an enemy field gun. The ICC lost one man, and another was wounded in the battle of Square Hill.

Their next action involved the taking of KH Jibeit, a hill 700m north of Square Hill. They had no artillery support and lost 51 men, 101 were wounded and one taken prisoner.

These actions were decisive in paving the way for Allenby to break through to Damascus and ‘knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war’.

TAILPIECES

CRASHED FOCKE WULF or MAYBE JUST – A GROUNDED FLYING

BEETLE ???