Jimmy’s Own Official Newsletter of the Signals Association

Issue 5 - June 2018

Signaller of Note General Georg Meiring

Keeping the flame burning 2nd Signals Association Annual Luncheon

Do you know your Signals Units? Take the Jimmy Quiz and find out From the pen of Robbie Executive Committee 2018 What’s in this issue of Jimmy’s Own? Since our last issue in March very little has happened, other than another of the ever popular 10-Pin Bowling events which seems to increase in Robbie Roberts 4 2nd Annual Luncheon popularity all the time. Who knows, Chairman Keeping the flame burning. and judging from the curiosity shown by a professional team in the alley ad- 7 The Two-Minute Silence jacent to our two alleys, we may have Do you know where and when it be- to start applying our minds to joining gan? the WP 10-pin bowling league! Our association also celebrated its 2nd Annual Luncheon at the Parow Piet Jordaan 8 Frontiers of Science Golf Club on Sunday 6 May 2018 in Vice-Chairman How a former Jimmy played a rile in keeping with our promise made on 1 the Square Kilometer Array. May 2016 to continue the rich tradi- tion of our forefathers who staged 10 Strike luncheons for 70 years non-stop from Another successful 10-pin bowling Howard 1946 to 2016. Another 68 years to go evening. to even their record! Shagom We also participated in the week- Secretary end activities of 71 Signal Unit which General 13 The Jimmy Quiz celebrated their 72nd birthday on 1 How well do you know your Signals May 2018 with a Formal Dinner and a Units? Church Service. Congratulations to 71 Signal Unit for this milestone in their Wilna Bekker 14 Signaller of Note history. It is that unit which gave birth Treasurer In this issue we feature General to our esteemed organisation. George Meiring. Lastly, we are indeed extremely honoured to present as our “Signal- Front Cover ler of Note” General George Meiring General George Meiring. who, as a signaller went on to become C SADF and C SANDF. Read about this in this issue. Pierre Fourie Public Robbie Roberts Relations Chairman Officer

