VACANT CHAIR SHELLHOLENEWS LETTERAUGUST 2016

Morning to you all, hope you are all well.Quite a bit of news to share with you first of all Brian and I on the 10th July 2018 climbed to the top

of the Wonderboom Hill to go and see the Old Fort or what is left of it, the climb was quiet strenuous both up and down but worth every minute the amazing view.

On Sunday 17th July 2016 about 40 MOTHS from various shellholes, members of Embassy representing their countries & public shared in the 100th Year celebration of Deville Wood. Moth

Dave Berry laid a wreath of behalf of the MOTHS and

Sandy Horne on behalf of the MOTHWA. Wreaths were also laid by American, English French dressed in their uniforms and looking amazing what is it about men in

uniforms does something to a woman’s hormones!!!!. The South African Military Navy and Airforce were also present and also laid wreaths in

remembrance of those that passed away during this horrific battle as well as those that survived. We would like to wish the following persons and anyone that we may have forgotten who celebrate their birthdays in August 2016 a very

AUGUST BIRTHDAYS

4th – Thomas Postma11th – Don Crichton (70th)!13th – Lynne Salter27th – Elsabé van Dyk

Mahatma GandhiBorn: 02/10/1869Died: 30/01/1948Birthplace: Porbandar, Gujarat, India

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, more commonly known as ‘Mahatma’ (meaning ‘Great Soul’) was born in Porbandar, Gujarat, in North West India, on 2nd October 1869, into a Hindu Modh family. His father was the Chief Minister of Porbandar, and his mother’s religious devotion meant that his upbringing was infused with the Jain pacifist teachings of mutual tolerance, non-injury to living beings and vegetarianism.Born into a privileged caste, Gandhi was fortunate to receive a comprehensive education, but proved a mediocre student. In May 1883, aged 13, Gandhi was married to Kasturba Makhanji, a girl also aged 13, through the arrangement of their respective parents, as is customary in India. Following his entry into Samaldas College, at the University of Bombay, she bore him the first of four sons, in 1888. Gandhi was unhappy at college, following his parent’s wishes to take the bar, and when he was offered the opportunity of furthering his studies overseas, at University College London, aged 18, he accepted with alacrity, starting there in September 1888.Determined to adhere to Hindu principles, which included vegetarianism as well as alcohol and sexual abstinence, he found London restrictive initially, but once he had found kindred spirits he flourished, and pursued the philosophical study of religions, including Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and others, having professed no particular interest in religion up until then. Following admission to the English Bar, and his return to India, he found work difficult to come by and, in 1893, accepted a year’s contract to work for an Indian firm in Natal, South Africa.Although not yet enshrined in law, the system of ‘apartheid’ was very much in evidence in South Africa at the turn of the 20th century. Despite arriving on a year’s contract, Gandhi spent the next 21 years living in South Africa, and railed against the injustice of racial segregation. On one occasion he was thrown from a first class train carriage, despite being in possession of a valid ticket. Witnessing the racial bias experienced by his countrymen served as a catalyst for his later activism, and he attempted to fight segregation at all levels. He founded a political movement, known as the Natal Indian Congress, and developed his theoretical belief in non-violent civil protest into a tangible political stance, when he opposed the introduction of registration for all Indians, within South Africa, via non-cooperation with the relevant civic authorities.On his return to India in 1916, Gandhi developed his practice of non-violent civil disobedience still further, raising awareness of oppressive practices in Bihar, in 1918, which saw the local populace oppressed by their largely British masters. He also encouraged oppressed villagers to improve their own circumstances, leading peaceful strikes and protests. His fame spread, and he became widely referred to as ‘Mahatma’ or ‘Great Soul’.As his fame spread, so his political influence increased: by 1921 he was leading the Indian National Congress, and reorganizing the party’s constitution around the principle of ‘Swaraj’, or complete political independence from the British. He also instigated a boycott of British goods and institutions, and his encouragement of mass civil disobedience led to his arrest, on 10th March 1922, and trial on sedition charges, for which he served 2 years, of a 6-year prison sentence.The Indian National Congress began to splinter during his incarceration, and he remained largely out of the public eye following his release from prison in February 1924, returning four years later, in 1928, to campaign for the granting of ‘dominion status’ to India by the British. When the British introduced a tax on salt in 1930, he famously led a 250-mile march to the sea to collect his own salt. Recognizing his political influence nationally, the British authorities were forced to negotiate various settlements with Gandhi over the following years, which resulted in the alleviation of poverty, granted status to the ‘untouchables’, enshrined rights for women, and led inexorably to

