The De Wet Medal is a military long service medal which was instituted by the

Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1987. It was awarded to members of the Commandos, the rural defence component of the South African Defence Force, for ten years of efficient service and good conduct.

The South African military

The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).South African Medal Website - SA Defence Force : 1975-2003
(Accessed 30 April 2015)
(Accessed 30 April 2015)

Institution

The De Wet Medal was instituted by the State President in 1987. It was named after

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

General Christiaan de Wet.South African Medal Website - Legal aspects - Fount of Honour
(Accessed 1 May 2015)

Award criteria

The De Wet Medal was instituted in 1987. It was awarded to members of the Commandos, the rural defence component of the South African Defence Force, for ten years of efficient service.

Order of wear

The position of the De Wet Medal in the official order of precedence was revised twice, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force in 1994 and again upon the institution of a new set of awards in 2003. ;South African Defence Force until 26 April 1994: MTDBlint2

Ribbon - Queen's Medal for Champion Shots

*Official SADF order of precedence: ** Preceded by the

Good Service Medal, Bronze The Good Service Medal, Bronze, originally named the South African Defence Force Good Service Medal, Bronze, is the junior of a set of three South African military medals which was instituted by the Republic on 1 July 1975. It was awarded to mem ...

. ** Succeeded by the

Queen's Medal for Champion Shots in the Military Forces The Medal for the Best Shot in the British Army, Infantry, was instituted by Queen Victoria in 1869 and was awarded annually from 1870 to 1882 to the best shot of the Infantry of the British Army, including the Royal Engineers and the Colonial ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. *Official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the National Intelligence Service Medal for Faithful Service, Bronze. ** Succeeded by the State President Sport Award.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993 ;South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994: Ribbon - Long Service Medal, Bronze

*Official SANDF order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Long Service Medal, Bronze of the Republic of Venda. ** Succeeded by the Faithful Service Medal of the

Republic of Transkei A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. *Official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Police Medal for Faithful Service of the

KwaNdebele Homeland KwaNdebele was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Ndebele people. The homeland was created when the South African government purchased nineteen white-owned farms and install ...

. ** Succeeded by the Faithful Service Medal of the Republic of Transkei.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, The position of the De Wet Medal in the order of precedence remained unchanged, as it was on 27 April 1994, when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again when a new series of military decorations and medals was instituted in South Africa on 27 April 2003.

Description

;Obverse The De Wet Medal is a disk struck in bronze, 38 millimetres in diameter and 3 millimetres thick, depicting

General Christiaan de Wet on horseback, surrounded by a wreath of proteas and inscribed "MEDALJE ~ DE WET ~ MEDAL". ;Reverse The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms. ;Ribbons The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide, with a 4 millimetres wide green band, a 2 millimetres wide white band and a 7 millimetres wide dark blue band, repeated in reverse order and separated by a 6 millimetres wide yellow band in the centre. The green and yellow colours have their origin in the ribbon colours of the three awards which were belatedly instituted in 1920, as retrospective awards for Boer veteran officers and men of the

of 1899–1902, the

Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst The ''Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst'', post-nominal letters DTD, is a South African military decoration. It was instituted in 1920 as a retrospective award for Boer officers of the 1899–1902 Second Boer War.Alexander, E.G.M., Barron, G.K.B. a ...

, the

Medalje voor de Anglo-Boere Oorlog The ''Medalje voor de Anglo-Boere Oorlog'' is a South African military campaign medal. It was instituted on 21 December 1920 as a retrospective award for Boer veteran officers and men who fought in the 1899–1902 Second Boer War.Alexander, E.G ...

and the

Lint voor Verwonding The ''Lint voor Verwonding'' (Wound Riband) is a South African military campaign award. It was instituted on 21 December 1920 as a retrospective award for Boer veteran officers and men of the 1899–1902 Second Boer War who had been wounded in ...

. For these three awards, these two colours had been gazetted as green and orange, but the orange appeared as yellow on the actual ribbons.

Discontinuation

Conferment of the medal was discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 26778, Pretoria, 17 September 2004

References

{{South African military decorations and medals Military decorations and medals of South Africa Awards established in 1987 1987 establishments in South Africa 2003 disestablishments in South Africa Awards disestablished in 2003