The Bravery Star in Silver, post-nominal letters BSS, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa in April 1996. It was awarded to veteran cadres of the

Azanian People's Liberation Army The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), formerly known as Poqo, was the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, an African nationalist movement in South Africa. In the Xhosa language, the word 'Poqo' means 'pure'. After attacks on ...

, the military wing of the

Pan Africanist Congress The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (known as the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)) is a South African national liberation Pan-Africanist movement that is now a political party. It was founded by an Africanist group, led by Robert Sobukwe, that ...

, who had distinguished themselves during "the struggle" by performing acts of bravery.South African Medals Website - Liberation armies
(Accessed 30 April 2015)
(Accessed 28 April 2015)

Azanian People's Liberation Army

The

(APLA) was the para-military wing of the

(PAC). It was established in 1961 to wage an armed "struggle" against the Nationalist government inside South Africa. On 27 April 1994 the Azanian People's Liberation Army was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).Warrant of the President of the Republic of South Africa for the Institution of the "UNITAS MEDAL-UNITAS-MEDALJE", Gazette no. 16087 dated 25 November 1994.

Institution

The Bravery Star in Silver, post-nominal letters BSS, was instituted by the President of South Africa in April 1996. It is the middle award of a set of three decorations for bravery, along with the Gold Star for Bravery and the Star for Conspicuous Leadership. The Azanian People's Liberation Army's military decorations and medals were modeled on those of the Republic of South Africa and these three decorations are the approximate equivalents of, respectively, the

Honoris Crux Gold The Honoris Crux Gold (Gold Cross of Honour), post-nominal letters HCG, is a South African military decoration for bravery which was instituted in 1975. It was awarded to members of the South African Defence Force for outstanding acts of brav ...

, the

Honoris Crux (1975) The Honoris Crux (Cross of Honour) of 1975, post-nominal letters HC, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 1975. The decoration was awarded to members of the South African Defence F ...

and the

Pro Virtute Decoration The Pro Virtute Decoration, post-nominal letters PVD, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa in 1987. It was awarded to officers of the South African Defence Force for distinguished conduct an ...

Award criteria

The decoration could be awarded to veteran cadres of the Azanian People's Liberation Army who had distinguished themselves during "the struggle" by performing acts of bravery.

Order of wear

The position of the Bravery Star in Silver in the official military and national orders of precedence was revised upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, Presidential Warrant by the President of the Republic of South Africa for the Institution of Honours for Bravery in the South African National Defence Force, Gazette no. 25213 dated 25 July 2003. ;Azanian People's Liberation Army: Ribbon Gold Star for Bravery

*Official APLA order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Gold Star for Bravery (GSB). ** Succeeded by the Star for Conspicuous Leadership (SCL). ;South African National Defence Force until 26 April 2003: *Official SANDF order of precedence: Rbn TDF Cross for Bravery

** Preceded by the

Cross for Bravery The Cross for Bravery was instituted by the State President of the Republic of Transkei, for award to all ranks as a decoration for bravery.Republic of Transkei. ** Succeeded by the

Star for Bravery in Silver The Star for Bravery in Silver, post-nominal letters SBS, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa in April 1996. It was awarded to veteran cadres of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress, ...

(SBS) of Umkhonto we Sizwe. *Official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Police Cross for Bravery (PCF) of the Republic of South Africa. ** Succeeded by the Star for Bravery in Silver (SBS) of Umkhonto we Sizwe.

Description

;Obverse The Bravery Star in Silver is a pair of five-pointed stars, superimposed one on the other and struck in silver to fit inside a circle with a diameter of 38 millimetres, displaying a silver lion on a ruby red enameled centre roundel.Uniform: SA Army: Former Forces Medals - Azanian Peoples Liberation Army (APLA)
/ref> ;Reverse The reverse is smooth and displays the embellished pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms. ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and red, with a 12 millimetres wide gold band in the centre.

Discontinuation

Conferment of the Bravery Star in Silver was discontinued upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003.

References

{{South African military decorations and medals Military decorations and medals of Azanian People's Liberation Army Awards established in 1996 Awards disestablished in 2003 1996 establishments in South Africa 2003 disestablishments in South Africa