2 3 stretched hand of Mercury (Jimmy as friend, but as a Member of our organ- is commonly known worldwide), sym- isation. 2nd Annual Signals bol of the SIGNALS ASSOCIATION, After Alderman Justus’ speech, Dr by our Vice Chairman, Piet Jordaan. Elina Tagar, delivered a special poem Association Luncheon Following a moments silence in titled “The Cranes”, written by Rasul The Signals Association keeps the flame burning. honour of Major Charles Holloway, Gamzatov in 1967 and translated into and the saying of Grace guests sat English by Z. Korovin in 2003. Dr The SIGNALS ASSOCIATION down to a memorable lunch, where Tagar is involved with Russian mili- hosted its 2nd Annual Luncheon at the after Alderman Clive Justus who is tary veterans, with special emphasis Parow Golf Club on Sunday, 6 May the Chairman of the Economy and En- of those who fought during the Ango- 2018. vironment Portfolio Committee of the lan WAR. The Poem read: This was in keeping with our prom- City of Cape Town and a long stand- ise made on 1 May 2016 to continue ing friend of the Signallers in Cape “I often sense that our fallen sol- the rich tradition of our forefathers Town paid tribute to our association diers, who staged luncheons for 70 years and its cordial relationship with the Who left on battle fields their non-stop from 1946 to 2016. City of Cape Town. bloody stains, In the 2nd Issue of “Jimmy’s Own Alderman Justus spoke from the Did not lay down in their graves for in September 2017, we covered a full heart which resulted in his speech be- solace- article about our past relationship ing well received. He reminisced about But have been transformed into with the 3rd Brigade Signals Com- his national service days in the Corps white-winged cranes. pany Reunion Association and its al- of Signals with significant people such most century long rich history and we as signaller courier Chris Willemse, And we have seen since many years are pleased that we have managed to the Springbok cyclist and retired RSM ago: stage yet another successful event on of Western Province Command Signal They soar above and send their the road to try and even our forefa- Unit, WOI Johan Smuts, who was also mournful cry. thers’ record. Another 68 years to go! present at the luncheon as an associa- We are transfixed in our deepest A surely impossible target, given the FORMER JIMMY: Guest speaker Alder- tion member. Clive fondly recalls WO sorrow man Justus. current uncertain environment within Smuts as continuously reminding his Becoming speechless as the cranes which military veterans find them- However, we were extremely priv- soldiers of the need to always “leave soar by. selves to exist nowadays. ileged to have present Sergeant Syd better than you found; Taking pride in It was with sadness that Major Ireland, Age 97, one of the last two all that you do; and delivering on what They soar, they soar exhausted (Retired) Charles Holloway, the last remaining WWII Signallers. Eddie you promise”. white triangles, Chairman and President of the 3rd Mills, the only other member of the Thank you Alderman for your inspi- And pierce the fog in a spell-bound Brigade Signal Company Reunion 3rd Brigade Signal Company is in rational speech and in so doing con- line… Association could not be present as he frail care and could not be present at tribute towards a success luncheon. As I spy a gap in their ranks – not for passed to higher order in February this the luncheon. a former Signaller yourself we thank angels. year, just four months short of when As per association tradition, the you for applying for membership of This space, I clearly see, may soon he would have celebrated his 100th ‘Flame of the Signaller / Vlam van our association and look forward to be mine. birthday on 15 June 2018. die Seiner’ was lighted by our Sec- having you in our midst, not only as a retary General and then placed in the 4 5 The Two-Minute Silence Article and photograph byRegine Lord. n Monday, 14 May 2018, the On hearing the boom of the Noon Gun, Noon Gun of Cape Town fired and the Westminster Chimes coming Onot just once, but twice, with a from the clock tower, they stood up, brief pause between the two thunder- united in their grief, to observe the tra- ous booms. ditional Angelus pause that was com- The reason for this unusual occur- mon practice in the Anglican Church rence was that a special tradition was they both attended. being commemorated that day: the Councillor Brydone then suggested Centenary of the Two-Minute Silence, that the observance of a brief period of which was first introduced right here in silence be introduced in the city centre, Cape Town on 14 May 1918. in remembrance of all those who had In 1918, news of the terrible battles fallen in World War I. Mayor Hands GOOD FOOD, GOOD COMPANY: Some being fought on the Western Front in was taken by this idea, and after some of the guests at the second Signals As- France, and of the many soldiers killed discussion, it was implemented. sociation luncheon. and wounded, had been reaching their The daily public ritual was synchro- families in Cape Town. When lists of nised with the firing of the Noon Gun casualties were read out during church on Signal Hill, to remember the fallen services, parishioners were asked to and acknowledge their ultimate sacri- participate in brief moments of silence fice, and to give thanks for those who in honour of the fallen. had returned alive, wounded and car- The day will come, when I will join Cape Town Mayor Sir Harry Hands rying the scars of the terrible fighting the row was grief-stricken on receiving the they had endured. Of birds inside their even flying news of the death of his eldest son, Thus, on 14 May 1918, as soon as chain, Captain Reginald Harry Myburgh the Noon Gun was fired, all residents And call you, whom I left behind, Hands. After days of continued fight- of Cape Town stopped what they were below, ing and being repeatedly exposed to doing, traffic and trams came to a halt, By the voice of a slender, white- mustard gas, Captain Hands had died and all stood in silent prayer, heads winged crane” during a poison-gas bombardment bowed, thinking of their loved ones on 20 April 1918, while off-duty and who had given their lives and those She also honoured Syd Ireland by seemingly safe behind Allied lines. who were still fighting on the battle- presenting him with a book titled “The After a special City Council meet- fields of WW1. A bugler on a balcony FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: Dr. Elina Hidden Thread”, which is about Rus- Tagar presents a book to Syd Ireland, ing, at which those present expressed of the Fletcher and Cartwright build- sia and South Africa in the Soviet Era. one of two remaining World War II signal- their sympathy to the Mayor and his ing on the corner of Adderley and Dar- The event ended with the “‘Flame lers. wife, one of the councillors, Mr Rob- ling Streets, played the Last Post and of the Signaller” in the hand of Mer- ert Rutherford Brydone, approached then the Reveille to signal the end of cury being extinguished. the Mayor in his office at the City Hall. Continues on page 16...

