https://www.facebook.com/bleskopmemorial
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
For The Greater Glory Of God
In Memory of the Men from this Valley who gave their lives in the Great War 1914- 1919
R.I.P
This WW1 Memorial commemorates the sacrifice of just 10 men from the Valley of Groot Drakenstein, Simondium, Wellington, Plasir De Merle, Pickstone Farms and Erin Vale. It is not known why only these 10 are on the memorial but it is believed that the Gray Family (who owned Plasir De Merle from 1943) were very much involved in the memorial and we know that it was built by J. A. Clift of Paarl sometime in the 1920’s. It is also believed that there are strong links with
So far, I have been able to identify 7 of the names on the Memorial with a level of certainty:
Lieutenant Cecil Braithwaite Parsons 1st. Regiment South African Infantry
2nd. Lieutenant Basil George Hope Maclear MC, Grenadier Guards
2nd. Lieutenant Eric Percy Johnstone Touche, 1st. Regiment South African Infantry, Essex Regt, RAF
Rifleman Kingsley Louis Strangman, Kings Royal Rifle Corps (Rhodesian Platoon)
Private Albert John Thrift, Essex Regiment
Trooper Eric Victor Baker, 7th. South Africa Horse
Gunner Stephen Geffrey Dahse, South African Field Artillery
I am struggling to identify the final 3, there are ones who could be them but with no clear link to South Africa there is no way of being certain:
R G S Wiltshire
P Turner
G Prichard
It is possible, as with A J Thrift, that the initials may not be correct on the Memorial. It is known that the Memorial, see older photos, stood on higher ground than it does today. The Road was rebuilt in the 1960’s and in the 1980’s the Memorial was taken down and refurbished (possibly for the WW1 70th. Anniversary).
