Honoris_Crux_(1975)

Honoris Crux (1975)

Honoris Crux (1975)

Former South African military decoration

This article is about the Honoris Crux of 1975. For other uses, see Honoris Crux.

The Honoris Crux (Cross of Honour) of 1975, post-nominal letters HC, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 1975. The decoration was awarded to members of the South African Defence Force for bravery in dangerous circumstances. It was the junior in a set of four Honoris Crux decorations in four classes, which together replaced the discontinued Honoris Crux of 1952.[1]

Quick Facts Type, Awarded for ...

The South African military

The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).[2][3][4][5][6]

Institution

The Honoris Crux (Cross of Honour) of 1975, post-nominal letters HC, was instituted by the State President on 1 July 1975.[2][7]

Award criteria

The decoration was awarded for bravery in dangerous circumstances. It was the junior of four classes of Honoris Crux decorations, the Honoris Crux Diamond, Honoris Crux Gold, Honoris Crux Silver and Honoris Crux, which together replaced the discontinued Honoris Crux of 1952.[3]

Altogether 201 Honoris Crux decorations were awarded between 1976 and 2004. Most of the awards were won in action, but some were awarded for bravery in non-combat situations. After the institution of the Army Cross, Air Force Cross, Navy Cross and Medical Service Cross in 1987, the award criteria were amended in 1993 to restrict awarding of the Honoris Crux to deeds of bravery in action, while in mortal danger facing the enemy.[3]

The South African military units which were awarded the most Honoris Crux decorations are the Special Forces of the South African Reconnaissance Commandos, whose operators were awarded a total of forty-six Honoris Crux Decorations during the 1966-1989 Border War, in three of the four classes.

Order of wear

Main article: South African military decorations order of wear § Order of wear

The position of the Honoris Crux of 1975 in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1975, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force in 1994 and again upon the institution of a new set of awards in 2003.

South African Defence Force until 26 April 1994

  • Official SADF order of precedence:
  • Official national order of precedence:
    • Preceded by the King's/Queen's Police Medal for Gallantry or Distinguished Service (KPM/QPM).
    • Succeeded by the Correctional Services Cross for Valour, Ruby (CPF).[8]
South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994

  • Official SANDF order of precedence:
  • Official national order of precedence:
    • Preceded by the King's/Queen's Police Medal for Gallantry or Distinguished Service (KPM/QPM) of the United Kingdom.
    • Succeeded by the Correctional Services Cross for Valour, Ruby (CPF) of the Republic of South Africa.[9]

The position of the Honoris Crux of 1975 in the order of precedence remained unchanged, as it was on 27 April 1994, when a new series of military orders, decorations and medals was instituted on 27 April 2003.[9]

Description

Obverse

The Honoris Crux of 1975 is a silver Maltese cross, which fits in a 45 millimetres diameter circle, with two swords in saltire surmounted by a circular protea wreath, the arms of the cross in white enamel, with a roundel in the centre, tierced horizontally in the orange, white and blue bands of the national flag, framed in a double silver circle containing 24 stones.[10]

Reverse

The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms, with the decoration number impressed underneath.

Ribbon

The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide, with a 2½ millimetres wide white band, a 3 millimetres wide orange band and a 1 millimetre wide white band, repeated in reverse order and separated by a 19 millimetres wide orange band.[10]

Discontinuation

Conferment of the decoration was discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003, when the Honoris Crux of 1975 was replaced by the new Nkwe ya Selefera (NS).[3]

Recipients

More information Name, Rank ...

Note 1: † denotes a posthumous award.
Note 2: ♦ denotes a non-combat or non-operational act of bravery.
Note 3: ♥ André Diedericks was also awarded the HCS in 1985.
Note 4: ♥ Sterzel, Stuart was the last recipient of the Honoris Crux Series in 2004.

