Tributes to SA’s sacrifice and courage at Delville Wood
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The soldiers of the 1st South African Infantry Brigade who gave their lives, bravely and valiantly during the Battle of Delville Wood in July 1916, have been remembered at a stirring memorial service at the Thaba Tshwane New Military Cemetery in Pretoria.
Speaking at the service to mark the 108th anniversary of the battle, Chaplain Ben van der Walt, outlined the bravery and suffering of the soldiers facing relentless machine-gun and artillery fire.
He said on 15 July 1916, only two years into World War l, the South African Infantry Brigade under the command of General Henry Lukin was ordered to take, clear and hold Delville Wood, north-east of the village of Longueval in northern France at all costs.
While capturing the wood took only one day, it was considerably more difficult to hold it.
The brigade was relieved on the 20th of July – after six days and five nights – of ferocious fighting.
Just over 700 remained of the more than three thousand men – the rest had either been killed or wounded.
The Battle of Delville Wood was extremely costly for both the Germans and the British and Commonwealth.
Van der Walt, highlighted the tragic realities of war and the unpredictable nature of politics, saying: “War determines not who is right, but who is left. It has nothing to do with the politics of the day in various countries. At the end of the day, it determines who is writing the history, who is having the memorials, who are celebrating the victories or licking their wounds after the defeat…. It depends on those who interpret [history] if we will be honoured or ridiculed.”
The ceremony also paid tribute to two individuals who had made significant contributions to their communities.
Marina Valentine of the Memorable Order of Tin Hats or MOTHS said the service was dedicated to Ian Uys – a well-known military historian and author – and a long-time member of the MOTHS, John Quinn.
Valentine said Quinn, who passed away on 25 June, had managed the wreath table at countless memorials for over three decades.
Uys, who passed away on 28 June in Knysna, had spent his life researching, documenting and recording South African military from the Boer War to World War l and South Africa’s border war.
Since his first book in 1973, he has written more than 30 books on various military-related topics, including Delville Wood.
He was a globally acknowledged expert in his field as well as an active member of veterans organization such as the MOTHS and the Air Force Association and competed in over 13 Comrades marathons.
Valentine summed up a remarkable man and author.
“Many know him for his outwardly serious and stoic personality and but those close to him enjoyed his clever wit, haphazard poetic and song repertoires and riveting storytelling of heroes past.”
The first wreath was laid by Legionnaire Charles Ross, on behalf of the Uys family.
Wreaths were also laid – accompanied by the haunting skirl of a single bagpiper – by members of the diplomatic community from Angola, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy as well as by the Deputy Mayor of Tshwane, the Council for Military Veterans Organisations and the South African Legion of Military Veterans and the Delville Wood Trust.
Not forgotten were the animals that served, suffered and died alongside the soldiers in battle.
Wolfie, Inga and their handler, Roche Vermaak, paid their own special tribute to the four-legged – and also two-legged — war veterans.
The New Military cemetery contains 293 Commonwealth graves – 272 South African, 21 of citizens of the United Kingdom, 1 Belgian, one Greek and one non-war grave.
The plot is maintained by the South African branch of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.