A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SAPPERS FOUNDATION

BEFORE

The name of Sapper is derived from the common name given to a Military Engineer. Military engineers date back to the 15th century, where during a siege of a city, Sappers were hired to dig tunnels under the walls of the city, to then enlarge the end of the tunnel to form a cavern supported by wooden supports, to then burn these supports at a precise time to collapse the city walls and allow the army to invade. Later when gunpowder was invented, these tunnels could be exploded causing devastation within the enemy ranks. Sappers were also used to dig trenches (called Saps) in a zigzag pattern to build gun emplacements close enough to the city walls to blow them down whilst protecting the Gunners. The form of Sappering continued through to the First World War.

The SA Engineer Corps has an extensive history which can be read in books such as the Salute the Sappers Volume 1 and 2, The 9 Flames and the many books written about World War 1 and World War II.  

1939

At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Sappers were called upon again to lead the invading army into battle. This time, Sappers were tasked throughout all the theatres to break open routes, to repair roads, bridges and tunnels destroyed by the enemy, clear roads and paths of anti-vehicle mines, provide potable water throughout the operational areas, intensive survey tasks and the provision of maps. The list in endless.

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1943

Well before the end of the War, anticipating a post-war depression and possible unemployment, certain senior officers evolved the idea an organisation to help re-habilitate members of the Corps on their return to civilian life.  The Old Comrades Association was formally recognised as a Welfare Organisation on 22 November, being given the number WO 314. The initial subscription was £3:1:0 for life, payable over a period.

1944

On 8 February, a formal constitution was adopted and the name was to the less cumbersome and more apt “Sappers Association”

On 7 December, the first issue of the “SA Sapper”, a magazine that was to be published for more that 50 years, was issued free to all Association Members.

On 20 December (1944), His Majesty King George VI granted the South African Engineer Corps the privilege of wearing the badge of the Corps of Royal Engineers in a modified form of recognition of their outstanding work during the Second Word Water. The King expressed the wish that the original design of the badge bearing his sign manual be presented to the Corps.

The device carries two extra flames, making nine in all, and it entitles the use of the motto “UBIQUE’ which the Corps now shares with the Royal Regiment of Artillery and the Corps of Royal Engineers. The device is known in heraldry as the ‘grenade fired”. Beneath it is a scroll inscribed with the motto “UBIQUE” and the letters ‘S.A.E.C. and ‘S.A.G.

1945

On 7 June, the Western Province Branch in Cape Town was formed, the first of many branches to be formed throughout the Union (R.S.A.), S.W.A. (Namibia) and the Rhodesia’s (Zambia and Zimbabwe), under the Constitution of the parent body.

On 1 July, “Sappersrus”, an area of land on the north bank of the Magalies River (which flows into the Hartebeespoort Dam – near Pretoria) was acquired and became known as Sappersrus.  Soon a fully equipped camp was set up, where Sappers who had been demobbed from the army were accommodated while being integrated back into a post-war society.

On 14 September, a split-pole and thatch shop, built near the river, was opened with a general dealer’s licence and served tea, cakes and sweets to enthusiastic Sappers who braved the dirt road to Sappersrus.

1946

On 1 June, the first General Meeting of the Sappers Association (affectionately known as “Congress”) was held to elect the first non-military Board of Directors.  Subsequent Congresses, consisting of Sappers representing the Branches throughout the Country, have meet annually to receive reports of Sapper activity during the year and to elect new Directors to deal with matters of policy.

As the initial roll for Sappersrus had been completed it was decided that these grounds should continue to be the focal point for Sappers veterans and that a club for our members would be established on these grounds.  On 16 December, the first permanent structure, a cottage consisting of 3 linked rondavels was opened as a dining room serving simple meals to Sunday visitors.

1947

On 4 December, the first nine rondavels and their communal ablution blocks were taken into use to accommodate the Sappers and their families that were to build the clubhouse and the luxury cottages (with individual bathrooms and hot running water) that were to follow.

1948

At Congress on 2 May it was decided to compile a Roll of Honour of the S.A.E.C. to remember those Sappers that had paid the final price in the defence of their country and its ideals.

Work on the Clubhouse started and on 12 December Field-Marshal Smuts laid the Foundation Stone.

1949

On 23 June, the “Sappers Club” was constituted and on 26 November General Ken Ray, the first President of the Club, formally opened the Sappers Clubhouse.  The attractive two-story thatched building had been built by Sappers and Sapper orientated firms at nominal cost.

1950/1

Permission was granted to enshrine the S.A.E.C. Roll of Honour in St Paul’s Cathedral in London, together with the other Commonwealth Rolls (Not only Engineers) of both the 1914/18 and 1939/45 Wars.  It was felt that a duplicate book should be kept in South Africa and on 3 September 1950 the designs for the Hall of Remembrance, the books resting place, at Sappersrus was approved.

