WWII SPECIAL SERVICE BATTALION TITLE BADGE
The Special Service Battalion (SSB) is a South African military unit formed on 1 May 1933 under the patronage of Oswald Pirow, Minister of Defence. The object was to give training to youths, between the ages of 17 and 23, who, in the wake of the 1929 depression, could find no suitable employment on leaving school.
History
Lt Col George E Brink was given the responsibility for establishing the battalion at Roberts Heights and was the first commanding officer. The SSB was established to save the youth from physical and moral degeneration caused by massive unemployment due to the Great Depression. The SSB was to teach the young men military discipline, fitness and various trades to enable them to be employed by the Department of Labour and Welfare. The SSB men received a salary of a shilling a day causing the SSB soon to be known as the "Bob a Day Battalion". In 1934 detachments were also established for 100 trainees at Durban and 150 at Cape Town. Training included elementary military subjects and physical training. After a year of the young men usually found employment in government departments or with civilian employers. By 1936 the output of the SSB totalled about 2000 youths a year. In 1937 the South African Railways established at Roberts Heights a special school to prepare boys for the railways. In 1937 3788 youths passed through the ranks of the SSB. A total of 882 of them joined the Permanent Force. With the expansion of the South African Air Force in 1937 the SSB provided 248 air apprentices for special training but, with the improvement in the economic situation, the waiting list to join the battalion had dwindled to almost nil. With the outbreak of war in September 1939, members of the SSB were posted to units requiring immediate reinforcement to get on to a wartime basis. An example of this being the Coastal Artillery. In February 1940 a number of troops were transferred to the 1st and 2nd Field Force Battalions. These served with distinction in East Africa, Abyssinia and the Middle East as part of 1st South African Division. SADF era 1 SSB Commemorative Letter
In August 1941 all members of the SSB below the age of 18 were transferred to the Youth Training Brigade. The remainder formed an infantry battalion, which was converted to an armoured car commando in 1942. In February 1943 the SSB, under Lt Col EG ('Papa') Brits, became part of the 11th SA Armoured Brigade. In March 1943 the Field Force Battalion was disbanded and other ranks and some of the officers were transferred to the SSB, thus providing a nucleus of battle-tested veterans. The unit sailed for the Middle East with the 6th SA Armoured Division in April 1943. In 1944 the division crossed the Mediterranean Sea to take part in the Italian campaign. The regiment played a prominent part in numerous actions during the campaign. In 1946, SSB was resuscitated as a Permanent Force unit and reorganised on a two-battalion basis with the 1st Battalion as an armoured unit and the 2nd Battalion infantry. The former became a training regiment in 1953 and the latter was renamed the 1 South African Infantry Battalion (1SAI) in 1951.
CONDITION: Very Good. Lugs in tact. UNCLEANED.
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