The Memorable Order of Tin Hats (MOTH) and other veterans came together in a heart-warming tribute to honour the South Africans who fell, and to commemorate the brave soldiers who fought in the Battle of Delville Wood in 1916.
The proceedings of the Delville Wood Memorial Parade held in the Kaapsehoop Cemetery on Saturday July 20 was truly an emotional experience.
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The parade is held there because a previous MOTH member, Evan Davies, was buried at this site. He was wounded at the Battle of Delville.
This parade saw a flyover of aircraft from the Lowveld Aero Club, bagpipes and drums played by the Stevenson-Hamilton Pipe Band, playing tributes to the fallen, and many veterans saluting and toasting in remembrance of the heroes who fought in this battle.
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The Battle of Delville Wood marked a moment in history in which South Africans proved their courage and bravery. Their sacrifice is marked as one of the greatest feats of the First World War.
On the side of the Allied forces, on July 15, 1916, the SA Infantry Brigade, under command of Major General HT Lukin, was sent to clear the woods at Delville in France. The battle lasted six days and five nights.
More than 3 000 South African soldiers were deployed, of which only 750 survived.
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During this year’s annual Delville Wood Memorial Parade, tribute was also paid in solemn silence to the late Alita Steenkamp.
The community was plunged into mourning after the news that Steenkamp (60), the well-known writer and journalist, and a beloved resident of Kaapsehoop, had lost her battle with cancer on Thursday morning, May 2.
Steenkamp was married to De Wet Potgieter, former journalist and also a military veteran. Potgieter is a resident of Kaapsehoop and the owner of the well-known pub, Nagkantoor.
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It was to Nagkantoor that the final proceedings of this years annual memorial parade commenced. Potgieter said this year’s parade was very emotional for him, as Steenkamp had attended it every year.
Dana Snyman recorded the memorial service and posted it on YouTube.
Watch the video here:
@lowvelder A beautiful tribute to the brave South Africans who fought at Delville Wood, held at the Kaapsehoop Cemetery. delvillewood kaapsehoop warveterans warveteranshonoured southafricatiktok🇿🇦
