SADF Champion Shot Medal

SADF Champion Shot Medal
Awarded by the State President and, from 1994, the President
Country South Africa  South Africa
Type Military marksmanship medal
Eligibility All Ranks
Awarded for Champion shots of the annual SADF Shooting Championships
Status Discontinued in 2003
Statistics
Established 1975
First awarded 1975
SADF pre-1994 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear
Next (higher)
SADF precedence:
SANDF precedence:
Next (lower)
SADF succession:
SANDF succession:

Ribbon bar

The SADF Champion Shot Medal is a military medal which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa in 1975. It was awarded to the champion shots of the annual South African Defence Force Shooting Championships in the categories of full-bore, small-bore, service shooting and pistol. The medal could be won multiple times, with each subsequent award indicated by a bar.[1]

The South African military

The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).[1][2][3]

Institution

The SADF Champion Shot Medal, which replaced the Commandant General's Medal, was instituted by the State President by Warrant dated 1 October 1975, published in Government Gazette no. 4874 dated 17 October 1975.[4][5]

Award criteria

From 1976, four medals were awarded annually to the champion shots of the South African Defence Force Shooting Championships in the categories of full-bore, small-bore, service shooting and pistol respectively. The medal could be won multiple times and each subsequent award was indicated by the addition of a Bar. Champions who had already been awarded the defunct Commandant General's Medal were awarded Bars to add to their existing medal.[1][6]

Order of wear

The position of the SADF Champion Shot Medal in the official order of precedence was revised three times after 1975, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, again 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, and again upon the institution of a new set of awards on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged on all three occasions.[7][8]

Official SANDF order of precedence
Official national order of precedence

Description

Obverse

The SADF Champion Shot Medal is a medallion struck in silver, 3 millimetres thick at the centre and 38 millimetres in diameter, depicting the five-pointed outline of the Castle of Good Hope, with a laurel between the two points at the bottom and proteas between the others. A roundel in the centre has two crossed rifles over a shooting target, with a shooting range in the background. It is inscribed "SAW KAMPIOENSKUT-MEDALJE" and "SADF CHAMPION SHOT MEDAL" below the target, each language in two lines. The suspender is decorated with protea leaves.[2][6][9]

Reverse

The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms and the medal number is impressed at the bottom of the medal on the rim.[9]

Ribbon

The ribbon is the same as for the Commandant General's Medal, 32 millimetres wide, with a 6 millimetres wide light blue band and a 7 millimetres wide dark orange band, repeated in reverse order and separated by a 6 millimetres wide navy blue band in the centre. Dark orange, light blue and navy blue are the colours of the three Arms of the Service, the South African Army, the South African Air Force and the South African Navy.[1][9]

Bar

The Bar is of silver and has a shooting target embossed in the centre.[2] When ribbons alone are worn, separate circular buttons are worn on the ribbon bar to denote each subsequent award of the medal.[6]

Discontinuation

Conferment of the medal was discontinued in respect of championships on or after 27 April 2003.[3][10] No new medal was instituted to replace it.[6]

Recipients

The champions from 1976 to 1986 are listed in the table. An award of a bar to a recipient of the defunct Commandant General's Medal is denoted by "(CGM)" after his surname.[6]

Year Rank Initials Surname Service
Arm
1976 Maj A.L. van Graan (CGM) SA Army
1976 Capt S.D. van Niekerk SA Army
1976 S Sgt J.A. van Rhyn SA Army
1976 Cmdt D. Badenhorst SAAF
1977 Capt L.A. Terblanche SA Army
1977 S Sgt J.A. van Rhyn SA Army
1977 Cpl J.D. Berry SA Army
1977 Cmdt D. Badenhorst SAAF
1978 Maj C.F. Schoeman SA Army
1978 Maj S.P. Bezuidenhout SA Army
1978 Sea W. Bosch SAN
1978 S Lt G. de Vries SAN
1979 Capt L.A. Terblanche SA Army
1979 Col C.H. le Roux SA Army
1979 Cpl H.F.P. Rautenbach SA Army
1979 F Sgt P. Weepner SAAF
1980 Maj E.M. Malone SA Army
1980 2 Lt G.S. Potgieter SA Army
1980 CO P. Botha SA Army
1980 Cpl J.H.J. Wessels SA Army
1981 S Sgt A.P. van Niekerk SA Army
1981 CO P. Botha SA Army
1981 Maj E.M. Malone SA Army
1981 2 Lt G.S. Potgieter SA Army
1983 Brig A.P. Moller SA Army
1983 Pte L.J. Driskel SA Army
1983 Capt G.S. Potgieter SA Army
1983 Cmdt E.M. Malone SA Army
1984 Col G.A. van Zyl SA Army
1984 Cpl P.J. Korkle SA Army
1984 Rfn B.G. Enslin SA Army
1984 WO2 P. Weepner SAAF
1985 Capt G.J.P. Burger SAN
1985 Rfn I. Cook SA Army
1985 CO G.C.O. Landman SA Army
1985 WO1 P. Weepner SAAF
1986 Pte M.J. van Wyk SA Army
1986 Sgt F.A. Woodrup SAAF
1986 WO2 N.M.B. van Deventer SA Army
1986 Col C.H. le Roux SA Army

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 South African Medal Website - SA Defence Force : 1975-2003 (Accessed 30 April 2015)
  2. 1 2 3 South African Medal Website - SA Defence Force : 1952-1975 (Accessed 30 April 2015)
  3. 1 2 Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 457, no. 25213, Pretoria, 25 July 2003
  4. ↑ Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 4874, Pretoria, 17 October 1975.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 The Queen's/King's Medal for Champion Shots - South Africa - South African Defence Force - The SADF Champion Shot Medal (Retrieved 11 February 2015)
  6. 1 2 3 Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993
  7. 1 2 3 Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005. OCLC 72827981
  8. 1 2 3 SADF Champion Shot Medal picture
  9. ↑ Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 26778, Pretoria, 17 September 2004
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