WWII cemetery upgrades near completion
Palmietkuilen South War Cemetery at Aston Lake is currently being upgraded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
There are 217 graves belonging to soldiers from the Native Military Corps and the Indian and Malay Coloured Corps of the South African Army, who died in World War II.
The surface of the area of the cemetery is approximately 5 500m² and needs to be maintained, according to the CWGC international acceptable horticultural standards.
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“This cemetery is but one of the cemeteries and memorials at 23 000 locations, in 154 countries that are maintained by the CWGC,” says Juan Maree, director of the South African Agency of Commonwealth War Graves.
Renovation work to the cemetery started in August and is scheduled to be completed in February.
“In the past the cemetery had a stable water supply and a borehole, but the water contained acid as a result of mining in the area and the cemetery couldn’t be maintained according to the international acceptable horticultural standards,” he says.
Poor pressure from a municipal water supply line forced the CWGC to install reservoir tanks on site, which are used to maintain the cemetery.
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As part of the upgrade all the headstones were re-installed at the SWGC prescribed height of approximately 90cm.
“Over the years some of the headstones subsided and had to be put back in line,” says Maree.
Flower beds were dug and plants were also re-established.
The existing lawn was removed and was replaced with a newly laid lawn.
Maree says the existing irrigation system was also repaired where necessary.
This was done at a substantial cost to the Commission, as part of their normal maintenance work.
History
Military history has it that the compounds of the gold mine on Palmietkuil Farm were taken over by the Union Defence Force at the outbreak of World War II – and used as the main training centre of the Military Corps.
The centre was served by its own hospital known as Grootvlei Hospital.
Maree says the cemetery is the largest concentration of native military corps graves in Gauteng.
A memorial within the cemetery, behind the Cross of Sacrifice, bears the names of 122 soldiers, whose graves are in remote parts of the country which couldn’t be properly maintained.
“The commission ensures that the 1.7-million (in Commonwealth service) people who died in World War I and World War II, will never be forgotten,” he says.
Springs resident Errol Brits, who was contracted by the Commission to do maintenance, says only a few minor tasks remain to be done at the cemetery.
