SA National Defence Force Participation In The 90TH Commemoration Of The Battle Of Delville Wood And Memorial Service At Arques-la-Bataille

The fierce battle of Delville Wood fought 90 years ago was commemorated on Sunday 16 July 2006 at Delville Wood in France.

In July 1916, the 1st South African Infantry Brigade was given the unenviable task of clearing the wood, near the village of Longueval, of German forces entrenched there. The South Africans were ordered to hold the wood at all costs. The order was carried out with great bravery, albeit with great losses.

This year’s ceremony not only commemorated the lives of South Africans who perished on foreign soil during World War I, but also celebrated the lives of those South Africans who fought and died in other wars, including the struggle for liberation.

The RSA Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr Mluleki George presided over the commemoration, which was followed by a wreath laying ceremony at Arques-la-Bataille cemetery and town memorial on 17 July 2006.

On Sunday 16 July the new South African Coat of Arms was unveiled at the Museum built on the site of the South African memorial in Delville Wood in 1986.

Importantly, the Museum now contains an exhibition on the Liberation Struggle. The names of members of the South African Labour Corps who are buried at Arques-la-Bataille and those who perished on board the SS Mendi were also unveiled at the Museum.

A company of the National Ceremonial Guard supported by the combined bands of the SA Army, SA Air Force, SA Navy and SA Military Health Service participated in each of the ceremonies. There was also a strong delegation of senior SA National Defence Force officers and veterans.

The Reserve Force was represented by pipers from the Transvaal Scottish and Cape Highlanders, as well as Major General Roy Andersen in his capacity as Chairman of the Delville Wood Trust