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Job Maseko
Job Maseko was a South African soldier during World War II, serving in the Native Military Corps as part of the South African 2nd Infantry Division. He was one of many Allied troops captured by the Axis in the surrender of the port of Tobruk in 1942. He gained fame by his actions in sinking a German vessel with a milk can whilst serving as a POW stevedore in Tobruk harbour, for which he was awarded the Military Medal. Before the War Before the war, Maseko worked as a miner in Springs South Africa. After completion of basic training, he was sent to North Africa to join the 2nd South African Division. Surrender and sabotage Maseko became a prisoner of war on 21 June 1942 when Major-General Hendrik Klopper, commander of the South African 2nd Infantry Division surrendered the Tobruk Garrison with 32,000 men to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. The garrison included 10,722 South Africans of the 2nd Division (of which 1,200 were Native Military Corps members). The Germans separat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neville Lewis
Alfred Neville Lewis (1895–1972) was a South African artist. He was born in Cape Town, Cape Colony, and educated there and, later, at the Slade School of Art in London. His father was the Reverend A. J. S. Lewis, who was Mayor of Cape Town, and on 4 October 1929, officially opened the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway. Neville married Theo Townshend a fellow student. He became a member of the New English Art Club in 1920. When his marriage broke up in 1922 his two sons Tom and David went to Cape Town where they were raised by their grandparents and his daughter Catherine stayed with his ex-wife. He served in World War I in France, Belgium, and Italy. During World War II he carried on producing portraits in oil. He frequently painted and drew black South Africans. Lewis painted three portraits of Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery. He also painted several persons actively involved in the war effort ranging from a member of the South African Native Military Corps to a nurse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prisoner Of War
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war in custody for a range of legitimate and illegitimate reasons, such as isolating them from the enemy combatants still in the field (releasing and repatriating them in an orderly manner after hostilities), demonstrating military victory, punishing them, prosecuting them for war crimes, exploiting them for their labour, recruiting or even conscripting them as their own combatants, collecting military and political intelligence from them, or indoctrinating them in new political or religious beliefs. Ancient times For most of human history, depending on the culture of the victors, enemy fighters on the losing side in a battle who had surrendered and been taken as prisoners of war could expect to be either slaughtered or enslaved. Ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Africa Service Medal
The Africa Service Medal is a South African campaign medal for service during the Second World War, awarded to members of the Union Defence Forces, the South African Police and the South African Railways Police. The medal was originally intended for service in Africa, but it was later extended to cover service anywhere in the world.South African Medal Website – Union Defence Forces (1939–52) (Accessed 3 May 2015) Institution In addition to the British Second World War campaign medals awarded to combatants from all members of the British Commonwealth, several Commonwealth nations established their own service medals, all distinctive in design, purpose and criteria.[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Medal 1939–1945
The War Medal 1939–1945 is a campaign medal which was instituted by the United Kingdom on 16 August 1945, for award to citizens of the British Commonwealth who had served full-time in the Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy for at least 28 days between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945.New Zealand Defence Force – The War Medal 1939–45 (Access date 23 April 2015)Veterans Affairs Canada – War Medal 1939–1945 (Access date 23 April 2015) Institution The duration of the |
Italy Star
The Italy Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British Commonwealth forces who served in the Italian Campaign from 1943 to 1945, during the Second World War. The Second World War Stars On 8 July 1943, the Star (later named the Star) and the Africa Star became the first two campaign stars instituted by the United Kingdom, and by May 1945 a total of eight stars and nine clasps had been established to reward campaign service during the Second World War. One more campaign star, the Arctic Star, and one more clasp, the Bomber Command Clasp, were belatedly added on 26 February 2013, more than sixty-seven years after the end of the war.Stephen Stratford Medals site ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Africa Star
The Africa Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943 during the Second World War. Three clasps were instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon: North Africa 1942–43, 8th Army and 1st Army. The Second World War Stars On 8 July 1943, the Star (later named the Star) and the Africa Star became the first two campaign stars instituted, and by May 1945 a total of eight stars and nine clasps had been established by the United Kingdom to reward campaign service during the Second World War. One more campaign star, the Arctic Star, and one more clasp, the Bomber Command Clasp, were belatedly added on 26 February 2013, more than sixty-seven years after the end of the war. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1939–1945 Star
