When the Chief of the Army of the South African National Defence Force, Lt Genl S.Z. Shoke issued the letter on 30 April 2010 confirming the appointment of the 61 Mech Veterans Association as the custodians of the 61 Mech Battalion Group memorabilia, it came with a few strings attached.

John Keen was the curator of the National Museum for Military History at the time, and he indicated on behalf of the museum its interest to display the 61 Mech Battalion memorabilia at the museum.

The first requirement was for the Association to enter into an availability agreement with the National Museum for Military History to make the memorabilia available on loan to the museum for display purposes, with the 61 Mech Veterans Association at all times remaining the custodian of these memorabilia. The ownership of the memorabilia will never pass to the museum. However, if the 61 Mech Veterans Association for whatever reason ceases to exist, the custodianship of these memorabilia will immediately to the South African National Defence Force.

THE 61 MECH MUSEUM ROOM

The museum is responsible for the safekeeping and maintenance of the memorabilia, in conjunction with the 61 Mech Veterans Association’s Museum Committee. This committee was duly established with its main objective to provide a place of organised and secure safekeeping for armour vehicles, equipment, support equipment and any related relevant articles, including personal equipment and memorabilia related to 61 Mech Battalion Group. Heinrich Janzen with his vast experience of museums assisted this committee, with Jan Malan playing a leading role in establishing the 61 Mech museum room.

The 61 Mech room is situated at the far end of the Adler Hall, and displays a short overview of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group’s involvement, depicting elements of its history and the ole the unit played in the South African Defence Force (SADF) from 1979 to 1994, and post 1994 in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), together with some artifacts and photos representing the unit’s history. A mock-up Ratel 90 with turret forms a dominant feature with a steering wheel which invites interaction from younger visitors. Photos of the Commanding Officers and Regimental Sergeant Majors line the top of one of the walls. Items from the former enemy are stored in display cases, with a large map of Angola used during Operation Modular in 1987 as well as objects and equipment peculiar to the unit.

The room has two monitors. The one monitor screens interviews of soldiers who served with Battle Group Juliet and 61 Mech Battalion Group recounting their personal experiences, and cover diverse topics ranging from Training, Military Operations, Humour in uniform, the Border War, Reflections and Background, Families and Loved Ones and the Former Enemies. The other monitor shows general information regarding the unit, its history and actions.

The members of the 61 Mech Museum Committee, together with other volunteers from the Association, are involved with the regular maintenance and rotation of the displays in the 61 Mech museum room.

THE OUTDOOR DISPLAY

Apart from the 61 Mech Memorial Needle and the Hind Memorial, the 61 Mech Veterans Association has a vested interest in 3 other vehicle, firstly the very first fully functioning Ratel 20 mm Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV) with serial number 0001 (also known fondly as Sarge after Sarge Nel who played a prominent role in the Ratel’s development, secondly an Olifant tank and lastly a Russian BRDM which was captured during Operation Protea in 1981 and brought back to Omuthiya base in Ovamboland where it was put on display for the first time.

Prior to the Association’s annual memorial service in August, a team of volunteers spend the time to check on the state of Sarge in preparation for the big event, where this Ratel is on display. The National Museum for Military History also arranges regular maintenance days during the course of the year with many volunteers who pitch up to help with this magnificent effort to keep the items and vehicles in good shape.