6 7 tivity and Australia has continued to constructed. It’s interesting that South play a major part in it. Africa should have had a hand in a Frontiers of Science They now are participating, along significant wartime scientific discov- How a former Jimmy played a role in Radio Astronomy and the Square with South Africa, in the Square Ki- ery which is now going to come to Kilometer Array. By Brian Austin. lometer Array (SKA) project to de- fruition in the Karroo and the deserts velop the largest radio telescope ever of Australia. arly in 1942, just before the fa- land appointed one of his scientists, J mous so-called ‘Channel Dash’ S Hey, to set up a special section to in- Ewhen three German warships vestigate and to discover the source of managed to escape from the French the jamming and to recommend mea- port of Brest where they’d been under sures that might be taken against it. constant RAF bombardment, the Brit- Intriguingly, Hey soon discovered ish coastal defence radars began to that the jamming was not caused by experience increasing levels of jam- the Germans at all but was electro- ming. It was done in such a way that magnetic noise generated by the sun. the jamming increased almost imper- And that explains the cartoon. ceptibly day by day so as not to alert Hey had inadvertently opened up a the Brits that something was afoot. completely new area of scientific re- But they were aware that the jamming search which soon afterwards became was becoming a problem. known as radio astronomy. Because of After the escape of the three Ger- the very tight security then in force it man warships there was an almighty was only after the war that his report row in Whitehall and all responsibil- was made public. Immediately there ity for the coastal radars - which had was great interest as British scientists failed to detect the ships until they were returning to their civilian labo- were well on their way - was removed ratories. from the RAF and passed to the Army. The famous radio telescope at Jo- And that meant the Army Operational drell Bank came into being as a direct Research Group (AORG) which was result of Hey’s discovery and, at the commanded by Col Basil Schonland, same time, Australia began its own formerly of the SACS and the man re- radio astronomy research. Strangely sponsible for the development of radar enough the Americans lagged some in South Africa at the outbreak of war. way behind even though as far back as Schonland thus took over the training 1931 they had actually been the first of all coastal radar operators around to observe radio waves which were Britain. shown to be coming from the Milky Subsequently those coastal defence Way. radars again reported very severe jam- Since those days radio astronomy ming but now there was action. Schon- has become a significant scientific ac- 8 9 Strike! Call back the past nother of our planned events, uniform to get together and reminisce an ever popular evening of about the good old days in the forces A10-Pin Bowling, took place at and to test their skills of 10-pin bowl- Grand West Casino Complex on Mon- ing. day 19 March 2018. All in all, another memorable oc- The group of participants are casion with the guys wanting more of steadily on the increase and this time these events to be scheduled. we had to book two alleys to allow The photographs below, hopefully, for the enlarged gathering as will be will wet the appetite of more members evident from the photographs below to join our new champions next time of our two participating teams. Yet an- round. other occasion for the former guys in THE CHAMPS: The win- ning team and the overall winner Howard Shagom (holding the bowling ball).

here is nothing like an old photograph to bring back memories. This photograph, for instance, was submitted by Marc Goodleser, a member Tof the Management Committee of the Signals Association. Marc is a former Officer Commanding 71 Signal Unit and this was taken when he did his Candidate Officers’ course at the School of Signals in Voor- trekkerhoogte between January and July 1973. Marc is in the second row, third from the left. Do you have any photographs taken during your time in the military? If so, FOR ALL TO SEE: The why not send them in to us. We are starting a new page on the website, titled scoreboard doesn’t lie. “Call back the past”. It will feature photographs sent in by our members and And in this case readers. Photographs should be either Jpeg or Bitmap images and at least 72 dpi reso- lution. You can send them to [email protected] and we will feature them on the Signals Association website.

10 11 Upcoming Birthdays The Jimmy Quiz So, how well do you know your Sig- all nine of them? June 17th - Simphiwe Mtyene nals Units? Here are nine shoulder You’ll find the answers on page 16 3rd - Fanie Bekker 30th - Abu Baker Daniels flashes of Signals units. Can you name of this edition. Good luck. 6th - Alfred de Fries August 9th - Willie van der Merwe 1 2 3 14th - Warren Oor July 23rd - Jessica Siew 8th - Themba Mbali 30th - Trunell Morom 14th - Jerome Solomon