Gandhi’s goal of ‘Swaraj’: political independence from Britain.Gandhi suffered six known assassination attempts during the course of his life. The first attempt came on 25th June 1934, when he was in Pune delivering a speech, together with his wife, Kasturba. Travelling in a motorcade of two cars, they were in the second car, which was delayed by the appearance of a train at a railway level crossing, causing the two vehicles to separate. When the first vehicle arrived at the speech venue, a bomb was thrown at the car, which exploded and injured several people. No investigations were carried out at the time, and no arrests were made, although many attribute the attack to Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fundamentalist implacably opposed to Gandhi’s non-violent acceptance and tolerance of all religions, which he felt compromised the supremacy of the Hindu religion. Godse was the person responsible for the eventual assassination of Gandhi in January 1948, 14 years later.During the first years of the Second World War, Gandhi’s mission to achieve independence from Britain reached its zenith: he saw no reason why Indians should fight for British sovereignty, in other parts of the world, when they were subjugated at home, which led to the worst instances of civil uprising under his direction, through his ‘Quit India’ movement. As a result, he was arrested on 9th August 1942, and held for two years at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune. In February 1944, 3 months before his release, his wife Kasturbai died in the same prison.May 1944, the time of his release from prison, saw the second attempt made on his life, this time certainly led by Nathuram Godse, although the attempt was fairly half-hearted. When word reached Godse that Gandhi was staying in a hill station near Pune, recovering from his prison ordeal, he organized a group of like-minded individuals who descended on the area, and mounted a vocal anti-Gandhi protest. When invited to speak to Gandhi, Godse declined, but he attended a prayer meeting later that day, where he rushed towards Gandhi, brandishing a dagger and shouting anti-Gandhi slogans. He was overpowered swiftly by fellow worshippers, and came nowhere near achieving his goal. Godse was not prosecuted at the time.Four months later, in September 1944, Godse led a group of Hindu activist demonstrators who accosted Gandhi at a train station, on his return from political talks. Godse was again found to be in possession of a dagger that, although not drawn, was assumed to be the means by which he would again seek to assassinate Gandhi. It was officially regarded as the third assassination attempt, by the commission set up to investigate Gandhi’s death in 1948.The British plan to partition what had been British-ruled India, into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India, was vehemently opposed by Gandhi, who foresaw the problems that would result from the split. Nevertheless, the Congress Party ignored his concerns, and accepted the partition proposals put forward by the British.The fourth attempt on Gandhi’s life took the form of a planned train derailment. On 29th June 1946, a train called the ‘Gandhi Special’, carrying him and his entourage, was derailed near Bombay, by means of boulders, which had been piled up on the tracks. Since the train was the only one scheduled at that time, it seems likely that the intended target of derailment was Gandhi himself. He was not injured in the accident. At a prayer meeting after the event Gandhi is quoted as saying:“I have not hurt anybody nor do I consider anybody to be my enemy, I can’t understand why there are so many attempts on my life. Yesterday’s attempt on my life has failed. I will not die just yet; I aim to live till the age of 125.”Sadly, he had only eighteen months to live.Placed under increasing pressure, by his political contemporaries, to accept Partition as the only way to avoid civil war in India, Gandhi reluctantly concurred with its political necessity, and India celebrated its Independence Day on 15th August 1947. Keenly recognizing the need for political unity, Gandhi spent the next few months working tirelessly for Hindu-Muslim peace, fearing the build-up of animosity between the two fledgling states, showing remarkable prescience, given the turbulence of their relationship over the following half-century.Unfortunately, his efforts to unite the opposing forces proved his undoing. He championed the paying of restitution to Pakistan for lost territories, as outlined in the Partition agreement, which parties in India, fearing that Pakistan would use the payment as a means to build a war arsenal, had opposed. He began a fast in support of the payment, which Hindu radicals, Nathuram Godse among them, viewed as traitorous. When the political effect of his fast secured the payment to Pakistan, it secured with it the fifth attempt on his life.On 20th January a gang of seven Hindu radicals, which included Nathuram Godse, gained access to

