Fallen heroes remembered

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GEORGE NEWS - The Outeniqua Moth Shellhole had a turnout of more than 130 people who attended their annual, and very emotional, Remembrance Day Parade on Sunday 12 November.

Remembrance Day, sometimes referred to as Poppy Day, is a memorial day observed since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.

It is observed on 11 November (or the nearest Sunday) to recall the end of the First World War hostilities.

On Sunday, Southern Cape war veterans and their families gathered to reflect on those who had fallen in battle in all of the wars, including the South African Border War that lasted from 1966 to 1990.

The wreath-laying ceremony, attended by members of various units that fought in the Angolan conflict, was followed by the traditional two minutes of silence to commemorate the moment the guns fell silent on the Western Front on the 11th hour of the 11th day of November 1918, after more than four years of horrific fighting and the loss of millions of lives.

Marius O’Neill of the Parachute Battalion laying a wreath at the cenotaph.

"Attendance at this year's Remembrance Day parade was the best since Covid-19 and it was very heartening to see the attendance of so many veterans and other organisations," said the shellhole's Old Bill Barry Shackleton. "We are also very grateful for the attendance of Councillor Johan Stander and his wife Mariëtte, and the support of George Municipality."

Origin of the Memorable Order of Tin Hats (Moth)

The Memorable Order of Tin Hats, or Moth as it is popularly known, is an ex-servicemen's organisation founded in Durban in May 1927 by Charles Alfred Evended. In 1927 he saw a war film that included an impressive scene of marching troops wearing tin hats and muddy uniforms, all carrying trench equipment.

Looking at the scene, it made him wonder what had become of his comrades in the army; where they were and what they were doing. This line of thought inspired a cartoon about the apparent absence of remembering the comradeship servicemen once shared.

From this one idea, other ideas came to the fore, then discussions with colleagues and friends and, eventually, the founding on 7 May 1927 of an ex-servicemen's organisation known as the Memorable Order of Tin Hats.

The Order is built on concord and harmony and operates independently of race, religion or politics in the same way as front line service, but with full democracy. Outeniqua Moth Shellhole was chartered on 7 June 1949 under command of the Western Provincial Dugout.