The 1939–1945 Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces for service in the Second World War. Two clasps were instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon, Battle of Britain and Bomber Command.Stephen Stratford Medals site: British Military & Criminal History, 1900 to 1999. 1939–45 Star (Access date 1 April 2015)Forces War Records, Medals, 1939–1945 Star (Access date 2 April 2015) The Second World War Stars [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Empire Medal
The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to replace the original medal, which had been established in 1917 as part of the Order of the British Empire. Award The British Empire Medal is granted in recognition of meritorious civil or military service. Recipients are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "BEM". Since December 1918, the honour has been divided into civil and military divisions in a similar way to the Order of the British Empire itself. While recipients are not members of the Order, the medal is affiliated to it. Between 1993 and 2012, the British Empire Medal was not awarded to subjects of the United Kingdom, although it continued to be awarded in some Commonwealth realms during that time. The practice of awarding the Medal to British subjects was resumed in June 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Medal, George V Version (Obverse)
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct military uniform. It may consist of one or more military branches such as an army, navy, air force, space force, marines, or coast guard. The main task of the military is usually defined as defence of the state and its interests against external armed threats. In broad usage, the terms ''armed forces'' and ''military'' are often treated as synonymous, although in technical usage a distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include both its military and other paramilitary forces. There are various forms of irregular military forces, not belonging to a recognized state; though they share many attributes with regular military forces, they are less often referred to as simply ''military''. A nation's military may f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lance Corporal
Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equivalent to the NATO Rank Grade OR-3. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corporal derives from an amalgamation of "corporal" from the Italian phrase ''capo corporale'' ("head of the body") with the now-archaic '' lancepesade'', which in turn derives from the Italian ''lancia spezzata'', which literally means "broken lance" or "broken spear", formerly a non-commissioned officer of the lowest rank. It can be translated as "one who has broken a lance in combat", and is therefore a leader. "Lance" or "lances fournies" was also a term used in Medieval Europe to denote a unit of soldiers (usually 5 to 10 men strong). Brazil After the independence of Brazil in 1822, the new Brazilian Army followed the Portuguese system of ranks, h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
6th Armoured Division (South Africa)
The 6th South African Armoured Division was the second armoured division of the South African Army and was formed during World War II. Established in early 1943, it was based on a nucleus of men from the former 1st South African Infantry Division who had returned to South Africa after the Second Battle of El Alamein in late 1942. The division was initially transferred to Egypt for training, after which it served in the Allied campaign in Italy during 1944 and 1945. In Italy, the division was initially deployed as part of the British Eighth Army, under command of Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese, and was then transferred to the U.S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, for the remainder of the Italian Campaign. The division operated as a strongly reinforced division and was frequently used to spearhead the advance of the Corps and Army to which it was attached. They returned home after the end of the war in Italy and were disbanded in 1946. The division was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1st Infantry Division (South Africa)
The 1st South African Infantry Division was an infantry division of the army of the Union of South Africa. During World War II the division served in East Africa from 1940 to 1941 and in the Western Desert Campaign from 1941 to 1942. The division was disbanded on 1 January 1943, for conversion into what would become the 6th South African Armoured Division. The division was also briefly active after the war from 1 July 1948 to 1 November 1949.South African Defence Review via http://www.rhodesia.nl/sadfhist.htm Outbreak of war When Neville Chamberlain declared war on 3 September 1939, the Union Defence Force consisted of 5,385 Permanent Force members, 14,631 Citizen Force members and 122,000 Commandos of which only 39,000 were considered suited for field deployment. The Defence Act also prohibited the deployment of its members beyond the confines of southern Africa. On 4 September, General Hertzog resigned and was replaced by General Smuts and two days later, on 6 Septemb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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