The Union Defence Force

Andrew,

You have no doubt looked into some of the history of the UDF. South Africa entered WWII on Sept 5th 1939, a few days after Britain and the other Dominions. This followed in the wake of a vehement debate in the Assembly that SA should remain neutral in the war – there was a lot of pro-German feeling in the country, not to mention quite a few Germans.

Jan Smuts prevailed and SA embarked on the Allied side. But the UDF was the Union _Defence_ Force, and to volunteer to serve outside the Union, troops swore what was known as the Red Tab Oath and they wore a red roundel, about an inch in diameter, on the left sleeve of their uniform. So all the SA troops and SAAF crew fighting in East Africa, Ethiopia, the Western Desert and Italy had all volunteered to serve outside the Union.

Some officers declined and subsequently – post-1948 – rose in the Defence Force. Have a look at http://samilitaryhistory.org/8/c08novne.html

All the SADF vehicles were registered U12345 or whatever. When South Africa became a republic, this became R12345… South Africa, even in more recent years, has had lots of car number plate changes! We had cadets when I was at school in the mid-1950s and our uniform was topped by an Afrika Korps style forage cap. Thanks Mr Erasmus (the then Minister of Defence).

So, it was a great irony when things got hot in the then SWA and Angola that the Nats had no compunction in drafting ACF (Active Citizen Force) conscripts to fight outside the borders of South Africa. No surprise there, then.

PS It’d be nice to meet when you are in London soon.

The badge, without the crown, was worn by SA troops in the first world war and can be seen inscribed on monuments and tombstones everywhere South Africans fought oversees. It was designed by my great-grandmother, Florence Edwardes, the wife of Colonel Richard (“Tickey”) Edwardes CBE, who was then a senior officer in the UDF. I do not know exactly when she designed it, whether before or at the start of that war. It remained a symbol – without the crown of course – at least until I did my military service in the South African Navy in 1967. It could be seen on the caps and lapels of the old chaps called “pioneers” who did odd dogsbody work such a daytime sentry duty at military and naval establishments. The pioneers were a form of sheltered employment for poor white men I think. The last time I saw the symbol was on a visit to South Africa in the winter of 2001 when, just before Delville Wood Day I donated some money to the South African Legion, a charity that supports ex-servicemen and women. In return the lady with the collection box stuck a sticky label on my shirt with the very symbol shown on this page, the bokkie – with the crown!

Tim C’s comment sparked this second note. The ‘red tab’ – actually dark reddish-orange in colour – was worn on the epaulettes of South African army and air force members and on the sleeve of naval personnel who had volunteered to fight north of the Limpopo in Africa. Later this was extended to service outside of the continent. It was worn with great pride by the men and women who served in the UDF during the war. Consequently, when the Nationalists came to power in 1948, it became, figuratively speaking, a red rag to a bull. Many Nationalists had harboured openly pro-Axis sympathies and had been humiliated by the defeat of the Axis. Furthermore, as Tim C rightly pointed out, many PF members were openly Nationalist, Hiemstra, a pre-war air force officer, being one prominent example. Whenever home in the Union, it was clear at a glance which servicemen and women were doing the hard, dirty work and who was too anti-British/pro-Axis to leave the safety of South Africa.

After their victory in 1948 the new Nat government ordered all red tabs removed from military uniforms of the military personnel who wore them. My father, an air force officer at the time, went to a ceremony where red tabs were put in a ‘coffin’ and interred at a mock funeral that was meant to have a serious message for the governement. They completely ignored this mildly mutinous act.

Lastly about Hiemstra. He “went fishing” for the duration, in my father’s sarcastic words. Once the war was over and the Nats took power, he happily accepted his war service medal – he had not resigned his commission, but merely refused to serve “up north”. Technically he had ‘served’ during the war. He then was fast-tracked by the Nationalists. He was rapidly promoted over much more qualified, experienced, and frankly, better officers. Hiemstra ended his career as the Chief of the SADF, his chest covered in ribbons and draped in medals. It was something that veterans like my father commented on with deep contempt and ribald commentary for the rest of their lives.

Dear Sir/Madam
Do you perhaps know the date of the funeral of the red tabs, and maybe more about the service.I remember my Dad telling me that they played the last post as the red tabs were buried.
Kind Regards.
Myrna

Sorry Myrna, I can’t tell you that with any precision. I believe it was sometime after May 1948 when the Nats came into office. My father only remained in the Air Force for a few months after that. He resigned his commission within the year disgusted at the nepotism of people he considered bordering on treasonous. This story was anecdotal stuff I gleaned from people like Dad during my youth. Whenever his old SAAF friends and other ex-servicemen got together, I would sneak in and sit quietly on the fringes of their conversation, if I could, so I could listen to the yarns. I wish I knew then what I do now. It would have been worth recording their stories. As far as I know all those men are now gone, and I daresay most of their stories are interred with their bones.

I am looking for any information about a Sgt W.K.Steele 307627v who lived at Darley Brow, Upper Towers Road, Driezenberg, Cape Town in 1944. I believe that is now the area of Muizenberg. He served with my uncle in the desert W. O II Robert Edge, who was killed in Greece.

Would David Allen make contact with me aas I need information about his my great-grandmother, Florence Edwardes, and Colonel Richard (“Tickey”) Edwardes CBE, who was a senior officer in the UDF