On 10 December 1950, the first sod was turned on the site chosen on a koppie, backed by the noble Magaliesburg and over-looking the river valley.  The building of the Hall was entrusted to a dedicated Sapper stonemason, who lived and worked on the spot for 18 months.

On 15 April 1951, Sapper JC McIntyre laid the foundation stone and underneath the stone, set in concrete is a sealed copper casket with a S.A.E.C. cap badge welded on the lid, containing a microfilm of contemporary records, photos of drawings and plans of the memorial, extracts from the SA Sapper magazine and other mementos.

1952

At Congress on 4 May, the Sapper Creed that heads this brief history was adopted and has since been used to open all Congress, Board and Branch meetings.

The Congress was followed by a dedication ceremony for the Hall of Remembrance and the Roll of Honour was reverently placed in the casket where is still resided today.  Thereafter, every year on the first Sunday of May, an anniversary ceremony (Annual Memorial Service) is held to honour the event and remember fallen comrades.

Every Sunday Morning at half past Nine a simple ceremony is performed during which a page of the roll is turned and a short silence observed. 

1953

An internal battery-illuminated lamp, built into an old petrol can, and carrying the symbol of the Association was approved and has been used since as part of the ritual opening of formal meetings.

1963

On 9 March, Sappershoek was officially opened as a holiday resort with Cottages and a communal hall to be the home of the Eastern Cape Branch.  Several retired Sappers were accepted as semi-permanent residents.  This resort was later to be converted into a retirement centre with 26 cottages in line with the changing needs of Sappers in general.

In the early 60’s it was recognised that the years were passing and the need for looking after our ageing and retired Sappers would become No 1 priority eventually.  The Sappers Creed was supplemented by adding the concept of “easing the burdens and brightening the lives of all our Sappers, as they grow older” – which thought adopted in 1977 as a pledge to form the closing ritual of all formal meeting of the Association.

1964

“Nine Flames” – The SAEC Story, was completed and published, authored by a well-known and experienced journalist and author, supported by 78 Sapper sponsors, he delved into all available records and put on tape individual experiences and reminiscences from Sappers all over the Country.  This publication is still available from our Head Office at Sappersrus.

1966

The East London Branch procured a 4.7 hectare piece of land near the mouth of the Gonubi River with the branch members building the facilities themselves. A small existing farmhouse was renovated for the caretaker and three fully furnished cottages being completed by 10 Oct 1966

1973

The thought of caring for our older Sappers had been taking hold more over the past few years and in 1970 a combined committee was elected from the Sappers Association, the Gunners and the Southern Transvaal MOTHs to develop a retirement centre in Johannesburg.  On 22 September, ‘G.E.M. Homes” was officially opened in Rooseveldpark, in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, with 16 Flats, 68 Cottages, an office and a communal hall.

1982

“Sapperhaven” was officially opened as a retirement centre for the Johannesburg Sappers, in Lombardy East also a northern suburb of Johannesburg, with 120 Cottages and a communal hall.

1985

“GEM Village” was officially opened, as a joint venture retirement centre with the Gunners, in Irene in the southern suburbs of Pretoria with 19 Double Cottages, 12 Single Cottages, 36 Single Flats, 43 Double Flats and a communal hall.

1988

“Sappersglen” was officially opened as a retirement centre for the Sappers of the Natal South Coast with 23 Cottages and a communal hall.

1992

A second Roll of Honour is placed in the casket in the Memorial Hall to honour those who have dies on active service protecting and upholding the ideals of the Republic of South Africa.

1994

With the change of the constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the election of the first fully representative government and the formation of the New South African National Defence Force, the Sappers Foundation recognises the sacrifices made by the non-statutory and the homeland defence forces and votes to allow these military engineers full recognition in the Sappers Association.

On Sunday, 3 July 1994, a new Roll of Honour was placed in the Memorial Chapel at Sappersrus.

1997

Considering that the Association survived and prospered for more than fifty years, the leadership had to come to the realisation that due to dwindling membership and rising costs and took the necessary steps to ensure that what was started in the heat of battle would continue and would hold high the memory of the Military Engineers into the 21^st Century.

The National Board Meeting, held on 1 November 1997 is hailed as the turning point for the Sappers Association, which had been in decline for a decade.  At this meeting the Sappers Association started its transformation to its new form; that of a Foundation for the preservation of Military Engineering Culture, History and Traditions called the “Sappers Foundation”.

It was accepted that certain of the projects of the old Sappers Association would not be carried forward but the Directors pledged themselves to retain as many of these as possible. As example being to preserve the traditions and symbols and to ensure that none of our members are alienated by the change process.

1998

The Sappers Foundation is registered and the control of the Sappers Association and all its Retirement Centres and Projects is transferred to the Board of Directors of the Sappers Foundation.

