W01 C HOLLIDAY John James Clarke Holliday, First Ser Language, That Helped Me
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“I was born in Pretoria, and as regards W01 c HOLLIDAY John James Clarke Holliday, first Ser language, that helped me. But when I joined geant Major of the SADF, must be one of the SADF after leaving school, that’s when I the last full-time members to wear service became bilingual. I wasn’t before joining the ribbons from World War 2. It is an SADF. indication of the span of his long career “In my time in the SADF it has always and the immense wealth of experience he been predominantly Afrikaans — the per can bring to his new appointment. manent force ratio is perhaps 70-30. But I Born on October 16 1927, Holliday is have not become Afrikanerised. It’s not an armour specialist who joined the Army something I could claim for myself. But I while still a schoolboy. He got his first have greater insight into the Afrikaner than rank — lance corporal — at the age of 19 many of my countrymen. in 1946, as an instructor at 1 Special “There have been the Rogerses, the Ed Service Battalion. He stayed there until wardses, the Frasers and so on. I can mention he became an instructor at the Army many names in the upper echelons. Gymnasium in 1962. He later served as “To me the major factor is that the De Squadron Sergeant Major at OFS Com fence Force is not attuned that way. If it was, mand, and later Northern Transvaal it would be looking for trouble because of the Command. question of racial, cultural, political and reli In 1969 he became Command Ser gious affiliations. It is not just the question of geant Major of Northern Trans English churches. This is a heterogeneous Command and in July 1984 Sergej society. So if the Defence Force becomes Major of the Army. cliquey it is looking for trouble. The post of Sergeant Major of the “I’m glad.to say that the opposite is true. Army is a comparatively recent one, hav We take pride in being the one big organisa ing been instituted in 1970 only (the first tion which can get people together. So there incumbent was the legendary WOl Ock- is no place for pettiness or sectarianism. ert Snyman, who died recently). Obvious Jp'People from the US and UK have asked ly Snyman and his successors have made me: Taking into account the fact that there is the appointment work, because this year a greater percentage of Afrikaans-speakers the new post of Sergeant Major of the in the officer corps and therefore automati SADF was created, and Holliday was cally more conservatism, what hope do you firs t the post appointed. see for the Defence Force to move in the direction of enlightenment? “And being English-speaking, I have-to manent Force (PF) and more English-speak- “Something which has been very good in correct them by saying: You’re stating that as ing youngsters found themselves in leader the Defence Force in the past 10 years has a fact. I grant you the majority is Afri training, the situation would be improved. been the atmosphere in the top structure. kaans-speaking, but why prejudge the Afri It’s a pity more English-speakers don’t want There has been good cohesion and a spirit kaner as necessarily conservative? to be part of it. They have themselves to which encouraged a man to express himself “When it comes to mixing people the De blame for the situation. So I ask them to in his own language. fence Force has a head start on the rest of the come forward. And there is no doubt we in “We respect each other’s language, and country. It has the privilege of putting them the PF must pay more attention to the lan I’ve never had a problem in expressing my all together. guage problem. self as an English-speaker. In any case, when “The trouble is that people come along speaking we all switch across from one lan with pre-conceived ideas. It is a pity, but guage to the other for better expression. It’s these ideas got into the minds of English- no trouble. speakers, and so for a long period in the “Hopefully this is happening throughout Fifties and Sixties few of them joined the the SADF. That way we can form this multi Permanent Force. tude into a cohesive organisation.” ‘‘Now it’s slowly being rectified. I think On his religion: As a Roman Catholic, percentage of English-speakers has in Gleeson belongs to a church which has been creased. But because Afrikaans-speakers outspoken in his condemnation of the South were predominant in recent history there is African government and its employment of no doubt that the English language doesn’t the SADF. But he does not experience an come fully into its own. Obviously the 50-50 inner conflict which could require him to language principle doesn’t either, and it’s choose between the church into which he was incumbent on the SADF to rectify this. born and the profession he has chosen to “In my mind it’s not an unwillingness on follow. the part of the Afrikaner to do something “I’ve never felt the need to change my about this. Many an Afrikaner has a com religion. If I’ve been guilty of backsliding, plex about English — for example, often he it’s not been to please my superiors or the can’t get his “is’s” and “are’s” right. We SADF, because the SADF is broad-minded have a definite policy of language tests, but I in its outlook on religion. It has more than think we too easily assume people are more 100 denominations, and 33 churches are per proficient in English than they are. manently represented by chaplains. Every “So you get a young Afrikaans-speaking man can practise his religion according to his corporal who has to address a bunch of men beliefs. So I’ve never stood back for my from the Cape Town Highlanders or the religion. Cape Town Rifles (Dukes), and he is fright “The Defence Force has some good basic ened. R M Pickersgill ... English rules — don’t discuss politics or religion in “If more English-speakers joined the Per- Methodist the mess. I’ve always practised my religion in my private life. The present Chaplain-Gen the Defence Force there is much in common. “If a Permanent Force member suffers a eral was my chaplain in SWA, and although The Defence Force pays much attention to religious conflict he is free to leave, and the we had different religious backgrounds I the religious aspects of military service and Defence Force has also gone out of its way to have great respect for him. tries to apply some of the principles, and so accommodate people who had problems. “Reconciliation is based on Christian val there is no problem reconciling all the differ “But in my own case I have no conflict of ues, and if one looks at the religious code of ent denominations. conscience.” ® Old and strong Is the South African Army the strongest in sub-Saharan Africa? It depends on how you juggle the fig u res f the yardstick is merely numbers, Army is the largest in I Africa, since fully mobilised it would be able to field about 300 000 men; whereas its nearest rival, Ethiopia, has but 220 000 (Ni geria, surprisingly, has a modest ground force of 94 000). But statistics are not enough. Both SA and Ethiopia have considerable numbers of part- time reservist troops. To make any sort of analysis one has to consider qualitative fac tors such as level of training, staff efficiency, command efficiency, logistical backup and that great but vital intangible, morale and fighting spirit. It is certainly the oldest army in Africa if one takes its development back to its roots. The history books say the SA Army dates from 1912, when it was put together from the odds and ends of the various more or less willing bedfellows in the new Union of SA. But it is directly descended from the merce nary company soldiers Jan van Riebeeck landed at the Cape in 1652, and many ofi~ present characteristics can be traced ba! several hundred years. Two interesting aspects that still charac terise South African defence thinking were there from the very beginning. Firstly, to save money, the size of the regular force was kept well below its require ments, the intention being that in time of trouble its ranks would be swelled by the levying of militia from the civilian popula tion. Goodwill — and “feel” Secondly, stress was laid on cultivating the goodwill of the indigenous population. This last was accomplished partly by exerting rigid discipline on the hard-bitten mercenar ies (in the 18th Century, for example, any soldier who got into the Castle after retreat had been sounded was thrashed by the ser Ready to roll ... an infantryman waits, R4 assault rifle at the ready geant of the guard). Apart from things like conscription, the the Abyssinian campaign, and so, almost 35 soldiers of today have inherited something SA ARMY STRENGTH years later, was Colonel Koos van Heerden more intangible but equally important: a Full-tinw members: 76 000 consisting of: in his swift advance up the Angolan coast in which he covered 3 000 km in 33 days of “feel” for mobile warfare involving maxi Permanent Force .................................... ....... 1 80 00 mum use of initiative and downright ingenu- National Servicemen .......................