by J H Thompson
terrapins: rooms with mosquito netting instead of windows and a tin roof
thunderflash: non-fragmentation explosive device used primarily during training exercises to simulate attacks
tiekiebox: public telephone
tiffies: members of the Technical Services Corps/Tegniese Dienskorps
tjap: stamp
tokkeltou: a rope approximately 10 millimetres thick and 1,5 metres in length, with an eye at one end and a toggle at the other end
toyi-toyi: a dance that signifies an uprising or rebellion
TRC: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
tree aan: assemble, fall in or form up
troep: troop
trommel: steel trunk
trompoppies: drum majorettes
Tukkies: University of Pretoria
two-liner: a corporal
Typhoon: a SWAPO unit that specialised in deep penetration into South West Africa
uitkak: a telling off; literally ‘shit out’
uitpak inspection/inspeksie: a comprehensive inspection during which certain equipment, including a disassembled rifle, must be displayed neatly, precisely and spotlessly on the bed
Unimog: two-ton 4 x 4 general-purpose utility truck
UNITA: União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola)
valk: two helicopters flying in loose formation; literally ‘hawk’
varkpan(ne): metal meal tray(s)
vasbyt: persevere
verkramp: conservative
vetseun: fat boy
vleisbom: nickname for a Parabat; literally ‘meat bomb’
vloek: swear
Volk en Vaderland: the Afrikaner equivalent of King and Country; literally ‘People and Fatherland’
voort: forward
vrot: bad, rotten
windgat: cheeky, arrogant
WSK: Weermag Sportkompleks (Army Sports Complex)
wors: sausage
wussies: wimps
wyk: area
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Also published by Zebra Press
Troepie: From Call-up to Camps
Cameron Blake
For over half a million white South African males conscripted before 1994, National Service was a compulsory, demanding and intense experience that had a powerful impact on them. This book is a compilation of recollections by more than forty former conscripts about their time in the South African Defence Force.
The chapters take you through the sequence of a National Serviceman’s career: receiving call-up papers, klaaring in, Basics, keuring, bush phase, second-phase training, general service, the Border, Angola, the townships, klaaring out and camps. Taking in the humour and the hardship, these accounts provide a variety of perspectives on inspections, drill, guard duty, Border patrols, contact, and everyday life in the SADF.
Also included are official documents such as call-up papers, extracts from a Basic Training manual, and a clearing-out certificate. Appendices give additional information on the history of National Service, the context of the Border War and other matters.
Troepie: From Call-up to Camps is a must-read for everyone who went through National Service or who knows someone who did. It is a vivid and fascinating record of what conscripts actually experienced.
ISBN: 978 1 77022 051 5 (print)
ISBN: 978 1 77020 109 5 (ePub)
ISBN: 978 1 77020 110 1 (PDF)
Also available in Afrikaans as Troepie: van blougat tot bosoupa
ISBN: 978 1 77022 054 6 (print)
ISBN: 978 1 77022 191 8 (ePub)
ISBN: 978 1 77022 192 5 (PDF)
Also published by Zebra Press
From Soldier to Civvy
Cameron Blake
National Service had a powerful immediate effect on the men who served in the SADF, immersing them in an unfamiliar military world. But its impact reached beyond them – to the families and loved ones at home – and it has left its mark decades after the conscripts reentered civvy street.
From Soldier to Civvy explores National Service from a number of different angles. It contains in-depth accounts from a diverse selection of former conscripts – a Recce, a dog handler, a mortarist, a Parabat, a gunner, a loadmaster, a military policeman and a marine – who take you through their entire military careers and provide detailed insider’s information on each role. A number of frank and humorous letters home from a soldier to his fiancée are also included, and there are interviews with women – mothers, sisters, wives and girlfriends – who talk about how National Service affected them and their men. And, finally, former soldiers look back at their time in the army and reveal the powerful and lasting effects it has had on them and how they view it from the perspective of the present.
From Soldier to Civvy provides valuable new insights into National Service and its far-reaching consequences. It will entertain, enlighten and challenge readers to reconsider this crucial period of our history.
ISBN: 978 1 77022 134 5 (print)
ISBN: 978 1 77022 122 2 (ePub)
ISBN: 978 1 77022 123 9 (PDF)