1999

A project “Sappers Beyond 2000” was launched and it was decided that the Sappers Foundation should be properly structured to ensure its continuation into the future.  The five segments determined to form the parts of the Sapper Family are:

• The Sappers Foundation is the parent body of the organisation will be the focal point of membership and will be responsible for electing the chairpersons or representatives of the other section 21 companies or controlling bodies. The Foundation will be responsible for the Welfare to members, directly or via the Branches.
• The Sappers Memorial Trust will ensure the preservation of the Sappersrus Memorial and its grounds as well as the History, Culture and Traditions of the Sappers Association and the Sappers Foundation.
• The Sappers Retirement Villages will be run as separate Section 21 Company and will control and run the Retirement Centres.
• The Institute Military Engineers in Southern Africa will concentrate on the preservation and development of Military Engineering Excellence through research and training in the nine military engineering disciplines, under the control of the Sappers Foundation.
• The Sappers Security Company originally formed to be the commercial branch of the Sappers Association and to hold and operate the various commercial ventures such as the Sappers Club and the Norvaal bottle store in Stilfontein which was subsequently sold, as well as to hold the title of the Sappers fixed properties, specifically Sappersrus outside Pretoria, Sappers Hoek in Port Elizabeth, Sappersspruit in East London and Sappers Glen in Uvongo.

Due to dwindling membership and the general ageing of the infrastructure, it was decided to close the Sappers Club and sell this portion of the property and buildings into a joint venture development company (Herons Nest) who could raise the funds needed for the rising costs of maintenance and upgrading necessary to be able to run the resort as a Conference Centre and River Lodge.

The Sappers Institute Documented four training courses in the field of humanitarian de-mining have been designed and published in a course portfolio, which was distributed to many countries in Africa and the world.   A delegation from the United Nations Development Projects visited the Institute in January 1999 and we were invited to register with the UN as a service provider.  This registration was subsequently confirmed.

2000

The Institute managed to negotiate a small subcontract to the value of R35 000, which was their first business and a proud moment. A training course in De-mining Management was run for SADAC and a number of soldiers from Angola, Zambia, Namibia and Mozambique were trained to set up de-mining teams in their own countries to rid Africa of its mine pollution.

Due to lack of funding the Institute has been mothballed with plans to reactivate in the future if need be.

2001

The decision was enacted to separate the Retirement Centres into Section 21 Companies that would be self-sufficient and would ensure the continuation of these long after the last veteran Sapper has passed to higher service as a memorial to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their Country.

2002

The decision was enacted to create a Memorial Trust to preserve the Hall of Remembrance and the Memorial Gardens into perpetuity and a new head office was built for the Sappers Foundation on the Memorial Grounds including a home for the “Sappers Heritage Collection”, overnight accommodation for visiting Sappers, and a general meeting and recreational area.

With the decreasing numbers in the Association and with Sapperspriut no longer being used by Sappers it was decided to sell the property and to use the funds to ensure the continued existence of our Retirement Centre projects.

The Board of Directors decided that the joint venture development company (Herons Nest) was not viable and should be liquidated with the remaining funds donated to the Sappers Memorial Trust.

2003

It was proposed that the remainder Sappersrus, after the sale of the Sappers Club / Herons Nest property, be transferred into the Sappers Memorial Trust to be utilised to supplement the income of the Trust and has been leased on a long-term basis for a sum greater that the current upkeep costs.  This decision was enacted and the property was transferred into the name of the Sappers Memorial Trust, and the Foundation pledged to maintain the Memorial and its grounds using the Foundations staff with these expenses and other costs being paid by the Foundation, with a monthly contribution from the Trust.  The Foundation also they pledged to continue supporting the Page Turning and the Annual Parade.

2004 to 2014

The restructuring and changes to the Organisation ushered in a period of stability and due to the on-going management and control exercised by the Board of Directors of the various companies as well as the Trustees the organisation remained stable.

2015

Due to the dwindling membership and other pressures the annual congress determined that the Board of Directors should again examine the Sapper Family and plan the way forward.

2017/8

A decision was taken to commence a process whereby the Sappers Hoek Retirement Village would sell 40{e04e4fe148c33fa9d3b1a231da5b5de2c06f725f2e7b298d8f2d22c26388fdf7} of the units as Life Rights as and when cottages became vacant. The first unit was sold for the equivalent of 15 years rental at the maximum rental level.

2018

Based on the Board decision from 2015, on-going dwindling membership and new pressures on the Retirement Villages, the Board of Directors started a strategic planning process to examine the best structure of the future Sapper Family and to put in place an action plan to change the governance structures, legal documents, distribution of property holdings to bring about the determined way forward for the next 10 years and beyond.  The final decisions from the strategic planning process would be compiled into a proposal that would be presented to the Members and would be finally decided on at the 2019 Congress.

