John van Zyl

From Tony Ballinger: I recently interviewed a former brother in arms from the 3rd Battalion RAR about his experiences fighting for Rhodesia. I very quickly came to realise what a fine person he is and that he has been left destitute in South Africa through no fault of his own. He is a warm-hearted man and at no time in the interview did e ask for funds. After telling me that he would fight for Rhodesia all over again I felt it only fair and right that we should help him. He has been verified as a real ex member of the RAR by the RAR association. Please join with me in blessing him with some donations to bring dignity back to his 68 year old frame. Thank you.
To contribute financially please use the following links:-
PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/tonybee6
GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-former-rar-soldier

10 months ago | [YT] | 24

John van Zyl

Hi everyone, just letting you know that we are experiencing strong winds and rain from Typhoon Kristine passing by. We have been without electricity and WiFi for 3 days now. This is causing delays in editing and publishing new content. My apologies to our subscribers 🙇🏻‍♂️⛈️☔️⚡️

11 months ago | [YT] | 80

John van Zyl

I just heard Dale Collet passed away!
https://youtu.be/szmxmPhBxAo?si=SZ9H7...

1 year ago | [YT] | 23

John van Zyl

Hi everyone, please note that my Facebook account was hacked by someone in Ukraine. My account has been deleted and is not recoverable. Please note that my new account is here (and you are welcome to send me a friend request). www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558686234960

1 year ago | [YT] | 40

John van Zyl

"I have always regarded the forward edge of the battlefield as the most exclusive club in the world" (Gen. Sir Brian Horrocks). The US Marine Corps are members of that elite club. As a member of the Rhodesian Light Infantry, I want to wish all my "Devil Dog" friends, Happy Birthday for tomorrow November 10th! the Few, the Proud.

1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 81

John van Zyl

ARGENTINIAN BOERS.

In the first decade of the twentieth century, after the devastation wreaked by the Anglo Boer war and the concentrations camps, about 650 Boers, unwilling to accept British rule, emigrated to the Patagonian desert in southern Argentina.
The first generations in Patagonia eked out an isolated living in the harsh environment, but in the 1950s they increased contact with nearby communities in Sarmiento and Comodoro Rivadavia and started intermarrying creating a unique bilingual community made up of the Afrikaans and Spanish-speaking descendants of the original settlers.
Today, older members of the community still speak Afrikaans, although their dominant language is Spanish. As the younger generations, who only speak Spanish, become fully integrated into Argentine society, the bilingual community is quickly disappearing. To many of them Patagonian Afrikaans is a relic of the past, but against the odds a renaissance has begun.
The Patagonian Afrikaans dialect, spoken nowhere else, preserves elements of Afrikaans from before 1925, when the South African government recognized it as an official language. It thus provides a unique window onto the history of Afrikaans from a period before its dialectal varieties were reduced through standardization.
Since the community had been living outside of South Africa for over a century, the disappearance of its forefathers’ heritage seemed inevitable. By the late 1980s observers characterized the community as virtually “extinct”. Yet over the last two decades there has been a resurgence of interest in promoting the Boers’ unique cultural identity. This has included acquiring space to house a cultural centre and museum. Once-dead traditions, such as an annual games festival (Boeresport), have also been revived.
SOME SURNAMES OF THE BOERS IN PATAGONIA
Van der Merwe, Viviers, Kruger, Van Wyk, Visser, Naudé, Van der Walt, Blackie, Botha, Van der Linde, De Bruyn, Joubert, Vorster, Snyman, Du Plessis, Pienaar, Dickenson, Myburgh, Van Heerden, Grobelaar, Edwards, Van Zyl, Venter, Coetzee, Schlebusch, Trichardt, Eloff, Norval, Dekker, Grombeeck, Lubbe, Pelser, Malan, Swanepoel, Spies, Van Vuuren.
Source: Alberton Record.

2 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 94

John van Zyl

Fireforce was a daring tactic developed by the Rhodesian Security Forces during the Rhodesian Bush War of 1965-1980. Following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom, Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe) became a heavily sanctioned pariah-state, condemned for its insistence on maintaining a system of minority rule in the face of a global wave of decolonization. A violent insurgency, supported by the Communist Bloc of the Cold War, sought to overthrow the Rhodesian government. The tiny Security Forces, chronically short on manpower and struggling to maintain an aging fleet of outdated vehicles, developed an aggressive Search&Destroy tactic to inflict devastating losses on the insurgents: Fireforce. These company-sized actions used small, unarmoured Alouette helicopters to insert 4-man teams in the path of the enemy, WWII-era C-47 transport planes to drop paratroopers directly into combat, and modified civilian aircraft to throw locally made ordnance in close support of ground forces. This almost reckless tactic proved highly effective against the militarily incapable insurgents, inflicting one of the most staggeringly lopsided casualty-counts of modern war.

2 years ago | [YT] | 17

John van Zyl

Thinking of a merchandise T shirt design for the channel. Which design do you prefer?

2 years ago | [YT] | 36

John van Zyl

You are now able to join our channel to obtain extra perks and support the work we are doing. Please check out the "Join" button at the bottom of every video. Many thanks!

2 years ago | [YT] | 22