South African units

[Dieppe]

I am looking at starting to add WW2 medal groups to my WWI 'collection' and would be grateful for some advice.

I was a little horrified to see the prices being asked for WW2 Stars & Medals to British personnel, one group was priced at nearly £250 and only had one named medal (a LSGC medal).
How would I know that the seller didn't buy the LSGC, do a little research and buy the Stars & Medals at a latter date?

So, I've decided to start my WW2 'collection' with South African Stars & Medals which I know were named but I'm not sure where the South Africans served during WW2.
I would hazard a guess and say that they served in North Africa, but where else?

[BeppoSapone]

Originally posted by Lee@Jun 27 2004, 06:43 AM


So, I've decided to start my WW2 'collection' with South African Stars & Medals which I know were named but I'm not sure where the South Africans served during WW2.
I would hazard a guess and say that they served in North Africa, but where else?

East Africa too.

They also had the 6th South African Armoured Division in Italy 1944/1945.

[Dieppe]

Beppo - Many thanks mate.

[BeppoSapone]

Originally posted by Lee@Jun 27 2004, 07:00 AM
Beppo - Many thanks mate.

No problem Lee

Here is a bit about them:

http://members.shaw.ca/madorosh/divssa.htm

[Sgt Pilot Bernard Henson RAFVR]

The Rarest WW2 Star found Named to South African Forces is the France & Germany Star,Only a handful were awarded{around 150 or so; I recall an article on this in Medal News some years ago},to South African Recipients it is much rarer than an Air Crew Europe, to SA Forces;There must also be Atlantic,Burma & Pacific Star recipients,but again they are scarce,Italy Star with Africa Star is a reasonably common Combination to them,If buying UK Forces WW2 with Named medal,I look for the Box & /or issue slip,etc,to give creedence to the group,as it is not unknown for "Dealers" to add or detach the odd star to bump up the group.Happy hunting!{PS aussie Groups are also named{go for those that have ALL medals/Stars named,there are a number out there with unamed Stars & named War & ASM~not very appealing,though sometimes apparently legit.

[BeppoSapone]

Originally posted by Sgt Pilot Bernard Henson RAFVR@Jun 27 2004, 08:03 AM
PS aussie Groups are also named{go for those that have ALL medals/Stars named,there are a number out there with unamed Stars & named War & ASM~not very appealing,though sometimes apparently legit.

I was really lucky with my token named WW2 Australian group, to a man named Walker. A friend in the Adelaide area traded it with me back in the mid 70s.

Last year I found the mans details online and found that he served in Special Forces!

Can't remember the exact details, but it was some sort of commando unit. Something Cavalry Commando Squadron?

[DirtyDick]

Are WW2 SA groups as easy to research as Australian ones?

I haven't seen any on-line information, so I suppose one would have to go via their PRO equivalent?

Richard

[Dieppe]

Many thanks for the advice.

Australians named their medals eh? I might add those to my collecting sphere then, at least they'll be a little easier to research.

Once again, Thank You

[Sgt Pilot Bernard Henson RAFVR]

Originally posted by DirtyDick@Jun 27 2004, 04:31 PM
Are WW2 SA groups as easy to research as Australian ones?

I haven't seen any on-line information, so I suppose one would have to go via their PRO equivalent?

Richard

The Papers are accessible,but not online as far as I know you have to apply to Pretoria I Believe,You should be able to find Address on the WWW somewhere

[DirtyDick]

Cheers for that, Roger.

May stick to named Aussie WW2 medals then, far easier to research: I've seen a number of posts on the GWF about the difficulties of getting these papers outside of SA itself.

Has anyone requested the posting of service papers on the Aust. WW2 Nominal Roll site? I did this the other day and they seem to plan to meet each request within 30 days: excellent idea; dont know why with lottery money couldn't do the same in the UK.

Richard