SIGNAL UNITS Of The South African Corps Of Signals And Related Signal Services - Walter Volker

The book, entitled Signal Units Of The South Africa Corps Of Signals And Related Signal Services represents one of the most comprehensive collection of regimental and unit histories ever published in one volume in South Africa. It is also the first time that the histories of many of the signal regiments and other units will be published and available to the general public, and will most probably together with its two companion volumes - prove to be the book of reference on army signals in South Africa.

This volume includes a history of each of the major signal units of the SA Corps of Signals, but expands this to include the role of signals elements in special units such as 32 Battalion, the SA Special Forces (the Recces), Military Intelligence, etc. It also reviews the joint signals coordination function of the Directorate Telecommunications and EW, as well as the communications functions in other arms of the SADF such as the SA Air Force and Navy. Signals services in the Portuguese, Rhodesian and SWA Territory Forces are then examined. This is followed by the role of related organizations such as Armscor, the CSIR, the Radio hams and others. For the first time, the signals elements in the liberation movements (the ANC/MK and PAC/APLA) is examined next, and finally the developments related to the post-1994 SANDF. 

Softcover, 820 pages. Also available in hardcover.

FIRST EDITION - FIRST PRINT

About the author...

Walter V. Volker is the Chief Executive Officer of the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA). Prior to this, he worked for Absa Bank for seventeen years, and before that he was with NCR Corporation for seven years.

Walter was born and grew up in the south-eastern Transvaal town of Piet Retief. He started his national service in 1981 with basic training at 3 SA Infantry Battalion, but was later transferred to the Army Gymnasium in Heidelberg, where he also received his officers commission. He was then transferred to 2 Signal Regiment at Wonderboom as a Command and Control Communications officer. He continued being involved with 2 Signal Regiment during his Citizen Force years, with the last major operation being two months border duty in mid-1988 during Operation Prone, based at Ondangwa.

He holds a B.Sc and an MBL degree, and  is married to Trudie (ne du Toit). Walter has already published a number of books on genealogy, including The Cotton Germans of Natal (2007); this series represents his first published work in the area of military history. In 2012 he published Piet Retief Commando the Story of a Border Commando 1880 2007 and Boer War Stories of the Piet Retief Commando and District.