Willem Steenkamp is a South African author, journalist, historian,^[1] military analyst and citizen soldier.^[2] He has published a number of books and consults widely in military affairs.

This biographical article is written like a résumé. (June 2023)

Quick Facts Born, Allegiance ...

Major Willem Petrus Steenkamp MMM JCD JP
Born	(1940-05-02) 2 May 1940 (age 83) Cape Town
Allegiance	South Africa South Africa
Service/branch	South African Army  South African Army
Rank	Major
Unit	Cape Town Highlanders Regiment (CTH)
Awards	Badge for Reserve Voluntary Service Chief of the Army's Commendation

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• Cited in 1967 and 1968 in United Press International's annual selection of its best news feature articles worldwide.
• Awarded the Settlers' Prize for Enterprising Journalism in 1982.
• Awarded the Maskew Miller Prize (co-winner with James Ambrose Brown) in 1983 for the Anglo-Boer War novel "The Blockhouse".
• Awarded the Lady Usher Memorial Prize in 1985 for the historical novel "The Horse Thief".
• Awarded the Barcom Prize for Professional Military Writing in 1988 for an essay on future amphibious assault personnel requirements.

• Justice of the peace (appointed 1993).
• UN international election observer (appointed 1994).
• Member of the Ceremonial Staff Board (advisory body to the SANDF's Director of Ceremonial and Military Music) up to 2004.
• Member of the VOC Foundation.

• Ngami! (1971). Fictionalised re-telling in Afrikaans, for mid-teenagers, of explorer Charles John Andersson's epic mid-19th-Century trek from Walvis Bay to Lake Ngami.
• Land of the Thirst King (1975 – reprinted 1979). Historical/contemporary travel book about Namaqualand (North-West Cape Province).
• Adeus Angola (1976). First account of the initial South African military incursion into Angola.
• The Soldiers (1978). Short interlinked biographies of Generals Christiaan de Wet, Koos de la Rey, Sir Henry Timson Lukin, Sir Jaap van Deventer, Dan Pienaar and Evered Poole
• Poor Man's Bioscope (1979). Historical/contemporary travel book about Cape Town
• Moedverloor (1980). Historical novel, in Afrikaans, about Great Namaqualand (now Namibia) in the 19th Century
• Sê vir Leonardo (1980). Contemporary action novel, in Afrikaans, set in Cape Town
• Aircraft of the South African Air Force (1981). Illustrated survey of contemporary SAAF aircraft; later reprinted as Jane's Book of the SAAF
• Borderstrike! (1983). First detailed account of early South African military incursions into Angola, 1978–1980. Expanded/re-edited edition 2003
• Namakwalandse Oustories (1983). Re-telling, in Afrikaans, of traditional Namaqualand folk-tales
• Christmas Story/Kersverhaal (1984). Re-telling of the Nativity, in separate English and Afrikaans versions, from the viewpoint of the animals in the stable
• The Horse Thief (1985). Historical novel set in Namaqualand in the 1870s (winner of 1985 Lady Usher Memorial Prize, and later staged at Nico Malan Theatre, Cape Town)
• Blake's Woman (1986). Historical novel set in 19th-Century Great Namaqualand (now Namibia)
• The Blockhouse (1987). Historical novel set at the end of the Second Anglo-Boer War (co-winner of Maskew Miller Prize)
• South Africa's Border War, 1966–1989 (1989). Illustrated history of the SWA/Namibian border war
• Jim Zulu (2006). Historical novel set in the Kimberley diamond diggings area of the 1880s, inspired by South Africa's only known case of public lynching
• Assegais, Drums and Dragoons (2012). The early military and social history of the Cape of Good Hope, 1510–1806
• The Black Beret: the history of the SA Armoured Corps, Volume 1 (early beginnings up to 842 Madagascar campaign) 2016)
• SA's Border War 1966–1989 (revised and updated edition) (2016)
• SA se Grensoorlog 1966–1989 (revised and updated edition) (2016)
• Mobility Conquers: The Story of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group 1978–2005, with Helmoed-Römer Heitman (September 2016)