Spotted these visiting the folks this week. I’ve seen them over the years when Dad would wear them to special MOTH* do’s, but have never really paid much attention. This time I photographed them and asked about them. He told me:
Left Star – 1939 – 1945 war; Second Star with red white and green ribbon – Italian Campaign if you fought in Italy;
The Lion – Africa Campaign if you fought in Africa; Africa map – Africa Service Medal – general SA medal for all in uniform.
Epaulette: 8th Army with red tab (which indicated South African overseas – distinguished them from the ‘home guard’); Camel – Sudanese camel corps; Palm – Another Sudanese outfit; Horse – Some English bunch (‘a southern county’ he said, Dorset? Mom guessed); Mercury – SA Signal Corps (Dad’s unit).
*The Memorable Order of Tin Hats (M.O.T.H.) was founded in 1927 by Charles Evenden as a brotherhood of South Africa former front-line soldiers. The idea is to help fellow comrades in need, either financially or physically; and to remember all servicemen who have answered the Sunset Call, both in war and peace time.