Birla House, in Delhi, a venue at which Gandhi was due to give an address. One of the men, Madanla Pahwa, managed to gain access to the speaker’s podium, and planted a bomb, encased in a cotton ball, on the wall behind the podium. The plan was to explode the bomb during the speech, causing pandemonium, which would give two other gang members, Digambar Bagde and Shankar Kishtaiyya, an opportunity to shoot Gandhi, and escape in the ensuing chaos. The bomb exploded prematurely, before the conference was underway, and Madanla Pahwa was captured, while the others, including Godse, managed to escape.Pahwa admitted the plot under interrogation, but Delhi police were unable to confirm the participation and whereabouts of Godse, although they did try to ascertain his whereabouts through the Bombay police.After the failed attempt at Birla House, Nathuram Godse and another of the seven, Narayan Apte, returned to Pune, via Bombay, where they purchased a Beretta automatic pistol, before returning once more to Delhi.On 30th January 1948, whilst Gandhi was on his way to a prayer meeting at Birla House in Delhi, Nathuram Godse managed to get close enough to him in the crowd to be able to shoot him three times in the chest, at point-blank range. Gandhi’s dying words were claimed to be “Hé Rām”, which translates as “Oh God”, although some witnesses claim he spoke no words at all.When news of Gandhi’s death reached the various strongholds of Hindu radicalism, in Pune and other areas throughout India, there was reputedly celebration in the streets. Sweets were distributed publicly, as at a festival. The rest of the world was horrified by the death of a man nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize.Godse, who had made no attempt to flee following the assassination, and his co-conspirator, Narayan Apte, were both imprisoned until their trial on 8th November 1949. They were convicted of Gandhi’s killing, and both were executed, a week later, at Ambala Jail, on 15th November 1949. The supposed architect of the plot, a Hindu extremist named Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was acquitted due to lack of evidence.Gandhi was cremated as per Hindu custom, and his ashes are interred at the Aga Khan’s palace in Pune, the site of his incarceration in 1942, and the place his wife had also died.Gandhi's memorial bears the epigraph “Hé Rām” (“Oh God”) although there is no conclusive proof that he uttered these words before death.Although Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times, he never received it. In the year of his death, 1948, the Prize was not awarded, the stated reason being that “there was no suitable living candidate” that year.Gandhi's life and teachings have inspired many liberationists of the 20th Century, including Dr. Martin Luther King in the United States, Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko in South Africa, and Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar.His birthday, 2nd October, is celebrated as a National Holiday in India every year.Share this articleQuotes : “When it (violence) appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.""Hate the sin, love the sinner." "I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers.""You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.""Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.""An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

16 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Mahatma Gandhi

We all know Mahatma Gandhi as the man who led our country to freedom. But we know little about some smaller and more astonishing facts about his life. The following are 16 facts about Mahatma Gandhi that are mostly unknown:

1. Mahatma Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize 5 times

The committee regrets not giving him the Nobel Peace prize to this day as the award is never given posthumously.

2. M. K. Gandhi was responsible for the Civil Rights movement in 4 continents and 12 countries

3. The funeral procession of Mahatma Gandhi was 8 kilometers long

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4. Great Britain, the country against whom he fought for independence, released a stamp honouring him, 21 years after his death

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5. Mahatma Gandhi walked/travelled almost 18 kilometres a day throughout his lifetime which is enough to walk around the world twice over

6. Gandhi served in the army during the Boer war – he crusaded against violence since the time he realized the horrors of war

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7. Mahatma Gandhi corresponded with a lot of people – Tolstoy, Einstein and Hitler were among the many

 8. Gandhi was not present during Nehru’s tryst of destiny speech to celebrate inde-pendence

IHe was in Kolkata fasting for religious harmony.

 

9. Most relics of Gandhi including the clothes he wore when he was shot are still pre-served in Gandhi Museum, Madurai

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10. He never held an official position in any political body during the final years of his life

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11. He was thinking of dissolving the Congress a day before he died

I 12. Steve Jobs was a fan of Mahatma Gandhi – his round glasses are not only similar but also a tribute

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13. Gandhi had a set of false teeth, which he carried in a fold of his loin cloth

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14. Mahatma Gandhi spoke English with an Irish accent, for one of his first teachers was an Irishman

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 15. There are 53 major roads (excluding the smaller ones) in India, and 48 roads out-side India that are named after him

 

16. Gandhi helped establish 3 football clubs in Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg all of which were given the same name: Passive Resisters Soccer Club

IMahatma Gandhi promoted football in his non-violent campaign against racial dis-crimination.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow.” Throughout his life Mahatma Gandhi did things that were inspirational, things that nobody thought he could do and made sure that he lived up to this line said by him.

Top ten facts about Mahatma Gandhi

We all know Mahatma Gandhi as the man who led our country to freedom. But we know little about some smaller and more astonish-ing facts about his life. The following are top ten facts about Ma-hatma Gandhi that are mostly unknown.

1. Once during a train journey a British asked Gandhi to get out of the train as he was considered as a ‘black’. But Gandhi refused as he had the ticket with him. The British and the Railway officer cru-elly pushed Gandhi out of the train. This is a sample of Gandhi’s bit-ter experiences with British.

2.  Gandhi loved his Mother tongue Gujarati very much. He wrote his autobiography, in Gujarati. His personal assistant Shri Mahdi De-sai had translated it into English.

3. For our independence Gandhi, was kept in jail for 6 years and 5 months. Netha ji Subash Chandra Bose used to call Gandhi as ‘De-sapitha’ (Father of our nation).

4. Gandhi very much worried about two things. One is for his bad hand writing and other was massaging. He liked massaging his body by other.