Actions cited for

  1. Cpl's Christie, Gavin M. & Potgieter, J.J. for their actions during Operation Boxer
  2. Johnston, Andrew Lawrence and Smith, Michael Anthony: During a special forces operation, conducted at night in an urban area, a hand grenade exploded, seriously wounding a four man team. Staff Sergeant Johnstone, Corporal Smith and another team member from a different team came to the assistance of the four wounded operators of the first team. The explosion had caused a fire which then ignited further grenades, carried in the webbing of the injured. Johnstone, Smith and their colleague remained with the wounded and returned enemy fire, allowing the wounded to be extracted and ensuring the eventual success of the mission.[11]: 77 
  3. This is an error. There was a mixup with General Order 120/82 where his name was listed with the HC recipients where he had clearly been awarded the HCS
  4. Queiroz, A.M.R.: Awarded for his actions during Operation Argon[16]
  5. Fidler, Bruce Andrew. – In the early 1980s, the South African Reconnaissance Commandos (now the South African Special Forces Brigade) identified the need for a special medical unit to support Special Forces on operations and the Detachment Medical Special Operations was formed. Under command of the Surgeon General, a group of 9 doctors with Commandant Wouter Basson at the head, founded what would later become 7 Medical Battalion Group at Special Forces Brigade Headquarters (Speskop) south of Pretoria in 1984. Corporal Bruce Andrew Fidler, an operational medical support operator of 7 Med Bn Gp with Special Forces training, was killed in action in Angola on 15 September 1985. The details are sketchy, but it is understood that Corporal Fidler supported a clandestine unit of the SADF, most probably 1 Parachute Battalion, tasked to train UNITA.
    Corporal Fidler was attached to 44 Parachute Regiment during operations in Southern Angola, in support of UNITA. His unit was ambushed and in the ensuing firefight, he was captured by enemy forces and was reported missing. Fidler was brutally tortured and interrogated by the enemy before being executed, but he never revealed the presence of his nearby unit, thereby enabling the 7 Medical Battalion Group Surgical Team of between 5 and 10 doctors to successfully evade capture and reach South African lines. His remains were repatriated to South Africa in June 1992 and he was cremated on 15 September 1992. Corporal Fidler was posthumously awarded the Honoris Crux for his bravery and selfless devotion, above and beyond the call of duty in the face of brutal torture. He was 22.[21][22][23][dead link]

References

  1. [1]
    South African Medal Website - Post-nominal Letters (Accessed 28 April 2015)
  2. [2]
    South African Medal Website - SA Defence Force : 1952-1975 (Accessed 30 April 2015)
  3. [3]
    South African Medal Website - SA Defence Force : 1975-2003 (Accessed 30 April 2015)
  4. [4]
    Suid-Afrikaanse militêre dekorasies: 1952-1975
  5. [5]
    Suid-Afrikaanse militêre dekorasies: 1975-2003
  6. [6]
    Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 457, no. 25213, Pretoria, 25 July 2003
  7. [8]
    Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993
  8. [9]
    Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, OCLC 72827981
  9. [10]
    Monick, S (1988). South African Military Awards 1912–1987. South African National Museum of Military History. p. 49.
  10. [11]
    Uys, Ian (1992). Cross of Honour. Germiston: Uys. pp. 43, 47, 49, 106, 124, 134–135, 137. ISBN 0-9583173-2-1.
  11. [12]
    "SA Special Forces League". Honoris Crux Decoration. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  12. [13]
    Diedericks, André (2007). Journey Without Boundaries (2nd ed.). Durban, South Africa: Just Done Productions Publishing (published 23 June 2007). ISBN 978-1-920169-58-9. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  13. [14]
    "André Diedericks". Justdone.co.za. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  14. [15]
    Steenkamp, Willem (2006). Borderstrike: South Africa in Angola: 1975 - 1980 (Third ed.). Durban: Just Done Productions Publishing. p. 445 of 499. ISBN 978-1-4475-3486-0.
  15. [16]
    Söderlund, Arné; Steyn, Douw (2018). Iron Fist From The Sea: South Africa's Seaborne Raiders 1978-1988. Jeppestown: Delta Books. ISBN 978-1868427789.
  16. [17]
    Greef, Jack (2008). A Greater Share of Honour (2nd ed.). Durban, South Africa: Just Done Productions Publishing (published 17 July 2008). ISBN 978-1-920315-06-1. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  17. [18]
    My Boss at 19 Sqn & AFB PE. RIP. Posted by Thomas Langenhoven on 10 November 2015
  18. [19]
    "View Person Information: Thomas, JA, Lt". SA Roll of Honour. Retrieved 8 October 2014.[dead link]
  19. [20]
    "Dié helde word met medaljes vereer (These Heroes honoured with medals)". Die Burger. 31 August 1991. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014.
  20. [21]
    "South African War Graves Project". Bambatha Rebellion / Rand Revolt / Korea / Border War / Non World War / Police Casualties (E-F).
  21. [22]
    The SWA / Angolan Border War 1966-1989 group on Facebook, comment by Gary Landman on a post by Graham du Toit
  22. [23]
    "View Person Information: Fidler, BA, Cpl". SA Roll of Honour. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Honoris_Crux_(1975), and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.