When 61 Mechanised Battalion Group was disbanded in November 2005, amongst its regalia was the Memorial Needle where the unit remembered those who had died in battle. This memorial had been with the unit since Omuthiya, where it had been originally erected in 1984. When the unit re-located it was moved to Walvis Bay for storage. During 1992 it was moved once again to the Army Battle School at Lohathla and re-erected. With the disbanding of the unit the memorial was left without a home until the formation of the 61 Mechanised Battalion Group Veterans Association. High on the list of priorities was moving the regalia of the unit to somewhere safe, the most logical place being the South African National Museum of Military History in Saxonwold, Johannesburg.
The move was set in motion, and on 25 May 2010 it was re-erected at the Diphong Museum of Military History (aka National Museum of Military History), and the unveiling of the memorial was set to co-incide with the Anniversary of Operation Sceptic (Smokeshell) as well as the Annual General Meeting of the Association.

Like many such memorials it is visually striking, replete with the original 61 Flash on the needle. The name plates had been fixed around the base and the white stones provided a contrast with the gray granite from Karabib in what was then South West Africa. The grounds of the museum provide an interesting contrast with weapons from both World Wars and those who attended on this day were veterans of the Border War. I had originally heard about the existance of the Memorial in Lohathla through the Army Talk mailing list, and was fortunate enough to receive photographs of it through John Dovey. I had never dreamt of ever seeing the memorial in front of me, so this was a very special moment. The photographs below show the memorial as it was in Lohathla.

The Programme

Before the unveiling	The Hind Memorial	Before the unveiling
Master of Ceremonies Jan Malan	The Guard of Honour	Maj Genl JM Dippenaar delivers the address
Honouring The Fallen	Honouring The Fallen	Honouring The Fallen
The Colours Received on 3 October 1983	Pipe Major Craig Herwill plays the Lament	Lowering the flags
Wreaths	The Memorial page	Wreaths

61 Mech Battalion Group Veterans Association.
The SADF Honour Roll.
The South African War Graves Project
The South African National Museum of Military History



© DR Walker 2006 - 2012. Photographs of the original memorial by John Dovey, new photographs by Derek Walker. Memorial and ceremony information courtesy of Jan Malan, special thanks to Ariel Hugo and Gert Minaar. Updated 16 June 2010.