The South African Legion is the oldest military veterans organisation in South Africa. It is referred to simply as the SA Legion or even 'The Legion' and is one of the largest independent military veterans charities in South Africa.

History

After suffering the horrors of war in France and Flanders, thousands of men who fought on the British side in World War One underwent incredible hardship once they had been discharged from the armed services and returned to civilian life. Realising the serious plight in which men found themselves, three prominent soldiers - Field Marshall Earl Haig, General the Rt. Hon. J C Smuts and General Sir H T Lukin - founded the British Empire Service League (BESL) at an inaugural meeting held in the City Hall, Cape Town on 21 February 1921. This is also the date of South African Armed Forces Day, following the proclamation by the former President of the Republic of South Africa and Commander-in-Chief of the South African National Defence Force, President, J.G. Zuma that 21 February every year be observed and commemorated as Armed Forces Day (AFD), where honour is paid to those that lost their lives in the fateful 1917 sinking of the

SS Mendi SS ''Mendi'' was a British Ocean liner, passenger steamship that was built in 1905 and, as a troopship, sank after collision with great loss of life in 1917. Alexander Stephen and Sons of Linthouse in Glasgow, Scotland launched her on 18 June ...

. At the Empire Conference a week later the SA Legion was formalised (28 February to March 4, 1921) in Cape Town, South Africa as the British Empire Services League (BESL, South Africa) by joining the Returned Soldiers and Sailors Association and the Comrades of the Great War, after which the

Comrades Marathon The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race. The direc ...

is also named, making SA Legion the oldest military veterans organisation in South Africa and one of the founding organisations of the international

Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League The Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League (RCEL) represents the interests of Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth citizens who have served with either the British or Commonwealth Forces. It was founded in 1921 (as the British Empire Service Lea ...

(RCEL). On 8 April 1941, it was decided to call the organisation the South African Legion of the BESL as national feelings were increasing and members wanted to emphasise their South Africanness. The Legion is an active member organisation of the RCEL and HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is the High Patron of the Legion. The headquarters of the Legion were originally in Bloemfontein in the centre of the country, but moved to Johannesburg in 1942, where it still is, housed in the

South African National Museum of Military History The South African National War Museum in Johannesburg was officially opened by Prime Minister Jan Smuts on 29 August 1947 to preserve the history of South Africa's involvement in the Second World War. In 1975, the museum was renamed the South Af ...

. The name was altered again in 1958, to suit the changing times, to the SA Legion of the British Commonwealth Ex-Services League (BESL). The BESL has since changed its name to the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League. The South African Legion's national website states "The Legion is a national, non-sectarian and strictly non-partisan in relation to politics." The Legion is often mentioned in television news bulletins and websites, not only in connection with its remembrance activities, but also warning military veterans of scams aimed at them. As a non-racial military veterans organisation, the SA Legion has long remembered the tragic loss of the

in which more than 600 Black South African soldiers died. The Legion's UK Branch, made up of former South African servicemen and women, has also held a memorial service near the site of the sinking. The commemoration is held in

Atteridgeville Atteridgeville is a township located to the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is located to the east of Saulsville, to the west of West Park; to the north of Laudium and to the south of Lotus Gardens. The settlement was established in 1939, and ...

, Pretoria and

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

, as well as in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

, which linked with British historians to find missing headstones, and other major centres including

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. South Africa instituted a new Armed Forces Day in 2013, which commemorates the loss of the Mendi.

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

is commemorated in

at the

Cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

in Heerengracht Street, in Johannesburg at the Cenotaph in Harrison Street and in Pretoria at the Union Buildings. The Legion holds commemorations throughout the country, including Pietermartitzburg, capital of Kwa-Zulu Natal Province.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:South African Legion 1921 establishments in South Africa Aftermath of World War I Organizations established in 1921 South African veterans' organisations

History

See also

References

External links