Ditsong: National Museum of Military History.

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This is a quick firing 13-pounder Mark 2 field gun as used by Great Britain during WW1 (1914-1918)

 

 

 

This is why I found myself at the Ditsong: National Museum of Military History recently. To see the Janice Honeyman directed of Peter Terry’s short play ‘At All Costs’…as he described them in the production…the three scariest words in the English language.

Peter’s performance is superlative and the intimate audience were, like me, quickly entranced by his portrayal of David Wells. This is a production that will touch both young and old on a visceral level and the images it conjures up with such clarity will remain with you long after you have left the theatre. A testament to brilliant storytelling by Peter Terry.

This is more than a history lesson, this is an in depth look at the psyche of those who survived those fist 5 days in Delville Wood.

The mural behind Peter is the mould that was used to make a work that currently hangs in the Delville Wood Museum in France.

FYI?

In just four days between 15 and 19 July, the SA Brigade, numbering only 3150 men, attached to the 9th Scottish Division lost 766 men with the dead outnumbering the wounded four to one. At the height of the Battle of Delville Wood, enemy artillery fire reached 400 shells a minute.

 

 

 

One of several memorials on display around the grounds of this somber museum.

I use the word ‘somber’ advisedly as most items on display here were designed by humans in order to kill/maim other humans.

As you walk around the various exhibits and you see them for what they actually are designed to accomplish, then you have to wonder if the lessons learned in WW1 (1914-1918) failed to land and that the many wars that came subsequently could possibly been avoided.

Or it was perhaps all due to the egos of despots and dictators who believed that their legacy was the deaths of millions…men, women and children.

Did you know?

The number of casualties in WW1(1914-1918) was 20 million deaths and 21 million wounded. The total number of deaths includes 9.7 million military personnel and about 10 million civilians. 

It is estimated that during WW2(1939-1945) about 40 million civilians, and some 20 million soldiers perished.

 

 

 

Pretty vehicles all in a row? Even though their primary function is to kill and cause damage, there is an innate beauty about the sheer size of these.

 

 

 

I had NO idea just how large the Hawker Siddeley (Blackburn) Buccaneer S Mk 50 actually is.

It saw service in the United Kingdom between 1962 and 1992.

 

 

 

Just some of the ordinance/armaments that this long range strike aircraft carried.

 

 

 

This is a Palouste air starter that, by means of high pressure air, started the engines of the Buccaneer.

This system can be carried on the plane, thus giving the plane the advantage of being able to use airfields that do not have one of these in stock.

 

 

 

The business end of the Buccaneer, showing the attachment for refueling while in the air.

 

 

 

Lighting the way… Who needs ESKOM or a torch when you have a lamp of this size.

 

 

 

360 degree view? I don’t think so! I believe that this Eland 90 Mk 7 (4×4) would have a severe case of ‘blind spot’.

 

 

 

The cockpit of an of an Aeromacchi/ Atlas Impala Mk 11

The interior seems to be falling apart. But seeing it is not airworthy, does it really matter?

Probably not.

 

 

 

On the fuselage of an Aeromacchi/ Atlas Impala Mk 11

So much to read…luckily it is all on the outside and the pilot would not have to bother with all this information.

 

 

 

Would you trust a wheel this size at the tail end of a jet fighter?

 

 

 

Can you handle it?

I wonder if this was polished during battles? If not, why were these handled made from a metal that did not need polishing?

 

 

 

There seemed to be a lot of shiny brass on many of the large guns. I wonder if the brass was polished while the gun was in the field, or if this is the museum staff keeping the weapons in display condition?

 

 

 

Who needs indicators on a vehicle of destruction?

This was such a huge vehicle that I just assumed that it would have right of way wherever it was turning.

 

 

 

The business end of the one of the armaments found on a Ratel 20 Mk1.

 

 

 

The Anglo-Boer War Memorial was originally called the Rand Regiments Memorial and dedicated to the men of the Witwatersrand who joined as British soldiers in the Rand Regiments and who had lost their lives during the Second Boer War (1899–1902). The memorial is now next door to the South African National Museum of Military History. It was rededicated on 10 October 1999 to all people who died during the Second Boer War and renamed the Anglo-Boer War Memorial.

Designed in Paris, the bronze sculpture, when finally mounted atop the memorial in April 1914, would face to the west. As to what the sculpture represents, the sources differ, with some calling it Nike (the Greek winged goddess of victory) while others – in the interest of reconciliation between the English and Afrikaaner populations – referred to it as an “angel of peace”. The Lutyens Trust says the initial design was for a triumphal angel, but the final design was one of an angel of peace. The memorial would be known as the Kakiemonument (‘khaki monument’) by the Afrikaaner population who had fought against the British during the war.

The memorial was rededicated on 10 October 1999 in “memory of the men, women and children of all races and all nations who lost their lives in the Anglo Boer War, 1899–1902”. 1 June 2002 saw a gathering at the memorial to commemorate the hundred-year anniversary of the end of the Second Boer War, on 31 May 1902. A total of 22 000 British soldiers, 7 000 Boers, 24 000 black men, women and children, and 22 000 white women and children who had died during the war or in concentration camps, were remembered at the ceremony. (Information from Wikipedia)

 

 

 

Wildlife in the middle of Johannesburg? Seeing the museum backs onto the Johannesburg Zoo, I was not surprised to find several of these nesting in the soft soil at the foot of the monument.

The ground squirrel is especially renowned for its tendency to rise up on its hind legs, usually whenever it senses immanent danger, or it needs to peer over tall grass.

Should there be a predator close by, the squirrel will curl its paws flat against its chest and let out a screeching call to warn family members.

 

 

 

To find out what the various museums have to offer, use this link or click on the logo above. https://ditsong.org.za/

 

 

For those that were not aware, there is an extension to the Travel & Things Blog in the form of ‘In conversation with‘ a YouTube channel hosted by David Batzofin and filled with a plethora of interesting interviews with a variety of people.

To visit the channel, click on the ‘In conversation with’ image above.

 

 

 

 

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