Thread: C.s.a.r.v
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Old 07-08-08, 05:31 PM
natal01 natal01 is offline
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Location: durban, south africa
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According to Tyldens book, The Armed Forces of South Africa , the CSARV started life as the Imperial Military Railway Volunteer Corps. This was the military "home" for all the civilian railway employees during the Boer War. In December 1902 the name changed to the Central South African Railway Volunteers and was known as such until 1906 when the name changed yet again to the Central South African Railway Corps. This name only lasted for a short time until the unit became the Central South African Railway Engineer Corps, which better reflected their duties as engineers serving armoured trains. This name endured until 1913, when the unit seems to have been disbanded. It was never a very big unit.
The SA Motor Cyclists Corps was around from 1916 to 1918 and its badge was the winged wheel used variously by the Railways and Harbours Brigade and the CSARV.
The badges are very nicely struck and dont turn up all that often, which , I suppose , is not all that surprising given the size of the unit.
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