Military Archives Depot, Pretoria

Second World War

Regarding the archives dating from the Second World War, Documentation Service is in the favourable position of having an almost complete operational record in addition to the administrative files generated at Defence Headquarters level. During the Second World War, South African troops did not act as Imperial troops as they had done during the First World War, but fought under South African command and it is for this reason that most of the war diaries were sent straight to South Africa by the office of origin.

War Diaries (ref. WD)

The war diaries and the accompanying operational documents were sent during the Second World War directly to Defence Headquarters, Pretoria. As a result, the depot houses an almost complete set of diaries for all three combatant Arms of Service up to division level. Diaries exist for the following campaigns:

East Africa
North Africa and the Middle East
Mediterranean theatre (chiefly Italy). For a short period during this campaign, the 24th Guards Brigade (British) was attached to the Sixth South African Armoured Division and for this reason the following British war diaries have found their way into the SANDF Archives: 24 Guards Brigade Headquarters (1944: Jun-Dec), 1 Scots Guards (1944: Jun-Dec), 3 Coldstream Guards (1944: Jun-Dec), and 5 Grenadier Guards (1944: Jun-Dec).

Diaries for formations higher than division level rest with the British military archives in London. It must also be noted that there are separate groups for the war diaries of the Air Force and Medical units which served during the war.

War Diaries South African Air Force (ref. WD SAAF)

This comprises 22.3 linear metres. The contents are arranged firstly according to the type of formation or unit (squadron, wing, air depot and air school) and then according to the number of the formation or unit. The group also includes the Headquarters' war diaries, together with those of the Womens' Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and the SAAF Infantry battalions.

War Diaries Surgeon General 1939-1945 (ref. WD SG)

This comprises 5.1 linear metres and although incomplete, covers the full period of the war and includes material on every theatre of operations. The war diaries of practically every type of Medical Corps unit are included : the SA General Hospitals, Mobile Field Dental units, Field Ambulances, Mobile Bacteriological Laboratories, Casualty Clearing Stations, Mobile X-Ray Units, Hygiene Detachments and medical stores.

Divisional Documents (ref. Div Docs)

This group of documents is not a distinct archives group but, like the War Diaries, is yet another of those omnibus groups artificially created from the archival residue of various offices. The Divisional Documents, comprising 29 linear metres, relate to the three South African divisions which served at various times abroad during the Second World War. The documents are for the most part sorted according to the Division to which they relate.

1st SA Division. This Division was despatched to East Africa during the latter half of 1940, to counter the Italians who had overrun British Somaliland and had advanced into Kenya. By mid-1941, following the capitulation of the Axis forces in East Africa, the attention turned to Operation Torch - the repulsion of the Axis forces in North Africa. By the end of June 1941 the Division was transferred to Egypt. The 5th SA Infantry Brigade was annihilated by Rommel's armour at Sidi Rezegh. The Division took part in the two decisive battle of El Alamein in August and October 1942. By the end of November 1942, the enemy armies had been cleared out of Libya and with its services no longer required in Africa, the Division returned to the Union at the beginning of 1943. Material in this collection relating to 1st SA Division comprises some 16.6 linear metres.

2nd SA Division. This Division arrived in Egypt from South Africa, in June 1941. After distinguishing itself at the battles of Bardia, Sollum and Halfaia, the Division (less 3rd SA Infantry Brigade) surrendered at Tobruk. Some 10 722 South Africans were taken prisoner. The material relating to 2nd SA Division comprises approximately 0.1 linear metres. Most of the archives generated by the Division in the field, were captured by the Germans.

6th SA Armoured Division. After an initial period of training first in South Africa and then in Egypt, the Division crossed to Italy in April 1944. After leading the march on Rome, the Americans denied the Division the honour of `taking' the city. South Africa nevertheless had her day when, after a hard slog of two months up the Italian peninsula, the 6th SA Division entered Florence on 4 August in the vanguard of the Allied advance. After a particulary gruelling winter, the Germans surrendered in Italy on 2 May 1945. Material relating to 6th SA Division comprises some 12.3 linear metres of the collection.

Although the emphasis falls upon the South African divisions in North Africa (1941-1943) and Italy (1943-1946), there is much information on allied formations with whom the South African served in those campaigns.

Defence Authorities Committee (ref. DAC)

A full set of the minutes of the Defence Authorities Committee covering the period July 1940 to January 1945, are available. They comprise 8.2 linear metres. There are no correspondence files.

Embarkation and Ships’ Rolls

Contains nominal rolls of persons aboard ships visiting South African ports (chiefly Cape Town and Durban). For example, the Australia and Canberra (May 1940) and ships carrying Australian troops (Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary). Unfortunately these are arranged neither quite chronologically nor alphabetically to ship’s name. Sailors and servicemen normally liven up the normally staid existence of peace time towns and ports: the archives of the municipalities and magistrate’s courts for the Cape peninsula and Durban areas are worth consulting in this regard.

War Supplies (147 vols)

Important on matters relating to Commonwealth co-operation in the manufacture and supply of military hardware during the Second World War. For example, Australian interest in South African armoured fighting vehicles and orders placed by Australia for 3.7-inch howitzers in close support for cruiser tanks.

Arm of Service archives

Army. Archives of the Deputy Chief of Staff (formerly Deputy Chief of the General Staff), the Army Chief of Staff and the Chief of the Army.

Navy. The archives of the Commander, Seaward Defence, the Chief of Naval Staff and the Chief of the Navy are of particular importance.

Air. The archives of the Director General Air Force (4170 vols.) and also the various Air Schools are essential to any research on the Joint Air Training Scheme.

Medical. The medical files and nosological reports contained in the archives of the Director General Medical Services (135 vols.) contains valuable comparative statistics relating to casualties suffered, and diseases contracted by Commonwealth forces during the Second World War and the Korean War.

Union War Histories (ref. UWH)

The Union War Histories section was established by General J.C. Smuts in the office of the Prime Minister, in 1940. This committee, under Prof J.A.I. Agar-Hamilton, produced a number of manuscripts detailing the history of South African forces in the Second World War. Although only three of these manuscripts were published, the remainder are accessible to the researcher. Chief Archivists C.Graham Botha, C.Beyers and A.Kieser, served on the committee which advised Agar-Hamilton and his staff.

The archives of the Union War Histories Section comprise some 50.5 linear metres. The original transfer included 2 485 books, 1 538 Government Gazettes and Orders, 8 948 newspapers and journals and some 1000 original photographs. These archives are sorted as follows:

the correspondence generated by the Section was accessioned as the "Union War Histories Administrative Files" (ref. UWH Admin).
the manuscripts were sorted according to theme and accessioned (395 boxes) as the "Union War Histories Manuscripts" (ref. UWH). This extremely valuable collection of manuscripts relating to the Second World War, are sorted according to theme: Civil; Military: East Africa; Military: North Africa; Military: Italy. The Civil section has much on Commonwealth co-operation, the High Commissioners and their staffs, and economic warfare. The Military sections contain much oral history: chiefly South African but also relating to the rest of the Commonwealth and also enemy forces.
the books, newspapers, maps and photographs were taken up in the supplementary collections.

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