TOPIC:

In the latter quarter of the 19th century the ZAR and OVS only had only two official uniformed corpses: The Police and the Artillery. For the defense against foreign aggression and unruly natives, the Republics relied largely on the “commando” structure under which male citizens could be conscripted for military duty when the need arose.

The Republican commando structure evolved on commercial grounds. The fiercely independent Boers did not like the concept of central government and paid little tax. Because of a lack of other substantial income sources, the Governments of the Republics were forced to operate on ridiculously small budgets, grossly insufficient to maintain a standing army. One of the reasons that the Republics were able to rely for their security on irregular forces was because the economy of the Republics was largely agriculture based. Because of soil- and climate conditions, especially cattle farming required extensive grounds. The Boers (and the by-woner families) on these large and remote farms were forced to become more or less self-sufficient, and that self-sufficiency extended to matters relating to security. To respond to cattle theft and other local menaces, a Boer could only rely on the men living on or near his farm. What made these extended family groups effective as a fighting force however, was that the men were natural horsemen and often great shots, they knew each other well, leadership followed existing, seniority-based relationships and/or earned merit, loyalty was beyond question and a strong communal sense of purpose provided all the motivation needed.

The commando structure on a national level was in essence a Government formalized and -organized compound of these armed “family” groups. Grosso Modo, these family groups formed “Corporalships” in the commando structure. A cluster of Corporalships formed a Wijk (Ward) and a collection of Wards formed a District or Commando, often named after the main town in the area (e.g. Krugersdorp Commando). The armies of the Republics consisted of Districts operating in conjunction with the mentioned uniformed units under a more or less centralized leadership.

The sufficiency of these Republican security arrangements came under threat with the discovery of gold deposits near Johannesburg. The discovery caused a mass influx of Uitlanders (foreigners) that overwhelmed the Boers and posed a direct threat to existing social fabric. This would probably have been manageable if it weren’t for the fact that these Uitlanders became a tool in the hands of the mining magnates who had grown rich digging up diamonds in OVS territory appropriated for their benefit by the British controlled Cape Colony. The magnates had quickly set their sights on the gold deposits around Johannesburg and, using their wealth and (media) connections, had little problem convincing Uitlanders, the British Government and British public that ownership of the ZAR was something they had always wanted. The bulk of the newly arrived Uitlanders settled in Johannesburg and surrounding towns. For obvious reasons, the male Boer population living in these towns (City Boers) had not developed the level of skills that made the so called “Veld Boers” such effective fighters. With that in mind -and recognizing that “Uitlander” related problems were becoming too large just for the Police forces to handle- a few concerned men in Johannesburg and surrounding towns took private initiatives to form militias to support local law enforcement. These trained, armed and uniformed volunteer corpses were officially recognized- and actively supported - by the ZAR Government under Kruger.

Probably the best known of these militias was the Johannesburg Vrijwilliger Corps (JVC). Established in September 1894 by Staas Hubertus van Diggelen (1859 Axel, Netherlands- 1930 Johannesburg) a Dutchman by birth. Van Diggelen, who also financed the formation and (parts of the) operations of the unit, was raised by ZAR President Kruger in 1894 to the rank of Lt. Colonel and went on to serve as commander of the JVC. The exact men-strength of the JVC is apparently uncertain but must have numbered in the hundreds, with cavalry and infantry sections, an ambulance corps and other specialized units. Over the four and a half years of its existence (the volunteer corpses were disbanded in January 1899) the JVC gained a good reputation. It was employed with maintaining law and order in and around Johannesburg and participated, successfully so it seems, in two notable military operations: The Jameson Raid/containing a threatening Uitlander uprising in Johannesburg (Dec 1895/Jan 1896) and the Swazieland expedition (1898). After the unit was disbanded, many JVC members made name for themselves in the Johannesburg Commando during the Boer War.

A number of badges are associated with the JVC. Because of the relatively small size of the unit and its short life span, all (genuine) JVC badges are rare.

Below a JVC slouch-hat badge from my collection (another example appeared in Neville’s post earlier in this thread). It features the original fastening-pin at the back.


Slouch hat with JVC badge affixed

(Courtesy: Easylive auction)


The beard-free infantry section of the JVC, a magnificent photograph coloured in by Tinus Le Roux. The man in black resting on the sable is i.m.o. the unit’s commander, Lt. Col Staas van Diggelen.



I think the photograph goes some way in solving the riddle from where Hugo Boss got his inspiration for the SS overcoats a few decades later.
Photo credit : Rory /Tinus le Roux

Here are three more photographs of the Johannesburg Vrijwilliger Corps. They show how the slouch hat badge posted by Everhard above was worn close to the edge of the upturned brim, pinning the latter to the crown of the hat.






















The skull & crossbones also featured on the Volunteers' uniform buttons and belt buckles. A second type of slouch hat badge, in the form of a stand-alone skull & crossbones, is seen in some photographs of the JVC infantry wing (see below).






On display in the Ladysmith Siege Museum, this belt it attributed to the Johannesburg Vrijwilliger Corps. However, I am not entirely convinced, as looking at the photograph above the buckle is different in several respects, the most notable being the shape and surface texture of the back plate. Also, the skull is much too big, obscuring the central part of the crossbones.







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