Woltemade Decoration for Bravery, Gold

Woltemade Decoration for Bravery, Gold

Bowed silver decoration depicted
Awarded by the State President
Country  South Africa
Type Civil decoration for bravery
Eligibility South African citizens and others
Awarded for Acts of conspicuous bravery
Status Discontinued in 1988
Statistics
Established 1970
Pre-1994 & post-2002 orders of wear
Next (higher)
Pre-1994 precedence:
Post-2002 precedence:
Equivalent Union of South Africa King's Medal for Bravery, Gold
Union of South Africa Queen's Medal for Bravery, Gold
Next (lower)
Pre-1994 succession:
Post-2002 succession:

Ribbon bar

The Woltemade Decoration for Bravery, Gold is the senior of two classes of a South African civil decoration for acts of bravery. It replaced the Union of South Africa King's Medal for Bravery, Gold and Union of South Africa Queen's Medal for Bravery, Gold, the award of which had been discontinued in 1952 and 1961 respectively.[1][2]

Institution

The Woltemade Decoration for Bravery, Gold was instituted by Warrant of 20 May 1970, published in the South African Government Gazette no. 2718 dated 29 May 1970. The Warrant was amended twice, on 11 November 1971 and 30 May 1973.[1][2]

It is the senior of two classes of South Africa's highest civilian decoration for bravery and it replaced and ranked on par with the King's and Queen's Medals for Bravery, Gold, the award of which was discontinued, respectively, upon the accession to the British Throne of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 and upon the establishment of the Republic of South Africa in 1961.[3]

The decoration was named in memory of Wolraad Woltemade, an elderly servant of the Dutch East India Company, who gave his life while rescuing shipwrecked sailors in Table Bay on 1 June 1773. The ship De Jonge Thomas broke anchor in a gale force Northwestern and was driven ashore in the Salt River Mouth. Woltemade rode his horse into the sea seven times and brought surviving sailors ashore each time, but on the eighth excursion Woltemade and his exhausted horse were overladen by panic-stricken sailors and drowned.[1]

Award criteria

The Woltemade Decoration for Bravery, Gold could be awarded to South African citizens who performed acts of conspicuous bravery within or beyond the borders of the Republic of South Africa, and also to non-citizens who had distinguished themselves in this manner in the Republic or in territories belonging to or administered by the Republic, or who elsewhere and in the face of extreme danger had saved the lives of South African citizens or protected property belonging to the Republic, or endeavoured to do so.[1][2]

The decoration was, like the earlier King's and Queen's Medals for Bravery, Gold, mainly intended for civilians and its award to members of the uniformed services was restricted to acts of gallantry for which the decorations of the services are not normally awarded.[1]

Order of wear

The position of the Woltemade Decoration for Bravery, Gold in the official national order of precedence was revised three times after 1990 to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first with the integration process of 1994, again when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory para-military forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again with the institution of new sets of awards in 2002 and 2003, but it remained unchanged on all three occasions.[3]

Description

Obverse

The decoration is silver-gilt and is 38 millimetres in diameter with a raised rim and a large ring suspender. The obverse depicts Wolraad Woltemade on his horse in the waves, with the words "FOR BRAVERY • VIR DAPPERHEID" around the perimeter at the top. This was the same design as used on the reverse of the earlier King's and Queen's Medals for Bravery, Gold.[1][2]

Reverse

The reverse depicts the crest of the South African Coat of Arms, a lion holding four staves to represent the four provinces of the Republic of South Africa. The crest is encircled by a wreath of proteas which is, in turn, encircled by the inscription "REPUBLIEK VAN SUID-AFRIKA" above and "REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA" below.[2]

Ribbon

The ribbon is 44 millimetres wide and violet with 4 millimetres wide light orange edges. The same ribbon was used for the Woltemade Decoration for Bravery, Silver.[2]

Recipients

Altogether eighteen decorations were awarded. The first recipient, in 1984, was Dirk Bester who saved his family from armed attackers.[2]

Discontinuation

The Woltemade Decoration for Bravery, Gold was discontinued in 1988, when it was replaced by the Woltemade Cross for Bravery, Gold (WD).[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Monick, S (1990). South African Civil Awards. South African National Museum of Military History. pp. 96–98.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 South African Medal Website - Republic of South Africa: 1967-2002 (Accessed 1 May 2015)
  3. 1 2 Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, OCLC 72827981
  4. ↑ Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993
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