Cross for Bravery

The Cross for Bravery was instituted by the State President of the Republic of Transkei, for award to all ranks as a decoration for bravery.[1][2]

Cross for Bravery
TypeMilitary decoration for bravery
Awarded forBravery
Country Transkei
Presented bythe State President
EligibilityAll ranks
StatusDiscontinued in 1994
Establishedc. 1976
Ribbon bar
TDF pre-1994 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear
Next (higher)
SANDF precedence:
Next (lower)
TDF succession:
SANDF succession:

The Transkei Defence Force

The Transkei Defence Force (TDF) was established upon that country's independence on 26 October 1976. The Republic of Transkei ceased to exist on 27 April 1994 and the Transkei Defence Force was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).[3][4][5]

Institution

The Cross for Bravery was instituted by the State President of Transkei. While the decoration is known to have been instituted and possibly awarded, no warrant has yet been traced and, as a result, the exact date of institution is not known. The decoration is considered as Transkei's approximate equivalent of South Africa's Honoris Crux (1975).[1][6]

Award criteria

The decoration could be awarded to all ranks as a military decoration for bravery.[1][6]

Order of wear
Main article: South African military decorations order of wear § Order of wear

Since the Cross for Bravery was authorised for wear by one of the statutory forces which came to be part of the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, it was accorded a position in the official South African order of precedence on that date. The order of precedence was revised in April 1996, when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe.[6]

Transkei Defence Force until 26 April 1994

  • Official TDF order of precedence:
  • Transkei official national order of precedence:
    • Preceded by the Prisons Service Gallantry Cross.
    • Succeeded by the Order of Transkei, Class IV, Officer (OT).[6]
South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994

South African National Defence Force from April 1996

  • Official SANDF order of precedence:
  • Official national order of precedence:
    • Preceded by the KwaZulu Department of Correctional Services Cross for Gallantry (CPV).
    • Succeeded by the Civil Defence Medal for Bravery of the Republic of South Africa.[6]

The position of the Cross for Bravery in the order of precedence remained unchanged, as it was in April 1996, when a new series of military orders, decorations and medals was instituted in South Africa on 27 April 2003.[6]

Description
Obverse

The Cross for Bravery is a convex cross, struck in silver and 38 millimetres in diameter, displaying in the centre a blue crane inside a red roundel, which is inscribed "FOR BRAVERY" at the top and has a wreath of leaves at the bottom.[1]

Reverse

The reverse displays the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Transkei.[1]

Ribbon

The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and red, with a 2 millimetres wide white band 2 millimetres from each edge.[1][7]

Discontinuation

Conferment of the Cross for Bravery was discontinued when the Republic of Transkei ceased to exist on 27 April 1994.[5]

References
  1. South African Medal Website - Transkei Defence Force (Accessed 30 April 2015)
  2. Republic of Transkei Constitution Act, 1976, Act no. 15 of 1976
  3. South Africa Homeland Militaries, May 1996 (Accessed 1 May 2015)
  4. Peled, Alon (1998), A Question of Loyalty: Military Manpower Policy in Multiethnic States, Cornell Studies in Security Affairs, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp. 50f, ISBN 0-8014-3239-1
  5. Warrant of the President of the Republic of South Africa for the Institution of the "UNITAS MEDAL-UNITAS-MEDALJE", Gazette no. 16087 dated 25 November 1994.
  6. Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, OCLC 72827981
  7. Ciskei (sic) Medal for Bravery Full size
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