The Gallantry Cross, Gold was instituted by the President of the

Republic of Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the ...

in 1985, for award to all ranks for extreme courage or supreme bravery or valour beyond the normal call of duty.South African Medal Website - Venda Defence Force
(Accessed 30 April 2015)

The Venda Defence Force

The 900 member Venda Defence Force (VDF) was established upon that country's independence on 13 September 1979. The Republic of Venda ceased to exist on 27 April 1994 and the Venda Defence Force 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 Gallantry Cross, Gold was instituted by the President of Venda in 1985. It is the senior award of a set of two decorations for bravery, along with the Gallantry Cross, Silver. Venda's military decorations and medals were modelled on those of the Republic of South Africa and these two decorations are the approximate equivalents of, respectively, the

Louw Wepener Decoration The Louw Wepener Decoration, post-nominal letters LWD, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Union of South Africa in 1952. It was awarded to members of the South African Defence Force for acts of the most conspicuous ...

and 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 ...

Award criteria

The decoration could be awarded to all ranks for extreme courage or supreme bravery or valour beyond the normal call of duty.

Order of wear

Since the Gallantry Cross, Gold was authorised for wear by one of the statutory forces which came to be part of the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

on 27 April 1994, it was accorded a position in the official South African order of precedence on that date.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, ;Venda Defence Force until 26 April 1994: *Official VDF order of precedence: ** Succeeded by the Gallantry Cross, Silver (GCS). *Venda official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the National Force Gallantry Cross, Gold (PCF). ** Succeeded by the Police Gallantry Cross, Gold (PCF). ;South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994: Ribbon Distinguished Gallantry Cross

*Official SANDF order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Distinguished Gallantry Cross of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. ** Succeeded by the Honoris Crux (1952) (HC) of the Republic of South Africa. *Official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Decoration for Valour in the Prisons Service of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. ** Succeeded by the Police Gallantry Cross, Gold (PCF) of the

. The position of the Gallantry Cross, Gold in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1994, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, but it remained unchanged on both occasions. These were in April 1996, when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted for the two former non-statutory forces, 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 ...

and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003.

Description

;Obverse The Gallantry Cross, Gold is a silver-gilt cross pattee which fits in a circle 45 millimetres in diameter, with a gold hare's bobtail within a red circlet in the centre.Uniform: SA Army: Former Forces Medals - Venda Defence Force (BDF)
/ref> ;Reverse The reverse displays the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Venda. ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and dark brown, with 4 millimetres wide dark blue edges.

Discontinuation

Conferment of the Gallantry Cross, Gold was discontinued when the Republic of Venda ceased to exist on 27 April 1994.

References

{{South African military decorations and medals Military decorations and medals of Venda Awards established in 1985 Awards disestablished in 1994 1985 establishments in Africa 1994 disestablishments in Africa