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To Download the Africa Branch Sitrep Volume 12 Dawn Losper Herman Jooste Welcome to “THE SITREP” – your RLI RA(Africa ) newsletter – Volume 12, March 2020. Salutation Greetings all ouens and crows wherever you may be. You will have received a copy of “The Sitrep” during February - and it was never the intention to publish a volume every month – only when interesting events, or stories, come to hand. It is hoped that you enjoy this issue, albeit running on the back of February’s missives. Prayer Meeting – 07 March 2020 When Bucks Theron announced his disappointment at the poor turnout, for the reading of the roll of honour, – we got the message – he meant it! Seriously, ouens – the gathering totalled 18 and was a mixture of RLI, BSAP, Selous Scouts and Psyops. And here they are – keep a sense of humour, ouens! "Lung" Taylor – RLI U.P. Standing -RLI “Pork” Morreira – SU BSAP G.R.I. Mace – RLI Chrome Dome – RLI U. N. Shaw – RLI G.F.S. Serious - RLI “Roller” Cruiser – Skuz’apo Scottie Bongs – RLI Omar Heavens – RLI “Doggie” Styles – RLI “Goat” Tee – RLI Si Klops – BSAP D.J. Iguana Galapagos - RLI "Pro" Phile – RLI “Egg” Shelly – RLI I.N. Cognito - Psyops There were more gathered for lunch but, the troopie statue remained pretty lonely that Saturday. There was, of course, this oke (who prefers to fly below the radar – and has special goggles for the purpose). His guest (John Stanton’s that is – OOPS!) was none other than this man. Neill Jardine was not only Rhodesia’s fly-half – he is probably best known for his contribution to Rhodesian education, having served at Fort Vic, Churchill and Marlborough before taking Headships at various private schools in South Africa. For those who know Neil, it was a pleasure to see him – and an equal pleasure for those who don’t know him – because, every Rhodesian has heard of Neil in one context or another. Impromptu speeches are not an anathema to Neill – and he “promptly” entertained us with a few of his own “war-stories”, including a rendition of a particular headmaster ordering a form-master to beat the whole form – as a result of information not forthcoming from suspected pupils. The beatings were duly delivered – but, fifteen minutes later, the headmaster returned to the form- master with a message, “Sorry Form-master – wrong form!” Each boy in the class was issued a credit of two “strokes” each! That is not the sort of story one would relate in today’s western world – imagine the gasps and the law-suits - but, the link with our Rhodesian days was more than identifiable. We have been there – and got the T-shirt! Neil Jardine has an uncanny knack for remembering names. So much so, that his trade-mark was to remember every new pupil’s name, by the end of term – failure of which would result in Neil buying the unknown student a litre of Coke. On the first day of a new-boy’s existence, at Churchill, (and no doubt goaded on by seniors) the young lad walked up to Neil and asked, “Excuse me, Sir. Do you know my name?” “I’m afraid not”, replied Neil. “Well, Sir – my name is Richard Brown – now, please can I have a Coke?” It was a true pleasure to have you in our midst, Neil, and don’t leave it too long before you come again – there is money to be raised! Roll of Honour The roll for March is as follows: RLI RoH March KIA Rank First Name Surname Awards Commando DOD Eric Noel 14 Tp, 3 18-Mar- Tpr Ridge Francis Cdo 68 Reginald Rct Alan 26-Mar- Binks Training Tp Tpr "Reggie" 68 "Japie" Rct Christopher 26-Mar- Wessels Training Tp Tpr Dillon 68 Johannes van 15-Mar- Tpr Spt Grp Jacobus Staden 74 Michael 03-Mar- Tpr Derek Ellis 1 Cdo 78 "Mark" 14 Tp, 3 06-Mar- Tpr Frank P. Battaglia Cdo 78 KOAS 01-Mar- L/Cpl Victor J. Simons Base Grp 68 Gerald 03-Mar- Tpr Smith Base Grp Frederick 72 WO1 Harold 23-Mar- Birkett Base Grp (RSM) "Harry" 73 DOAS John 27-Mar- Tpr Ferreira Base Grp Fredrick 76 26-Mar- Rfn D.P. van Wyk Base Grp 77 Roy 22-Mar- Tpr (Robert?) Godding 2 Cdo 78 John Sunset Calls A notification from Ronel van Schalkwyk informed us that her husband, William Wray van Schalkwyk, passed away on the 10 January 2020 having lost his battle with cancer. It is unsure, however, whether William was actually RLI. Can anyone confirm because he is not listed on the nominal roll? A Deed Well Done During the final weeks of February, an exchange of emails took place between Ian Barnes (a S/Sgt currently serving with the British forces), Col Ian Buttenshaw, Tpr Alan Strachan, Chairman Rudi van Aarde and A.N. Other. Ian Barnes was enquiring whether anyone could verify that, his