It is once again that time of year when Membership fees become due. As I am sure you all remember our Membership Year runs from 1 July to 30 June; thus next years (2011/2012) fees become due at the end of June.
Membership remains at R75.00 for addresses within South Africa. Overseas (this includes Namibia)members need to pay R150.00 if they have no e-mail address or R110.00 if they do have e-mail. To renew you can send a cheque, made out to the Naval Heritage Trust, to P O Box 521, Simon’s Town, 7995 or pay that amount directly into our account:
Bank: Standard Bank
Branch: Fish Hoek
Branch Code: 036 009
Account Name: Naval Heritage Trust
Account Number: 072 102 276
However if you take up the second option please remember to either post the deposit slip or send confirmation of payment to wiggyben@gmail.com
New Books.
To remind members; the latest new book to be published by the NHT is “South African Naval Events Day by-Day 1488 to 2009” and is available from the SAN Museum for only R120.00 per copy plus packaging and postage as can be seen on our website www.navalheritagetrust.co.za.
We will also shortly be publishing a really excellent book written by one of our members, Captain Ian Manning, called “No Reward for Duty” which is a biography of Captain G. V. Legassick who served in mainly in the North Atlantic throughout the Second World War and then after the war was appointed as Captain Superintendant of SANC General Botha in which post he served with great success until the General Botha was transferred to the Department of Defence. This book will also be in A5 format and is approximately 300 pages. When available (hopefully within the next 3 months) it will probably be on sale at R120.00. If any of you are interested in purchasing a copy please let me know at wiggyben@gmail.com so that we can get an idea of the interest (not if you are also a members of the General Botha Old Boys Association as Tony Nicholas is gathering that information).
AGM
The AGM was successfully held on Wednesday 18 May 2009 and we would like to thank the Yselstein Association for the use of their Club House. Fifteen members managed to make it to the meeting and we thank them for making the effort
The Minutes plus the Chairman’s report are attached to this Newsletter.
Minutes of the Fourteenth Annual General Meeting of the Naval Heritag e Society of South Africa. Held at the Yselstein Association Room, Simon’s Town on 12 May 2010
Welcome.
1. The Chairman, Mr Mike Bosazza, opened the meeting at 14:30 and welcomed those present. The Chairman thanked Cdr Wesselo and the Yselstein Association for so kindly permitting the Naval Heritage Society to once again hold its AGM in their room again and for their ready help and support with the screen, laptop, bar and other arrangements.
Present.
2. Fifteen members were present at the meeting.
Apologies.
3. Apologies were received from: Cdr K Adams, Capt W M Bartie, R Adm(JG) E T Beddy, Bishop R H Cawcutt, Dr S N R Cullis, Mr H R Heitman, Alderman N Holderness, R Adm(JG) E W Jupp, Cdr B H J Laver, Mr H G Y Lincoln, Capt I C Little, Capt V Martinelli, Mr J Payne, V Adm R C Simpson-Anderson, Capt M StJ Thomson, Mr A G von Zeil, Cdr J F Wainwright, V Adm L J Woodburne, Capt K G Woolf.
Additional Items for the Agenda.
4. No additional items for the Agenda were submitted.
Minutes of the Thirteenth AGM.
5. The minutes of the Thirteenth AGM were confirmed as a true record of the proceedings. Proposed by R Adm C H Bennett and seconded by WO1 A Wessels.
Financial Statement
6. The Honorary Treasurer, Lt Cdr H A Farrow, presented the financial statement and balance sheet for the year ending 28 February 2011 which had been approved by the Trustees on 9 March 2011. Copies of his report and the financial statements will be supplied on request. The Financial Statement and Balance Sheet have been audited by an external auditor, L J McGoldrick CA(SA).
Chairman’s Report
7. A copy of this report is attached.
Talk on the submarine museum project by R Adm Peter Keene SM MMM SAN(Ret)
8. Adm Keene then gave a power point presentation on the history of the SA Navy’s Submarine Branch and the SAS Assegaai Preservation Project. He explained that South Africa’s protracted dispute with the United Nations on the legality of its mandate over South West Africa had prompted the SADF to plan for the possibility of a seaborne invasion of the territory in the event of a UN takeover bid.
Although South Africa then had frigates and destroyers to escort our forces at sea, we lacked a strategic deterrent.
Admiral Keene pointed out that all discontinuous change in South African history had come as the result of seaborne interventions: the Dutch settlers in 1652; the British occupation of the Cape in 1795 and 1806; the arrival of a British field force in 1899 and the British domination of South African seas during the resultant Anglo Boer War, and finally the arrival of the Russian and Cuban forces in Angola in 1975/76.
When South Africa decided to purchase submarines in 1969 the preferred boat was the British Oberon Class submarine in view of our strong links with the Royal Navy. However the British Government at the time was not prepared to negotiate the sale of further ships to the SAN. The second option was the Dutch triple hulled Dolfyn Class submarine, however they were considered to be complex and cramped.
The SAN therefore turned to the French who had a newly designed, albeit small submarine, the Daphne Class and three of these were ordered and delivered to South Africa in the early 1970s. Due to their small size the intention was to later expand the fleet with the newer and larger Augusta Class, two of which were ordered in the mid 1970s, these two were hover cancelled by the French Government after the United Nations imposed a compulsory arms ban on South Africa in November 1977 and tsold them on to Pakistan.
Adm Keene went on to describe the upgrades and improvements to the three Daphne Class submarines with locally designed and manufactured equipment after the cancellation of the Augusta order. As these submarines were reaching the end of their operational lives an initiative was made to have at least one of them preserved as a museum and in 1979 a Staff Paper for the preservation of the first submarine SAS Maria van Riebeeck (renamed SAS Spear in 1999) as a museum vessel. Adm Keene
was therefore shocked to hear from Adm Söderlund in 2003 that the Maria was being broken up after being sold as scrap for R300,000.
Fortunately the Chief of the Navy at the time supported the preservation project and it was decided that one submarine should be preserved as part of the SAN Museum. Four teams were tasked to decide which of the remaining two submarines should be retained and what should be kept for static displays.
One of the teams was also tasked with drawing up a business plan to keep the submarine as a part of the Museum in perpetuity.
The 2004 Project was driven by R Adm(JG) Söderlund who was still serving at that time. Adm Keene explained that legislation regarding SANDF Museums and the necessary authority for the acceptance of donations from the public were only eventually approved in 2008.
As the submarine presentation project will eventually cost a considerable amount of money, it requires a sponsor/supporter who is prepared to guarantee financial support rather than actual cash. He then described some unsuccessful attempts to raise funds from various benefactors and described the position towards the end of 2010 when the project was rapidly loosing credibility. There had been a long pause and not everyone in the Navy was keen on the project. Then Dr Brian Gowans suggested opening the submarine to the public on the water to raise the profile and to gather funds. Nobody could understand why this brilliant solution had not been thought of before. Adm Keene then described how the many obstacles were surmounted in a few short months before SAS Assegaai could be opened to the public as well as the tremendous success since it had been opened in December 2010.He praised Adm Söderlund and his band of dedicated volunteers, especially those who were in fact not ex-submariners and yet have done their homework so well that they are now all excellent guides over the submarine.
Adm Keene also described the educational value of the museum submarine as an example of all applications of science and technology as well as its public relations value to the Navy.
In the long term it is intended to beach the submarine next to the Diving Centre in the West Yard by means of a barge system.
The Chairman thanked Adm Keene for his fascinating and informative talk and congratulated him and the submarine project team on what they have accomplished.
9. There being no further business, the chairman closed the meeting.
