The work of the South African chaplains during the First World War was of an extremely high standard. The postwar military failed to recognise this contribution. In the 1920s and early 1930s the chaplaincy was allocated an inferior position within the military. It was only in 1938 that the first chaplains were appointed in the Permanent Force. During the Second World War the unwillingness of the UDF hierarchy to appoint a single chaplain as the head of a Chaplains' Branch influenced the ministry negatively. Inter-denominational issues were resolved on a basis of consensus amongst Principal Chaplains who were granted very little executive power. The establishment of the SA Corps of Chaplains in 1946 confirmed the permanency of the chaplaincy within the UDF. The appointment of the first Deputy Chaplain General in 1949 did much to ensure effective ministry. The discontinuation of this post in 1954 had a detrimental effect on the chaplaincy. With the establishment of the Department of Physical and Spiritual Welfare in 1966 no clear cut division was made between the responsibility for spiritual (pastoral) care and physical care (social welfare). This anomaly was rectified in 1968 when an independent directorate for the chaplaincy was created and in 1970 when a Chaplain General was appointed. The chaplaincy in South West Africa grew from a single chaplain at Walvis Bay in 1963 to an immense organisation with hundreds of chaplains. In 1980 the SWATF Chaplain Service was formed under command of its own director. The presence of SADF/SWATF chaplains in South West Africa ceased in 1989 with the implementation of UN Resolution 435. The 1990s was a decade of great transition and turmoil for the Chaplain Service. In 1994 the military chaplaincies of the TBVC countries, as well as members from MK and APLA, were integrated into the Chaplain Service. The implementation of the transformation policy of the Department of Defence resulted in the Chaplain Service becoming more representative of the communities it serves. / Theology / D. Th. (Theology)

Thesis (MMil)-- Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Germany’s declaration of war on Poland on 1 September 1939 and the consequent war in Europe not only found the Union of South Africa politically divided but militarily unprepared to fight a modern war let alone make any worthwhile contribution toward its European allies’ war effort. The task of getting South Africa into the fight fell to newly appointed Prime Minister J.C. Smuts who cleverly outmanoeuvred J.B.M. Hertzog as leader of the nation. Not only was the Union Defence Force (UDF) severely ravaged by several budget cuts during and after the depression but it seemed to have no inclination of embracing the kind of mechanisation that was the hallmark of most European armies. Within the space of a year Smuts managed to transform the UDF and on 17 July 1940 the 1st South African Infantry Brigade set sail for East Africa where Mussolini’s Italians reigned supreme after brushing aside a couple of British border guards and laying claim to a few miles of British territory. One of the units dispatched by Smuts was the 1st Royal Natal Carbineers from Pietermaritzburg in Natal. Throughout the campaign the Regiment’s C Company fought with distinction but had the dubious honour of being the South African unit that suffered the most casualties during the whole campaign. Several of C Company’s men then become the vehicles through which the remainder of the war is experienced as the men were moved from one theatre of battle to another. Through their eyes the hunting trips into the East African bush and the death of their Commanding Officer, among other things, are relived. The victorious Springboks are then sent to Egypt where they were needed in an effort to break the deadlock that existed between the British 8th Army and the German Afrika Korps. Amidst the ebb and flow of the battle the men of C Company still found time to experience the sights and sounds of Africa’s most populous cities, Cairo and Alexandria. Here many young soldiers were exposed to pleasures and pastimes not to be had back in the Union. In spite of the eventual defeat of the German forces North Africa C Company witnessed the destruction of the 5th South African Brigade at Sidi Rezegh and suffered the loss of a combined platoon when Tobruk capitulated on 21 June 1942. After a brief period on home leave in 1943 C Company was back in action, this time in Italy as part of the 6th South African Armoured Division. Here they faced mountains, heavy snow and an enemy desperately fighting for every hill, stream and building. In the months which followed C Company were often in the midst of the action and many men lost close friends on the slopes of the Italian mountains. As final victory became apparent during the first months of 1945, C Company’s men began preparing for their post-war lives and when the first planes and ships left for the union at the end of April 1945 the men felt that they have served their country well and did their regiment proud. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ten tyde van Duitsland se oorlogsverklaring Pole op 1 September 1939 wat die weg gebaan het het vir die gevolglike oorlog in Europa was die Unie van Suid-Afrika nie net polities verdeel nie maar ook militêr onvoorbereid op 'n moderne oorlog. Die kans dat Suid Afrika n beduidende bydrae tot sy Europese bondgenote se oorlogspoging sou kon maak was ook skraal. Die taak om Suid-Afrika voor te berei vir die komende stryd het op die skouers van die nuutaangestelde premier J.C. Smuts gerus wat deur middel van politieke manuvrering vir J.B.M. Hertzog uitoorlê het as leier van die volk. Nie net was die Unie Verdedigings Mag (UVM) erg uitgemergel deur verskeie besnoeings in sy begroting tydens en ná die depressie nie, maar daar was klaarblyklik geen begrip vir die proses van meganisasie gehad waarmee die meeste Europese weermagte doenig was nie. Binne die bestek van 'n jaar het Smuts daarin geslaag om die UVM te transformeer en op 17 Julie 1940 seil die 1ste Suid-Afrikaanse Infanterie Brigade Oos-Afrika toe waar Mussolini se magte die kruin van die golf ry nadat hulle ‘n paar Britse grensposte eenkant toe gevee het en 'n paar myl Britse grondgebied beset het. Die 1st Royal Natal Carbineers van Pietermaritzburg was een van die eenhede wat in Oos Afrika teen die Italianers sou veg. Tydens die veldtog veg die Regiment met onderskeiding, maar verwerf ook die twyfelagtige eer om die Suid-Afrikaanse eenheid te wees wat die meeste ongevalle gely het gedurende die hele veldtog. Verskeie van C Kompanie se manne word gebruik as ‘n lens waardeur die res van die oorlog ervaar word soos die troepe van een front na die ander verskuif word. Deur middel van hul wedervaringe word, onder andere, die jagtogte in die Oos-Afrikaanse bos en die dood van hul bevelvoerder herleef. Na Oos-Afrika word die seëvierende Springbokke na Egipte gestuur waar hulle benodig word om die Britse 8ste Leër by te staan in in die stryd teen die Duitse Afrika Korps. Te midde van die stryd kom die manne van C Kompanie nog tyd vind om Afrika se mees digbevolkte stede, Kaïro en Alexandrië te besoek waar baie jong soldate blootgestel is aan genot en tydverdryf wat nie beskikbaar was in die Unie nie. Ten spyte van die uiteindelike nederlaag van die Duitse magte in Noord-Afrika was C Kompanie teenwoordig tydens die vernietiging van die 5de Suid-Afrikaanse Brigade by Sidi Rezegh en ervaar ook die verlies van 'n gekombineerde peloton toe Tobruk oorgegee op 21 Junie 1942. Na 'n kort tydperk in Suid Afrika is C Kompanie terug in aksie, hierdie keer in Italië as deel van die 6de Suid-Afrikaanse Pantserdivisie. Hier word hulle gekonfronteer deur berge, swaar sneeu en 'n vyand wat desperaat veg vir elke heuwel, stroom en bouval. In die daaropvolgende maande bevind C Kompanie hom dikwels te midde van die aksie sterf vele goeie vriende teen die hange van die Italiaanse bergreekse. Namate dit duidelik begin raak dat die Duitsers die oorlog gaan verloor begin C Kompanie se manne hulself voorberei vir hul na-oorlogse lewens. Met die vertrek van die eerste vliegtuie en skepe na die Unie teen die einde van April 1945 was die manne van Natal oortuig daarvan dat hulle hul land na die beste van hulle vermoë gedien het en dat hulle die goeie naam van hulle regiment gestand gedoen het.

