Special Service Battalion
Encyclopedia
The Special Service Battalion (SSB) is a South African military unit formed on 1 May 1933 under the patronage of Oswald Pirow
, Minister of Defence. The object was to give training to youths, between the ages of 17 and 23, who, in the wake of the 1929 depression
, could find no suitable employment on leaving school.
was given the responsibility for establishing the battalion at Roberts Heights
and was the first commanding officer
.
He was succeeded by Lt Col WH Evered Poole
. In 1934 detachments were also established for 100 trainees at Durban
and 150 at Cape Town
. Training included elementary military subjects and physical training. After a year of the young men usually found employment in government departments or with civilian employers. By 1936 the output of the SSB totalled about 2000 youths a year. In 1937 the South African Railways
established at Roberts Heights a special school to prepare boys for the railways. In 1937 3788 youths passed through the ranks of the SSB. A total of 882 of them joined the Permanent Force
.
With the expansion of the South African Air Force
in 1937 the SSB provided 248 air apprentices for special training but, with the improvement in the economic situation, the waiting list to join the battalion had dwindled to almost nil.
With the outbreak of war in September 1939, members of the SSB were posted to units requiring immediate reinforcement to get on to a wartime basis. An example of this being the Coastal Artillery
. In February 1940 a number of troops were transferred to the 1st and 2nd Field Force Battalions. These served with distinction in East Africa
, Abyssinia
and the Middle East
as part of 1st South African Division.
In August 1941 all members of the SSB below the age of 18 were transferred to the Youth Training Brigade. The remainder formed an infantry battalion, which was converted to an armoured car commando
in 1942.
In February 1943 the SSB, under Lt Col EG ('Papa') Brits, became part of the 11th SA Armoured Brigade. In March 1943 the Field Force Battalion was disbanded and other ranks
and some of the officers
were transferred to the SSB, thus providing a nucleus of battle-tested veterans.
The unit sailed for the Middle East with the 6th SA Armoured Division in April 1943. In 1944 the division crossed the Mediterranean Sea
to take part in the Italian campaign
. The regiment played a prominent part in numerous actions during the campaign.
In 1946, SSB was resuscitated as a Permanent Force
unit and reorganised on a two-battalion basis with the 1st Battalion as an armoured unit and the 2nd Battalion infantry. The former became a training regiment in 1953 and the latter was renamed the 1 SA Infantry Battalion (1SAI) in 1951.
could be deployed. Because the act could be interpreted as not making provision for active service by UDF units beyond the Union's borders and “the prevailing tense political climate”, Field Marshal Jan Smuts
, the prime minister, declared that only volunteers would make up a fighting force beyond the country’s borders. The volunteers were required to sign a document known as the 'Africa Oath', in which they declared that they would be prepared to fight anywhere in Africa. They were distinguished from other members of the UDF by orange-scarlet shoulder tabs worn on their uniforms and commonly referred to as 'red tabs'.
According to Professor Andrè Wessels of the Department of History at the University of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein
, “the wearing of these tabs caused a lot of resentment, by stigmatising both those who were prepared to fight and those who opposed active involvement (depending on one's political outlook), and was one way of exerting pressure on UDF members to volunteer for active service”.
(usually abbreviated to 1SSB) is an armour
ed regiment
of the South African Army
based at Tempe near Bloemfontein
.
1SSB took part in the South African Border War
, serving in South-West Africa and Angola
. In 1998, the unit took part in Operation Boleas, the South African intervention in neighbouring Lesotho
.
2 Special Service Battalion, a post-World War II sister unit based in Zeerust has now been disbanded. 2 Special Service Battalion also saw extensive action during the South African Border War. Both units have very proud traditions.
See also: Pantserskool OR School Of Armour, Bloemfontein.
The SA Armour Museum, on the grounds of Tempe Military Base, exhibits various items dealing specifically with military armour. It consists of an indoor-, outdoor-, and reference library area.
Oswald Pirow
Oswald Pirow was a South African lawyer and far right politician, who held office as minister of Justice and Defence.-Early life:...
, Minister of Defence. The object was to give training to youths, between the ages of 17 and 23, who, in the wake of the 1929 depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, could find no suitable employment on leaving school.
History
Lt Col George E BrinkGeorge Brink
Lieutenant-General George Edwin Brink CB CBE DSO was a South African military commander.In 1913, Brink joined the Union Defence Forces...
was given the responsibility for establishing the battalion at Roberts Heights
Thaba Tshwane
Thaba Tshwane is a military base , in Pretoria, South Africa. Founded around 1905 by the British Army, and called Roberts Heights after Lord Roberts...
and was the first commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
.
He was succeeded by Lt Col WH Evered Poole
Evered Poole
Major General William Henry Evered Poole, CB, CBE, DSO, Commander of the US Legion of Merit, Commander of the French Légion d'honneur, Croix de Guerre avec Palme, Mentioned in Despatches, was a South African soldier before and during World War II and afterwards a diplomat.-Early life:In October...