2019

A decision of the Board of the Sappers Foundation, arising from the strategic planning process, was that the Sappers Glen Retirement Village would also commence a process of selling 40{e04e4fe148c33fa9d3b1a231da5b5de2c06f725f2e7b298d8f2d22c26388fdf7} of their Units on Life-Rights with the price to be determined on a similar basis.

2021

South Africa was also affected by the Covid World Pandemic and with National Rules of Lockdown, a virtual Memorial Parade was conducted in June 21. A group of Sappers conducted the Parade which was then placed on Utube for all to view.

2022

At the AGM of 4 June 2022 held at Sappersrus, a motion to close the Foundation for Military Engineering Excellence was tabled and unanimously approved by the 10 members present at the AGM and all 58 members who voted by post. The further detail of the motion was:

• To close and deregister the Sappers Foundation and all its subsidiary Non-Profit Companies (NPC’s) with immediate effect.
• To incorporate all the Assets and Interests of the Sappers Foundation and its subsidiary Companies into the Sappers Memorial Trust as it’s “Successor in Title” to hold in trust and manage such assets and interests towards honouring the Memory of our fallen Sapper Comrades and to entrench and empower the Sappers Memorial Trust as a “Historic Society” to preserve the Memorial (and where possible the Sapper History, Culture and Traditions) into perpetuity.
• To, by default, terminate all formal Membership to the Foundation and replace membership with registered “Friends of the Sappers Memorial Trust” who will not pay any membership fees and have no voting power but will, amongst others, serve as the source of future Trustees of the Sappers Memorial Trust, be involved in the activities of the Trust and be kept informed of the progress towards achieving its goals and objectives.
• All assets and interests of the Sappers Foundation and its subsidiary Companies are now incorporated into the Sappers Memorial Trust as it’s “Successor in Title” to hold in trust and manage such assets and interests towards honouring the Memory of our fallen Sapper Comrades and to entrench and empower the Sappers Memorial Trust as a “Historic Society” to preserve the Memorial (and where possible the Sapper History, Culture and Traditions) into perpetuity.
• All formal Membership to the Foundation now ceases to exist and is replaced forthwith by registered “Friends of the Sappers Memorial Trust” who will not pay any membership fees and have no voting power but will, amongst others, serve as the source of future Trustees of the Sappers Memorial Trust, be involved in the activities of the Trust and be kept informed of the progress towards achieving its goals and objectives.
• The closure of the Foundation for Military Engineering Excellence in Southern Africa was a sad moment for the Organization but there is no doubt that the important strategic decision that had to be made does not signify the “end” but rather a “new beginning” where the Sappers Memorial Trust can continue to safeguard and maintain the Memorial, honour the Memory of our Fallen Comrades and manage the Sapper Assets into Perpetuity.
• As the Sappers Foundation now no longer exists it is currently foreseen that the Foundation AGM on the first Saturday of June of every year will be replaced with an Annual Feedback Meeting for Friends of the Sappers Memorial Trust and that the format of this Meeting will be similar to the current AGM (without the election of Directors to serve on the Board).

The Annual Sappers Memorial Parade with minor adjustments to the key personnel on parade was held on 4 June 2023. A feedback session was also scheduled to those in attendance on the “way forward”.

2023

As of Oct 23, The Sappers Memorial Trust is now a registered Trust (Registration Number IT8622/99) in terms of Section 6(1) of the Trust Property Control Act, 1988 (Act 57 of 1988).

• The Trust is managed by registered Trustees authorized by the Master of the High Court of South Africa who, as a collective, form its Board of Trustees.
• Membership of the Sappers Memorial Trust shall be limited to its registered Trustees.
• The Trust is a distinct and independent legal entity with the power to acquire, to hold and to alienate property of every description whatsoever and with the capacity to acquire rights and obligations and having perpetual succession.
• The Trust is a juristic person and can act and be acted against in its own name.
• The Trust as legal entity:
  • Exists in its own right, separately from its Donor; and
  • Will continue to exist even though the Donor no longer exists; and
  • Will continue to exist if/when the Trustees of the Sappers Memorial Trust changes.
  • Is able to contract in its own name.
  • Property and funds of the Trust vest in the Sappers Memorial Trust as a legal person.
  • All assets of the Trust, of whatsoever nature, will be applied solely towards the promotion of its defined objectives – and no portion thereof shall be paid to any Trustee or any other person, provided that nothing herein contained shall prevent the payment in good faith of reasonable remuneration to any person for any service rendered the Trust where such payment is formally approved by the Board of Trustees.

As of Oct 23, Sappers Haven in Lombardy East separated itself from the Sappers Memorial Trust and now operates as the Lombardy Retirement Village.