Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst
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| Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst | |
|---|---|
 Ribbon: 32mm, red, green, blue, yellow, white |
|
| Awarded by South African Defence Force | |
| Type | Medal |
| Awarded for | Distinguished and meritorious service in the Anglo-Boer War |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Statistics | |
| First awarded | 1921 |
| Last awarded | 1946 |
| Total awarded | 591 |
The Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst ("Decoration for Devoted Service") was a South African military decoration. It was authorised on 21 December 1920, as a retrospective award for Boer veterans of the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). The DTD was granted, on application, to veterans who had rendered distinguished and especially meritorious service as officers in the Boer forces, and was equivalent to the British Distinguished Service Order.
Neither of the Boer republics (the Orange Free State and the South African Republic) had had official honours systems of their own. The DTD was created to give the Boer veterans parity with their fellow-South Africans who had fought on the British side in the war.
The DTD is a silver medal. Both sides depict a cross, encircled by the words "Voor Trouwe Dienst 1899-1902". One side has the arms of the SAR in the centre of the cross, and the other side has the OFS arms. This enabled each recipient to wear the medal so as to display the arms of the state for which he had fought.
The ribbon, as worn by an SAR veteran, is red, green, blue, yellow, and white. An OFS veteran would have reversed the ribbon so that the white stripe was on the left.
Nearly 600 decorations were awarded.
[edit] References
- Alexander, E. G. M., Barron G. K. B. and Bateman, A. J. (1986). South African Orders, Decorations and Medals. Human and Rousseau.
- Monick, S. (1988). "South African Military Awards 1912-1987". South African National Museum of Military History.
