WE all thought (and I must admit that I was one of the culprits) that as time passed, interest would wane in the battlefields of South Africa. Seen one, seen ‘em all, I would have thought. As the direct descendants of those long-ago warriors began to pop their clogs, no-one would be interested in coming to visit far-away graves.  Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Battlefield tourism is growing in leaps and bounds in South Africa. This is largely thanks to a sprightly SA Military History Society with a dynamic committee and hold-me-back membership. The four branches in KZN, Eastern Cape, Cape Town and Johannesburg hold monthly lectures, put out journals and newsletters, host free battlefield tours for members, and share a keen nose for the human interest aspects of history.

We are also very fortunate, in a rather ironic way, that most of our bloodiest and dramatic battles took place in the most spectacular countryside. Spioenkop, for instance, is a dreaming mountain with misty vistas – and lines of white stones where people died. Isandlwana has brooding grandeur, Rorke’s Drift is full of blue and green prettiness, while the summer thunderclouds move with indifference over the grassy plains of Magersfontein and Mafikeng.

Ken Gillings, one of those eager dynamos behind the op-en-wakker marketing of Battlefield Tourism in South Africa, is busy putting the finishing touches to the 130th commemoration of the Anglo-Zulu War with a programme of events in Dundee between the 16th and 25th January. Next year he is organising a conference to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Anglo-Boer war. It’s all go, I tell you. According to Ken, there is a growing interest in military history: “There are still quite a few overseas descendants of these battles that come to visit the sites,” he says, “but there is a greater number of South Africans who are discovering their heritage. The histories of these battles offer fantastic stories in a beautiful countryside. “Battlefield tourism is being very well marketed overseas and here in KZN it is combined with cultural tourism as well. Overseas military units see SA battlefields as lessons to be learnt. They do practical exercises – what they call TEWTs (Tactical Exercises Without Troops) where they evaluate a battle and test their young soldiers." The commemoration later this month in Dundee is a rip-snorting fest of activities, with military parades, markets, vintage car shows, battle re-enactments, music, star-gazing, military balls (the dancing kind) and a shebeen crawl. For the more cerebrally-minded, the conference has guest speakers from Canada, the UK, and our local chaps. A topic that caught my eye was the subject of the talk of Arthur Konigkramer, chairman of our KZN Heritage Foundation: “Are Battlefields worth battling for?” The answer must surely be a resounding yes, according to Ken one can also do corporate breakaways on battlefields: "I have a talk called ‘Can Battlefield Blunders Benefit Business?’ which talks about the comparisons between battles and businesses." Most of the battlefield historians world-wide will tell you about British battles, invariably because they are the best documented. The British had a mania for bureaucratic form and every battle was accompanied by wagon-loads of clerks busy sending despatches and memos and requisitions. The British also won most of their battles (or rather, they never gave up until they won), and this fact gives fascinating insight into the social structure of that country during the Empire. Unlike many countries, British troops were not conscripted – they were recruited from the criminal and lower classes. Miscreants who stole a loaf of bread were given the choice between being hanged or fighting for the Glory of the King.  Once in the ranks, they were kept there through ferocious discipline.  Many was the hapless soldier who would prefer to face down a rampaging horde of Zulus intent on seeing the colour of his insides, rather than explain to his red-faced sergeant how he had lost his hat. British troops never ran away from battle, simply because their officers were worse than any enemy. (This also led to some monumental blunders when incompetents were put in command, but ‘C’est Magnifique’ as a bemused bystander said at the Charge of the Light Brigade). And the poor Tommy really was cannon-fodder. Colonial wars were a good way for Britain to thin out the underclass, and the less soldiers who returned from battle, the less mouths to feed back home.  This regrettable attitude to human life, ironically, has also made for the most thrilling military stories. Even people who are not remotely interested in history cannot help but be moved and engaged by stories of heroism and futility.  Anyone who wants to join the SA Military History Society or who wants to find out more about the commemorations at Dundee, must contact Ken Gillings at ken.gillings@mweb.co.za or Endumeni Tourism at info@tourdundee.co.za  or SA Military History Society chair Eugene Campher at campherd@telkomsa.net