NON-WHITE PERSONNEL IN THE SA ARTILLERY: 1939-1945, AND TODAY

Abstract

It was soon realised, after the outbreak of war in 1939, that in a country with only a limited white population, the number of volunteer brigades and units envisaged for the war effort could not possibly be maintained without the use of non-white personnel. It was militarily self evident that the lower ranks would have to be swelled with recruits from among the non-white majority and it was accepted that, even if they were enrolled only as non-combatants, the maximum use would have to be made of a revived Cape Corps as drivers and in Pioneer Battalions or other capacities. The Indians, Malays and Black men would also have to be drawn into the forces for the thousand and one tasks they were fully capable of performing.

Keywords

• volunteer brigades
• non-white personnel
• Cape Corps
• Pioneer Battalions
• Indians
• Malays
• Black men