Page 9 - Cornwall 2 2021

HISTORY

If you drive a mere 7 km route from Cornwall

Hill Estate, down Van Ryneveld Avenue and
on to Waterkloof Air Force Base, you will

have connected the dots, so to

speak, to a piece of our history.

n 1970, the then Verwoerdburg Town Council the Knight Commander of the
proposed establishing a suburb on land south-east of Order of the British Empire by
the Waterkloof Air Force Base. The initial suburb was King George, the current Queen
355 hectares in size. Three hundred of those hectares Elizabeth’s grandfather.
Iformed part of the family Van der Byl’s Irene Estate, just
as Cornwall Hill did, at that time. The name of the suburb was Colonel Sir Pierre van

appropriately chosen as Pierre Van Ryneveld, in memory of the Ryneveld was commissioned
man who founded the South African Air Force in 1920. by General Jan Smuts to
organise the establishment
Helperus Andrias (Pierre) van Ryneveld was a South African of the South African Air Force,
military commander and the founding commander of the with Kenny van der Spuy as his
South African Air Force. He was born in the small town of deputy in 1920. Van Ryneveld
Senekal in the Free State on 2 May 1891 and educated at was appointed as Chief of the
Grey College, Bloemfontein, before obtaining a BA degree Air Force from 1920 and, with his
from the University of the Cape of Good Hope (today known strong personality
as Unisa). Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, and practical
he recieved a BSc degree from the University of London. approach, he was
instrumental in the
With the outbreak of the First World War, Van Ryneveld establishment of
joined the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, transferring a well-trained and
to the Royal Flying Corps in 1915 as a pilot. He attained the equipped air force.
rank of lieutenant colonel and became Officer Commanding A true pioneer
11th Army Wing within four years of service and earned the and aviator, Van
Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross. His brother, Ryneveld became
John, also a pilot, was killed during the First World War. the first person to
fly from Pretoria to
After the war, Van Ryneveld was called back to South Africa Cape Town non-
by the Prime Minister, Jan Smuts, in order to set up the South stop in 1927 and
African Air Force. He teamed up with co-pilot Quintin Brand, he was also the
a descendant of former President Brand of the Orange Free first person in South Africa to jump out of an aircraft with a
State. The men persuaded the Prime Minister to support parachute. He was appointed Chief of General Staff ( today
them in flying back to South Africa, thereby inaugurating known as Chief of the South African National Defence Force)
the Cape to Cairo route that was becoming increasingly in 1937 and led the South African war effort in the Second
important at that time. The pair set out from London to World War, serving until his retirement in May 1949.
South Africa on 4 February 1920. The Mediterranean crossing
took 11 hours in a Vickers Vimy (the Silver Queen). Their After retiring, he and his wife, Lady Edith “Betty” Van
first forced landing was in Wadi Halfa in present-day Sudan Ryneveld (nee Stirling) settled on his farm Spitzkop in the
and rendered the plane unusable. A second Vimy (the Silver Bronkhorstspruit area. He died on 2 December 1972 at
Queen II) was delivered 11 days later and the duo resumed the age of 81. His only son John is also a pilot in the South
their journey when they took off from Cairo. On 6 March, the African Air Force. The ashes of Sir Pierre and Lady Betty van
Silver Queen II crashed while attempting to take off from Ryneveld are placed in the Wall of Remembrance at the
Bulawayo, the weight of the 500 gallons of fuel they had just South African Air Force Memorial on Bays Hill, Swartkop,
taken on board proving to be too much. A third aircraft, a Pretoria.
De Havilland DH9 aptly called “The Voortrekker”, was flown
to Bulawayo, and the two pilots resumed their journey on 17 So when you next take a trip down Van Ryneveld Ave
March. Their first stop-over was at the airstrip on the University and into the suburb of Pierre Van Ryneveld Park, I hope it
of Pretoria (UP) Hillcrest Campus. On 20 March they landed reminds you of this remarkable man and the feats of so
at Youngsfield in Wynberg, Cape Town. Incredible to think, many other individuals who have shaped and contributed
in these days of high-speed air travel, that the total flight to our country.
time was 109 hours and 30 minutes over 45 days. For this
pioneering feat of establishing an air route across the African “One person can make a difference, and everyone
continent, Van Ryneveld and Brand were both presented with should try” – John F Kennedy.
Sources: samilitaryhistory.org • en.wikipdeiaorg>wiki>pierre_van_ryneveld • theheritageportal.co.za • Irene by Nigel Helme

Cornwall View • Issue 2 2021 9