The work of the South African chaplains during the First World War was of an extremely high standard. The postwar military failed to recognise this contribution. In the 1920s and early 1930s the chaplaincy was allocated an inferior position within the military. It was only in 1938 that the first chaplains were appointed in the Permanent Force. During the Second World War the unwillingness of the UDF hierarchy to appoint a single chaplain as the head of a Chaplains' Branch influenced the ministry negatively. Inter-denominational issues were resolved on a basis of consensus amongst Principal Chaplains who were granted very little executive power. The establishment of the SA Corps of Chaplains in 1946 confirmed the permanency of the chaplaincy within the UDF. The appointment of the first Deputy Chaplain General in 1949 did much to ensure effective ministry. The discontinuation of this post in 1954 had a detrimental effect on the chaplaincy. With the establishment of the Department of Physical and Spiritual Welfare in 1966 no clear cut division was made between the responsibility for spiritual (pastoral) care and physical care (social welfare). This anomaly was rectified in 1968 when an independent directorate for the chaplaincy was created and in 1970 when a Chaplain General was appointed. The chaplaincy in South West Africa grew from a single chaplain at Walvis Bay in 1963 to an immense organisation with hundreds of chaplains. In 1980 the SWATF Chaplain Service was formed under command of its own director. The presence of SADF/SWATF chaplains in South West Africa ceased in 1989 with the implementation of UN Resolution 435. The 1990s was a decade of great transition and turmoil for the Chaplain Service. In 1994 the military chaplaincies of the TBVC countries, as well as members from MK and APLA, were integrated into the Chaplain Service. The implementation of the transformation policy of the Department of Defence resulted in the Chaplain Service becoming more representative of the communities it serves. / Theology / D. Th. (Theology)

The research focused on constructing a psychological well-being profile for flourishing practices for junior leaders by establishing the relationship between junior leaders' dispositional attributes (emotional affect, career orientations, and organisational commitment) and the flourishing attribute (positive psychological functioning). A nonprobability purposive sampling quantitative method was applied to a sample of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) personnel in Gauteng (N = 458) at junior leadership levels to explore the statistical relationship between their dispositional attributes (emotional affect, career orientations, and organisational commitment) and the flourishing attribute (positive psychological functioning) attribute. Multiple regression analyses indicated the dispositional attributes with the exception of emotional affect as significant predictors of the flourishing variable. The structural equation modelling (SEM) indicated a good fit of the data with the correlation-derived measurement model. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses indicated that age, race, gender and years of service as significant moderators of the relationship between the participants‘ dispositional attributes (emotional affect, career orientations and organisational commitment) and flourishing (positive psychological functioning) attribute. Tests for mean differences discovered that participants differed in terms of their age and race. The study made a significant contribution to the bulk of knowledge in the field of Industrial and Organisational Psychology. On a theoretical level, the study deepened the understanding of the individual and cognitive, affective, conative and relations management dimensions of the hypothesised psychological well-being profile. On an empirical level, the study developed an empirically tested psychological well-being profile that informs flourishing practices for individual junior leaders and organisational levels. On a practical level, dispositional and flourishing practices that inform the dimensions of the psychological well-being profile were recommended. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / Ph. D. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)