Giving back to the community Major Carl Schmidt, a member the military guided him to now teach of the Management Committee of art there once a month. the SIGNALS ASSOCIATON, has The first class was held on Friday, 4 5 6 recently embarked on an initiative 6 April 2018, and what an awesome where he gives back to the commu- event it turned out to be. He taught the nity at Rosedale Service Centre, the ‘matured” ladies how to paint with ear Retirement Home of the SA Legion in buds, which intrigued the ‘students’ so Mowbray. much that they very quickly learned Major Schmidt was a permanent the skill. force member for 20 years and just An eventful morning was enjoyed over 10 years ago he left the perma- by all and lots of enthusiasm and ex- nent force to pursue teaching, in par- citement was expressed for the next ticular his love for art. session. He is still an active member of 71 Signal Unit and teaches in the daytime 7 8 9 at Cape Town Studies. In the evenings he teaches at CWESI, an Abet Centre, where he is the Centre Manager. Here they assist adults to obtain formal schooling and Matric. Major Schmidt’s affiliations to vari- ous military associations lead him to Rosedale, where a need for arts and crafting arose. His passion for art and 12 13 Brigadier. Awards and Decorations Signaller of note In 1978 General Meiring was ap- pointed Director Logistical Staff at Chief Army with promotion to sub- Star of South Africa (SSA) General Georg Meiring stantive rank of Brigadier. e are indeed privileged to With effect from 1 January 1979 Southern Cross Decoration (SD) present in this issue short General Meiring was appointed Of- ficer Commanding Witwatersrand curriculum vitae of General Southern Cross Medal (SM) W Command and two years later on 1 Georg Meiring, a Signaller who be- came the last Chief SA Defence Force January 1981 he was promoted to ma- and the first Chief of the South Afri- jor General and appointed Chief Army Military Merit Medal (MMM) can National Defence Force. Staff Logistics. Georg Lodewyk Meiring was born On 1 October 1982 he was appoint- Pro Patria Medal on 18 October 1939 in Ladybrand in ed as the First Deputy Chief Army. In October 1983, General Meir- the Orange Free State in what was Southern Africa Medal then the Union of South Africa. ing was appointed General Officer He grew up on a farm and attended Commanding (GOC) SWA Territorial school in Ladybrand. He attended the Command. General Service Medal University of the Orange Free State On 1 February 1987 he was trans- in Bloemfontein where he studied for ferred to Far North Command as its Unitas Medal studied a BSC and later an MSC in GOC. General Meiring was appointed Physics. He was also part time and Good Service Medal, Gold (30 Years) then later a full time lecturer at the Deputy Chief Army in April 1989 and University in Physics for some of the promoted to Lieutenant General with pre-graduate courses. General Georg Meiring further appointment as Chief Army in Good Service Medal, Silver (20 Years) Georg Meiring attested in the Per- October 1990. manent Force as an Officers’ Instruc- In October 1966 General Meir- General Meiring was promoted to Good Service Medal, Bronze (10 Years) tor with the rank of Captain at School ing was promoted to Major with fur- General and appointed as Chief SA Defence Force in October 1993. of Signals on 1 June 1963. ther promotion to Commandant (now Order of the Cloud and Banner - with After attending an Officer’s Long Lieutenant Colonel) in June 1969. On 1 April 1994 he was appointed Chief SANDF and four years later Yellow Grand Cordon (3rd Grade) Engineering Course (OLEE) from He was appointed SSO Tels at the (ORB)(Taiwan) April 1964 to May 1965 at Arborfield office of Chief of Staff in which post General Meiring retired on pension on England, he was appointed as SO2 he was promoted in October 1972. 31 May 1998. Signals (Technical) at Chief Signals In 1973 he was appointed SSO Sig- We, as a veteran association, are Order of the Cloud and Banner - with Officer (Army) in 1965. nals as Directorate Signals (D Sigs). proud to be associated with this re- Special Cravat (4th Grade) (ORB) He was appointed Officer Com- Three years later, in 1976, he was ap- markable general and am pleased that (Taiwan) manding DHQ Signal Squadron when pointed Director Telecommunications we could honour his services to our he was responsible to start the SA Ar- (D Tels) at Chief of Staff at HSAWen country’s former and current defence my’s Electronic Warfare actions. and promoted to the temporary rank of forces as a Signaller of Note! 14 15 the silence. South African author and political In Cape Town, this midday pause figure Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, who had continued daily until 17 January 1919; personally experienced the impact of it was revived once more during the the two-minute silence in Cape Town Second World War. in 1918, wrote to King George V, sug- A year after the signing of the Ar- gesting that it be adopted for the Ar- mistice had ended the Great War on 11 mistice Day service. The King was so November 1918, an annual Armistice taken by this proposal, that he immedi- Day service was being introduced by ately approved it and gave instructions then King George V. It was to be held for its adoption throughout the British throughout the UK and the Common- Empire. wealth at the 11th hour of the 11th day And thus, this simple yet profound- of the 11th month every year, marking ly stirring ritual spread throughout the the time and day on which WW1 – os- United Kingdom, the Commonwealth tensibly the War to end all Wars – fi- and beyond. nally ended.

The Jimmy Quiz Answers

1. 2 Signals Regiment 6. 3 Signals Regiment 2. School of Signals 7. 71 Brigade Signals Unit 3. 84 Mech Signals Unit 8. Natal Command Signals Unit 4. 5 Signals Regiment 9. 1 Signals Regiment 5. Army Gymnasium 16