5. Gandhi had not celebrated India’s first independence day of 1947, August 15. He didn’t sent greetings also. And more he was on fast to condemn the communal riots and the partition of country into India and Pakistan.

6. Jesus the Christ was crucified on Friday. Gandhi was born on Fri-day. India got its independence on Friday. Gandhi was assassinated on Friday.

7. His life aims were truth, non-violence, spiritualism, religiousness, honesty, discipline, loyalty, aspiration and so on. All these excellent high qualities made him the Mahatma which means a great soul.

8. There are 53 major roads (excluding the smaller ones) in India, and 48 roads outside India that are named after him.

9. He never held an official position in any political body during the final years of his life.

10. Mahatma Gandhi walked/traveled almost 18 kilometers a day throughout his lifetime which is enough to walk around the world twice over.

One hundred years on, SA remembers fallen at Delville Wood

As the world marks the centenary of the outbreak of World War One on 4 Au-gust 1914, South Africa marked a milestone moment in military history. Last month Private Beleza Myengwa was the first ‘person of colour’ ever to be laid to rest at the Delville Wood memorial among 600 white South African soldiers who fell at the battle of Delville Wood, acknowledged by historians as one of the fiercest battles of the Great War.

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An honour guard of South African and French Veterans dip the veteran association standards in salute of the re-interment procession of Private Beleza Myengwa at the South African National Memorial at Delville Wood, Longueval, France. This year, the annual Delville Wood memorial provided the perfect setting for righting a historic wrong perpetrated against South African Native Labour Corps soldiers.

During World War One, more than 80,000 South African Black and Cape Coloured men served alongside white compatriots in non-combat support roles on the West-ern Front, and some combat roles in Africa and Middle East.

Primarily their duties included engineering, medical orderlies, stretcher bearers or store and logistics assistants manually off-loading tons of supplies and munitions from supply ships. Others felled trees to build and fortify trenches and defences, all roles recognised as pivotal in any modern army.

These men weren’t spared the horrors of war; hundreds are known to have per-ished on French soil, a further 616 South Africans (607 of whom were black sol-diers of the SANLC) were lost when the troopship SS Mendi got broadsided by a much larger vessel in the English Channel.

In fact, South Africa lost as many men in the frigid February waters of the English Channel as she did during the Battle of Delville Wood.

In addition to the loss of life, one of the greatest travesties perpetrated on Black and Cape Coloured soldiers, who made up 42 percent of SA forces, was that they were not even honoured for their service. Medals were withheld and later, due to racist political pandering, their legacy was excluded from history books both in South Africa and Europe.

WW1 is perceived as a ‘white man’s conflict’, but clearly this is not totally accu-rate, these men bravely contributed to the war effort, and did so with honour.

The first black South African soldier to fall, Private Beleza Myengwa died on 27 No-vember 1916 within days of his battalion arriving to France.

Protocol necessitated casualties be buried in the area they lost their life so Pvt. Myengwa was laid to rest at a civilian cemetery in Le Havre rather than at the South African Labour Corps military cemetery at Arques La Bataille near Dieppe.

Last month, as a symbol of reconciliation and nation building, Pvt. Myengwa’s re-mains were exhumed from Le Havre and re-interred during a sombre ceremony at Delville Wood near Longueval, France.

The casket was carried to its final resting place by representatives of all SANDF branches, as the procession approached the museum, an honour guard of SA Le-gion and French veterans dipped their respective association colours in final salute to the fallen comrade.

Private Myengwa is the first ‘person of colour’ ever to be laid to rest at the Delville Wood memorial among 600 white South African soldiers who fell at the battle of Delville Wood, acknowledged by historians as one of the fiercest battles of the Great War.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa were among the dignitaries who gathered on 6 July to honour the sacri-fice made by Pvt. Myengwa and his SANLC comrades.

An inscription on Pvt Myengwa’s new resting place inside Delville Wood museum underscores the symbolic importance of his re-interment. It reads: ‘Here lies the remains of the first South African Native Labour Corps member to die in France. His presence represents all the members of the SANLC whose deeds were not ac-knowledged in the past. He is buried here amongst his comrades as a symbol or reconciliation and nation building. Their contribution was not in vain and their heroism will forever be cherished by their nation.’ 

Peter Dickens, Chairman of the South African Legion UK branch said “History needs to be righted. The contribution and sacrifice of these men must be included in the accounts of the Great War, this is absolutely the right thing to do, I hope their families get some peace and take a shot of pride from the symbolic gesture made by the veterans and respective government’s today.” He went on, “I hope the SA Government continues to build on this spirit of reconciliation and properly recognises the contribution of all those called to bear arms by our great nation over the intervening century since Pvt. Myengwa fell.”

Compiled by Lynne Salter