UNITAS Medal

 

Unification of South African Defence Forces 1994.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

The UNITAS medal was a South African medal presented for service during the period of South Africa’s first non-racial elections and the inauguration of Nelson Mandela. The medal was instituted in 1994 and was awarded to serving members of the South African Permanent Force, Citizens Force, Commandos, members of the armed forces of self-governing states in South Africa as well as members of the military wing of the African National Congress who undertook collective service between 27 April and 10 May 1994.

 

The medal was also awarded to a number of British Military Advisors who were serving in South Africa at this time who have subsequently been given permission to wear the medal along with any other awards that a recipient may hold.

 

 

The medal is circular, 38mm in diameter and was struck in lacquered-brass. The obverse of this medal bears a seven pointed star with a circle at the centre within which is a symbol representing the Greek letter Alpha.

 

The reverse depicts the coat of arms of South Africa with the date; ‘1994’ below surrounded by a circle made up of eleven different spellings of the word; ‘unity’ - these being from the eleven official languages of South Africa.

 

The ribbon suspender is of a straight and non-swivelling style struck with the actual medal.

 

The recipient's details can be found on the medal's rim.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 32mm wide and pale blue in colour with a central wide green strip with a narrow white strip either side.

 

 

None were authorised for this medal.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- The Union Defence Force.

- The South African Defence Force.

- The South African General Election 1994.

 

The Union Defence Force - The Union Defence Force (UDF) was the military force of the Union of South Africa from 1912 until 1957 when it was reorganized and renamed the South African Defence Force.

 

The UDF was established on 1 July 1912, when the Defence Act (No 13 of 1912) took effect, two years after the creation of the Union of South Africa.

 

The South African Army was created first by merging the existing military structures of the former British colonies and Boer Republics that had become the four provinces of the Union. The formation of the South African Air Force followed in 1920. The South African Naval Service was created in 1922.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here

 

South African Defence Force - The South African Defence Force (SADF) comprised the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the nation reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Force was officially succeeded by the SADF, which was established by the Defence Act (No. 44) of 1957. The SADF, in turn, was superseded by the South African National Defence Force in 1994.

 

The SADF was organised to perform a dual mission: to counter possible insurgency in all forms, and to maintain a conventional military arm which could defend the republic's borders, making retaliatory strikes as necessary. As the military expanded during the 1970s, the SADF general staff was organized into six sections - finance, intelligence, logistics, operations, personnel, and planning; uniquely, the South African Medical Service (SAMS) was made co-equal with the South African Army, the South African Navy and the South African Air Force.

 

The burden of maintaining a strong defence force fell largely on white South Africans, who alone were subject to conscription. However, Asians and Coloured citizens with mixed ancestry were eligible to serve as volunteers, several even attaining commissioned rank.

 

Units such as the 32 Battalion incorporated many black volunteers. Conscription was opposed inter alia by organisations such as the End Conscription Campaign, but overall, white morale remained high - as exemplified by the few recruits tried for serious disciplinary offences.

 

During apartheid, armed SADF troops were used in quelling violent opposition to minority rule, often directly supporting the South African Police. South African military units were involved in the long-running Mozambican and Angolan civil wars, frequently supporting Pretoria's allies the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). SADF personnel were also deployed during the related South African Border and Namibian independence conflicts.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The South African General Election 1994 - General elections were held in South Africa on 27 April 1994. The elections were the first in which citizens of all races were allowed to take part, and were therefore also the first held with universal adult suffrage. The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), and marked the end of the four-year process that ended apartheid.

 

Millions queued in lines over a three-day voting period. Altogether 19,726,579 votes were counted and 193,081 were rejected as invalid. As widely expected, the African National Congress (ANC), whose slate incorporated the labour confederation COSATU and the South African Communist Party, won a sweeping victory, taking 62 percent of the vote, just short of the two-thirds majority required to unilaterally amend the Interim Constitution.

 

As required by that document, the ANC formed a Government of National Unity with the National Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party, the two other parties that won more than 20 seats in the National Assembly. The new National Assembly's first act was to elect Nelson Mandela as President, making him the country's first black chief executive.

 

The date 27 April is now a public holiday in South Africa, Freedom Day.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.