Trio of Brit service revolvers (AKA South Africa Contract pistols)

BIG DAZ UK said:

Thats a really nice 'rig' you have there I really like the armoured crew holster you have, the writing on the cartridges looks german why is that?

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Oldiron said:

Linda, does 707445 have a small triangle stamp below the hammer spring screw?
Larry

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DRB said:

I have 803237 wich is South African marked and lettered as shipped to South Africa. It is a 5" barrel.

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Oldiron said:

From what I have gathered reading other threads yours must have been from the third order South Africa placed. Seems all of the orders were for 4" but Smith filled the order with 5" guns.
Question, does yours have a number halfway down the grip backstrap or an inverted triangle on the front grip frame below the trigger spring screw? If you look at my pic of the S.A. U arrow and prop number there is a 32 below those and a triangle on the front. Haven't found out what those are denoting yet. Hopefully someone knows.
Larry

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Texas Star said:

Afrikaans, once called Cape Dutch, evolved from Dutch and other input languages. The Dutch settled at what is now Cape Town (Kaap Stad) in 1652. Gov. Simon van der Stel grew the first wine grapes on his famous estate Constantia in 1655.

After the withdrawal of the Edict of Nantes in 1688, French Protestants, called Hugenots, fled France, often for Dutch-ruled South Africa. They added to the Boer gene pool. The well known actress Charlize Theron has a French last name. (I presume all here know that she is from South Africa originally. She made a very determined effort to learn English with a US accent for the sake of her film career.) Marais is another common South African name of French origin. ("Ma-RAY-uh")

Germans later also came to the Boer/ Afrikaaner populace. ("Boer" literally means. "farmer", although they aren't all farmers, of course.) But predominantly, the root language was Dutch, and the language also resembles modern Flemish.

About 60% of white South Africans are Afrikaans-speaking, the rest mainly British-derived. But I knew one South African consul who was from Italian stock.

Britain began settling South Africa in earnest about 1820. As the British took over, they passed laws that the Boers found oppressive, causing their Great Trek over the Drakensberg (Dragon's Tooth) mountain range in 1838.

They founded two nations there, across the Vaal River. These were the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State. It was these countries that went to war with the British from 1899-1902 in what was called the second Boer War. (The first was in about 1881; I'd have to check the date. It was a smaller conflict.)

I worked once briefly in the South African booth at the Texas State Fair assisting a local girl there who had had almost no briefing before her bosses took off for dinner. I had read a good deal about the country and written an article for the Dallas Morning News food section on South African wine. (They also have a well regarded industry in brandy, and in sherry. Their sherry is said to be the best ouside Spain, but I've never had any.)

I did this for two reasons: one, I wanted to get the phone number of the cute SMU student who was working the booth, and secondly, I was bitter about the liberal left US media demonizing South Africa to advance their planned political agenda there. Most American newsmen knew zip about that nation, other than that they didn't like apartheid. ("Apart-hood.")

Anyway, the guys from the Consulate came back, thanked me profusely for the help once they found that I actually knew their history rather well, and presented me with some Castle (brand) Lager and a subscription to a beautiful publication called, South African Panorama. I read that for years, enjoying it greatly. The subcription lasted longer than my relationship with the girl, who turned out to be pretty, but none too cerebral. Her interest in most things that intrigued me was quite limited, and I don't think we dated more than maybe three months. I hope she married someone who liked to discuss football. She did give me considerable insight into sorority activities, which was both interesting and a bit scary!

BTW, if you'll look late in the summer, you may be able to find South African oranges in your grocer. You can tell them by the little stickers on the oranges that read "Outspan" brand. This refers to the Boers "outspanning" their trek oxen in the days when they went north to found their new republics. Their wagons resembled those used by our own pioneers.

You may have heard of a couple of the early Boer leaders. One was Oom ("Uncle") Paul Kruger. His face is on the gold coin named for him: Krugerrand. Another was Field Marshal (also Prime Minister) Jan Smuts, who helped greatly to keep South Africa on the Allied side in WW II, although the sympathies of many of his fellow Arikaaners were with Germany, at least until Hitler ordered a square mile in Rotterdam bombed flat to avenge one of his favorite paratroop generals having been wounded by a Dutch sniper.

I've probably begun to bore most of you, but do read up on the Republic of South Africa and how it came to be where it now is. It is a fascinating journey through history.

If your library or used book store has novels by Laurens van der Post or Stuart Cloete (pronounced as "Clooty") read a few. Cloete wrote some about the Great Trek that were quite good; also at least one about the Boer War.

We now return you to your regular programming. But this stuff should interest those who collect small arms with South African provenance. BTW, one South African is a member here, and he has posted some good info on those .38-200 revolvers. (Hello, Peter, if you see this.)

Tot siens,
(bye for now)

T-Star

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Texas Star said:

DAZ-

I'm glad to have helped. I think people should know that stuff.

BTW, when Churchill thought of organizing special raiding units to harry the Germans in 1940, he called them Commandos. That was after the very mobile units of Boers whom he had fought at the beginning of the century.

After the big battles like Spion Kop, Elandslaagte and such and the British relief of Ladysmith and Mafeking, the Boers dissolved from regular citizen armies and formed smaller raiding groups.The commando was (may still be) the basic citizen soldier unit liable to be called on to form up for quick military duty. They were supposed to maintain their own weapons and a certain amount of campaign food.

I think they were originally to protect their communities from the Zulu.

They made the Mauser rifle famous! (The M-95 7mm model)

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