father, Pte J.W. Barnes (2509) had actually served in the RLI from 1961 to 1964? The original email contained an explanation for the enquiry. Pte J.W. Barnes lives alone, having been widowed some years ago. His dwelling place, however, brings him into contact with several other servicemen – and, together, they have shared “war-stories”. A problem arose when Pte J.W. announced that he was RLI but, had no memorabilia to prove such – no uniform, beret, dog-tags or photographs. This lack of proof resulted in Pte J.W. being somewhat ostracised from the group and labelled a “wannabee” and a fraud – not a comfortable predicament for a man in his late 70s or early 80s. Later, Ian Barnes forwarded photographs of his Dad’s dog-tags atop a group photo of the RLI, A Coy, 1962 – see Pte Barnes J.W – 3 rd row extreme left. What additional proof could possibly be required? The RLI nominal roll also confirmed Pte J.W. Barnes, A Coy, RLI, albeit a “72” prefix had, somehow, been attached to the 2509 service number, making it 722509. There was no doubt, however, that our man is not only RLI, he is one of the founder recruits of the regiment. It also transpired that, Pte J.W. Barnes did not have this evidence because, some years ago, he had given his “treasure-chest” to his son, Ian, for safe keeping in the UK. Pte John W. Barnes lives in Durban, in an apartment where other units are reserved for the aged. An urgent email was despatched to Skippy Skipworth (chairman KZN branch), requesting Skippy to pay Pte John W. Barnes a visit, reassure the veteran soldier, take him under the wing of the KZN association and comfort the forlorn sole. Skippy duly accomplished the deed the very next day – tracking down the old man, adorning his head with a brand new RLI cap, listening to John’s stories (most of which revolve around a feared RSM by the name of Ron Reid-Daly) and promising to visit again in the near future. It was Bill Wiggill, in his closing address to the regiment, as he stood down from the chair of the RLIRA (Africa), who said words to the effect, “We do not forsake our men – not ever – not on the battle-field nor in civvy street.” - Isn’t that a nice story? Well done, Skippy and all involved. A Little Nostalgia For some time, various questions have been raised regarding the use of snipers during the Rhodesian bush-war. Did we have any snipers? Did we have a sniper training school? Why is there nothing written about snipers during the bush-war? Definitive answers to these questions are difficult. Perhaps it all depends on one’s interpretations of the word, and meaning of, “sniper”. Reactions and comments to what follows would be welcomed because, thus far, there does not seem to be conclusive proof that snipers existed, and used, in the conventional sense of a sniper role – bar one. Amongst the multitude of books, written post bush-war, there are references to Rhodesian soldiers “sniping” at enemy and also attending sniper courses at the School of Infantry, Gwelo. Amongst these references are to be found Major Don Price’s (and others’) experiences of silencing certain ZIPRA elements (on Zambian soil) from across the Zambezi River. They achieved their strikes using high- powered hunting rifles. Today, Don (BCR) prides himself on being a professional hunter, crack-shot, expert marksman, etc., but does not lay claim to being a fully-fledged and certificated sniper. Also, when the BSAP formed the SWAT team, snipers would have been a requisite but, did SWAT have genuine snipers or, did they recruit from a hay-stack of marksmen in their midst? Training a sniper is arduous, expensive and very time-consuming. It takes months, if not years, to train a sniper to levels that allow him/her to be deployed operationally for purposes of sniping. Given the Rhodesian situation – lack of funds, scant resources of manpower, six weeks in and six weeks out, retraining before deployment, and a myriad of courses already on offer at the SchInf, one wonders whether the sniper course, at SchInf, was actually a sniper school or a more up-market version of marksmanship. But - before we go any further – let’s “hear it from the stallion’s mouth” “An incident had occurred at Victoria Falls - ZIPRA terrorists had fired on “The Flight of Angles”, a twin-engine plane, flying tourists over the main waterbody of the Falls. The Sam 7 (Strela) rocket, fired by the group, malfunctioned and a short while after take-off spiralled out of control and went crashing down straight into the thatched roof of the 5 Star Elephant Hills Country Club.
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