. In 1934 detachments were also established for 100 trainees at Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
and 150 at Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. Training included elementary military subjects and physical training. After a year of the young men usually found employment in government departments or with civilian employers. By 1936 the output of the SSB totalled about 2000 youths a year. In 1937 the South African Railways
Spoornet
Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of 'South African Railways and Harbours', a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people for decades from the first half of the 20th century and was widely...
established at Roberts Heights a special school to prepare boys for the railways. In 1937 3788 youths passed through the ranks of the SSB. A total of 882 of them joined the Permanent Force
Permanent Force
The Permanent Force was an integral part of both the South African Defence Force and the South West Africa Territorial Force and other British Commonwealth militaries. It consisted of all the full time volunteers, volunteers of auxiliaries and national servicemen....
.
With the expansion of the South African Air Force
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
in 1937 the SSB provided 248 air apprentices for special training but, with the improvement in the economic situation, the waiting list to join the battalion had dwindled to almost nil.
With the outbreak of war in September 1939, members of the SSB were posted to units requiring immediate reinforcement to get on to a wartime basis. An example of this being the Coastal Artillery
Coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
. In February 1940 a number of troops were transferred to the 1st and 2nd Field Force Battalions. These served with distinction in East Africa
East African Campaign (World War II)
The East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....
, Abyssinia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
as part of 1st South African Division.
In August 1941 all members of the SSB below the age of 18 were transferred to the Youth Training Brigade. The remainder formed an infantry battalion, which was converted to an armoured car commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
in 1942.
In February 1943 the SSB, under Lt Col EG ('Papa') Brits, became part of the 11th SA Armoured Brigade. In March 1943 the Field Force Battalion was disbanded and other ranks
Other Ranks
Other Ranks in the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are those personnel who are not commissioned officers. In the Royal Navy, these personnel are called ratings...
and some of the officers
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
were transferred to the SSB, thus providing a nucleus of battle-tested veterans.
The unit sailed for the Middle East with the 6th SA Armoured Division in April 1943. In 1944 the division crossed the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
to take part in the Italian campaign
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
. The regiment played a prominent part in numerous actions during the campaign.
In 1946, SSB was resuscitated as a Permanent Force
Permanent Force
The Permanent Force was an integral part of both the South African Defence Force and the South West Africa Territorial Force and other British Commonwealth militaries. It consisted of all the full time volunteers, volunteers of auxiliaries and national servicemen....
unit and reorganised on a two-battalion basis with the 1st Battalion as an armoured unit and the 2nd Battalion infantry. The former became a training regiment in 1953 and the latter was renamed the 1 SA Infantry Battalion (1SAI) in 1951.
Regimental Symbols
- The cap badge is a spray of three proteaProteaProtea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes.-Etymology:...
flowers, bound by a ribbon bearing the initials and motto. - Regimental mottoMottoA motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
: Eendrag Maakt Mag (Unity is Strength)
Red tabs
The South African Defence Act (Act No 13 of 1912) was vague in its description of where members of the Union Defence ForceSouth African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
could be deployed. Because the act could be interpreted as not making provision for active service by UDF units beyond the Union's borders and “the prevailing tense political climate”, Field Marshal Jan Smuts
Jan Smuts
Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...
, the prime minister, declared that only volunteers would make up a fighting force beyond the country’s borders. The volunteers were required to sign a document known as the 'Africa Oath', in which they declared that they would be prepared to fight anywhere in Africa. They were distinguished from other members of the UDF by orange-scarlet shoulder tabs worn on their uniforms and commonly referred to as 'red tabs'.
According to Professor Andrè Wessels of the Department of History at the University of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
, “the wearing of these tabs caused a lot of resentment, by stigmatising both those who were prepared to fight and those who opposed active involvement (depending on one's political outlook), and was one way of exerting pressure on UDF members to volunteer for active service”.
Battle honours
- ItalyItalian Campaign (World War II)The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
1944 - 1945 - FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
- Gothic LineGothic LineThe Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander.Adolf Hitler...
- Celleno
- The Greve
- Po Valley
The present
1 Special Service Battalion1 Special Service Battalion
1 Special Service Battalion is an armoured regiment of the South African Army and only one of two such in its regular forces...
(usually abbreviated to 1SSB) is an armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
ed regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the South African Army
South African Army
The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...
based at Tempe near Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
.
1SSB took part in the South African Border War
South African Border War
The South African Border War, commonly referred to as the Angolan Bush War in South Africa, was a conflict that took place from 1966 to 1989 in South-West Africa and Angola between South Africa and its allied forces on the one side and the Angolan government, South-West Africa People's...
, serving in South-West Africa and Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
. In 1998, the unit took part in Operation Boleas, the South African intervention in neighbouring Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
.
2 Special Service Battalion, a post-World War II sister unit based in Zeerust has now been disbanded. 2 Special Service Battalion also saw extensive action during the South African Border War. Both units have very proud traditions.
See also: Pantserskool OR School Of Armour, Bloemfontein.
Museums
The regimental museum of 1 Special Service Battalion in Bloemfontein tells the story of the special unit that was born as a result of the Great Depression. Articles in the museum date from this period.The SA Armour Museum, on the grounds of Tempe Military Base, exhibits various items dealing specifically with military armour. It consists of an indoor-, outdoor-, and reference library area.