11 Field Postal Unit 50 Anniversary - rfdiv.mil.za

1 11 Field Postal Unit50thAnniversary1964 -2014 BRIG GEN KAMFFER4 October 2014On9 October2012, Lion Artist of the 10 stamps and two first-day coversMajGenKeithMokoapeandtheDeputyMini sterofCommunications,mrsStellaTembisaNda beniSet of 10 11 FPU commemorative postage stamps issued in 2012 Stamps depicting a variety of activities relating to 11 FPU Parcels accepted at FPO 3 at Waterkloof Air Force Base Parcels being scanned before being dispatched Mail loaded into a Hercules C130 Soldiers awaiting the arrival of mail from home A typical FPO in the mission areaField Postal Services in South AfricaANGLO BOER WAR(1899-1902)

2 Aninterestingreferencereferencetoanearly SouthAfricanmilitarypostalserviceistobef oundinthewritingsofthehistorianGustavPre ller,whoservedasamilitarycorrespondentin NatalduringtheABW: ThousandsofBurgherswhomailedtheirletters homeinapostalbagattachedtoatreesomewhere nearColenso,andreceivedtheiranswersatasp ecifiedtimefromanother(tree),didnotreali zetheorganizationFIRST WORLD WAR(1914-1918)Theneedforanorganizedmilit arypostalservicewassharplyunderlinedbyth eFirstWorldWar,andon30 September1914theSouthAfricanFieldPostand TelegraphsCorps,mannedbymembersoftheciti zenforce, WORLD WAR(1939-1945)

3 On 1 May 1939 Lieutenant-Colonel Leach was appointed director of the newly-founded Army Postal Services, under the command of the quartermaster-general in ,Second-in-CommandoftheArmyPostalService sinPretoriaduringWW2said: Anarmymarchesonit sstomachbutnomatterhowfullasoldier sstomachmaybe,themoralefallstozerowhenhe doesnotregularlyreceivenewsfromhome .British Army Post Office Cape Town a few days after the outbreak of the ABW on 7 November 1899 the British War Office issued an Army Order: A Field Post Office will be established at the Headquarters of the Army, and at the Headquarters of each Division and first campaign in which Military Post Offices with their own date stamps operated was during the Anglo Boer War (1899-1902) A Boer Field Post Office The Boers made some attempt to be up-to-date during the campaign and established a Field Post Office which was appreciated by those who could read and Boer Field Post Office during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902)

4 A British Army Post Office in the Transvaal -1901 British Army Post Office during the Anglo Boer WarCover posted from near Volksrust on 19 October 1899 with a cachet VELDDIENST to indicate that the sender could enjoy free posted from the Field Post Office near Newcastle 1 November 1899 Velddienst during the Anglo-Boer War(1899-1902)Booysens Camp was used as a mobilisation centre for troops during the First World War. Booysens Camp 1914 Post card posted from the Cantonments Potchefstroom Post Office on 9 September 1915. A cantonment is a military or police quarters.

5 Cantonment Potchefstroom -1915 Barberton Camp/Kamp -1940 South African Army Postal Staff in Italy circa 1944 The Head of the SA Army Postal Services was Lt Col Leach who was appointed Director Army Postal Services on 1stMay 1939 and held the position until 31stDecember 1946. His staff consisted of 1 staff officer and 7 other ranks. This Directorate functioned under the Quartermaster-General at DefenceHeadquarters, (1/10/64 31/12/66)The establishment of 11 field postal unit DuringpeacetimemanyArmyPostOffices(APO)a ndFieldPostOffices(FPO)areusedinpermanen tarmycampsorduringexercisesormanoeuvres.

6 ThefunctionoftheArmyPostalServicesisprim arilytomaintainefficientpostalcommunicat ionsbetweentheservingmembersoftheDefence Forceandtheirrelatives,friendsandcivilco nnections. Usuallytheyarestaffedbyofficialsseconded fromthePostOffice. Upto1966verylittlewasheardoftheArmyPosta lServices. AtthefirstRepublicFestival(RSA5)heldinPr etoriainMay1966aFieldPostOffice(Veldposk antoor)madeitsfirstappearance. Speciallydesigneddatestampwasprovided. Post Offices in the period 1966 to 1994 as part of the South African Defence ForcePostal facilities provided for the Republic Festival celebrations in 1966 Announcement in the Post Office Philatelic Bulletin: Duringtheperiod18thMayto4thJune1966onocc asionoftheRepublicFestival.

7 1 FPO:ExerciseSPITSKOP nearPotchefstroomfrom7 April1967to27 April1967. 1 FPO,2 FPO,3 FPO:ExerciseSIBASA nearElandsfonteinfrom2 August1968to27 August1968. 1 FPO:ExerciseENTERPRISEatPortAlfredAirfie ldfrom13 September1969to10 October1969. FPO116 Post Offices in the period 1966 to 1994 as part of the South African Defence ForceSouth West Africa/Angolan Border War 1976 -1990 ,Oshakati, West Africa/Namibian Border War 1976 -1990 On1 July1982themainMailDistributionOfficewas transferredfromFieldPostOffice2(FPO2)atG rootfonteintoFPO1atPretoria.

8 Adirectair-maildispatchfromPretoriatwice aweekreplacedthefieldpostalservicebywhic hparcelsfromtheRepublicweresentbytrainto GrootfonteinviaDeAar,UpingtonandWindhoek . LetterswereconveyedbySouthAfricanAirways toWindhoek, ,GeneralJannieGeldenhuys, of acknowledgement -1986 Postal services rendered by 11 FPU after 1994 Duringtheintegrationprocessofthenon-stat utoryforcesin1994atBloemfonteinandduring OperationBoleasin1998inLesotho11 FPUalsoplayedaroleinsupportingtheSANDF. SincetheSANDF sinvolvementinpeacekeepingoperationsinAf ricain2000,11 FieldPostalUnitwasre-activatedtodelivera fieldpostalservicetotheSANDF anditsdeployedmembers.

9 FieldPostOffice3(FPO3) a user-friendly system for SANDF membersDuring the mobilization process all SANDF members earmarked for external deployments deploymentsare briefed on aspects such as using the correct Postal address YEAROUTGOING PARCELSTOTAL MASS MAIL HANDLEDKILOGRAMSPOSTAGE AFFIXED TO LETTERS AND PARCELS1FY2007/20086 969199 744R 434 8862FY2008/20098 943223 568R 451 4543FY2009/201015 076262 167R553 4574FY2010/201113 631202 606R487 0085FY2011/201218 269246 749R610 8766FY2012/201314 964225 635R668 6307FY2013/201411 472165 825R458 788 VOLUMES

10 OF MAIL HANDLED BY Field POST OFFICE 3 OFFICIAL COVERS ISSUED ON 9 OCTOBER 2012 11 FPUgovernedbythePostalServicesAct FPU best Reserve unit in the Signal Formation for 2013 11 field postal unit plays an integral part in the upkeep of morale amongst all deployed soldiers in the SANDF as they are responsible to get that all important letter or package filled with goodies from home to the deployment areas. They have lived up to their motto: we will deliver whatever it takes. They have maintained the traditions and service excellence of their predecessors over the last more than a 100 years and they continue to do so today.