There can be no doubt that SAMVOINT Members are proud of their legacy as South African Defence Force and Police Veterans. Our pride is judged in part by the manner in which we dress and conduct ourselves during public parades and services globally. Therefore, a neat and uniform appearance by all SAMVOINT Veterans contributes to building that special pride and esprit de corps among our members
Remembrance parades and associated services are prolifically broadcast on television and via social media therefore we owe it as a matter of pride and respect that care is taken in being properly attired. The adage “Modesty is Best” should be embraced at all times when wearing non-official awards and association emblems and our members should not embellish themselves unduly
It is SAMVOINT’s preferred position that any device, lapel badge or tie pin which contains a national flag emblem of any sort should not be worn. Exceptions would be SAMVOINT regalia or official issue SADF/SANDF or SAP/SAPS awards and proficiency badges
Members are forbidden to wear medals, decorations and awards which have not been formally issued either during active service, by Defence HQ Ceremonial Pretoria or by another Veteran organisation recognised by SAMVOINT. Service medals, decorations and awards are readily available commercially and even if a member is entitled to (or feels entitled to) wear such an emblem it is not acceptable to do so unless they have been formally issued!
Members are advised to follow the available channels in obtaining outstanding entitlements by making enquiry through the SAMVOINT Website or by communicating directly with their Regional Organisation (SAMVOA, SAMVOZA, SAMVOEU and SAMVOUSA). Whilst acquiring these items is a slow and painstaking process and bearing in mind that results cannot be guaranteed, simply wearing an unauthorised emblem cannot be condoned
To ensure member compliance with these principles, standards have been set for dress and conduct. It is mandatory for all members to ensure that they are appropriately dressed when wearing SAMVOINT attire and to assist others when noticing something out of place
It is the responsibility of the National, Regional and Club Master-at-Arms to ensure that our members are informed and correctly dressed at all times. Set out below is the Dress Order governing how, when and where we should dress for a wide range of occasions which Veterans may find themselves attending.
We have adopted the SADF dress code numbers as a reference for each applicable dress
Dress Code Number 1A:
Full Ceremonial Review Dress Code 1A is to be worn when participating or attending any of the ceremonies listed below which are of global significance
General
Left Chest
Left Lapel
Around the neck
Right chest
Right Lapel
Examples of when Dress Number 1A should be worn
General Observations when wearing Dress Number 1A
Dress Code Number 1B
Ceremonial review Dress Code 1B may be worn at remembrance parades or ceremonies other than the events mentioned in Section 1 above which are of global significance.
Examples of when Dress Number 1B may be worn
General Observations with respect to wearing Dress Number 1B
Dress Code Number 2:
“Step Outs” nor non parade attire
Monthly club meetings - There is no dress code is stipulated for monthly Club meetings except that of the establishment or venue being attended.
Dress Code Number 6: Mess Dress
General
Left Chest
Right Chest
Examples of when Dress Number 6 may be worn
General Observations with regard to Dress Number 6
The SAMVOINT Executive reserves the right to amend or modify these regulations as required. It is expected that SAMVOA, SAMVOZA, SAMVOEU and SAMVOUSA members will abide by these regulations as agreed when making their membership application.
The Regulations have been made as broad as possible to suit all members without undue inconvenience.
The SAMVOINT Executive, through its National Master-at-Arms, may refuse members the right to associate with SAMVOINT and its functions if there are unacceptable deviations from these Regulations including behaviour which, in the opinion of the Executive, brings the organisation into disrepute.
Because we are a single rank Veteran’s organisation, previous rank insignia should not be present on any of the dress formats.
Additional research into the dress regulations of SAMVOINT will be ongoing and will be amended to this document as required.
The History of SA Medals
DECORATIONS AND MEDALS – HOW, WHERE AND WHAT TO WEAR?
This note is a summary of principles to help when you want to know what to wear and when. Various regulations and instructions regulating the acceptance and wearing of honours apply to members in all the Services and others. Once you are a civilian, your respect for the Presidential office and for tradition and your personal discipline should ensure you continue to observe the rules.
South African honours (Orders decorations and medals) are awarded by the President as head of state in accordance with the provisions Section 84 (2) (k) of the Constitution, 1996, not by Ministers or Heads of Departments. Only official decorations and medals, South African or foreign, may be worn.
Military personnel do not have the discretion as to whether or not to wear honours bestowed on them. They must wear the ribbons and the insignia as the occasion warrants.
The Presidential Warrants leave no doubt that only the full-size badges of orders, decorations and medals are the authentic insignia of honours. Unless the dress ordered is Mess Dress or black tie, the full-size badges (insignia) must be worn for all ceremonies, e.g., parades or commemoration services.
Full-size insignia are presented at investitures.
Full-size insignia are marked with serial numbers or the names of recipients.
The correct order of precedence is from the centre of the wearer’s chest to the left shoulder. The first or senior honour must be fully visible. Medals are worn to show the obverse i.e., face or front. Except for Die Medalje vir Troue Diens – Medal for Loyal Service our medals for the SANDF have the coat of arms on the reverse. This seniority of all official South African honours is published in one consolidated list, known as the Official Table of Precedence, in the Government Gazette. The current Consolidated Official Table of Precedence was published in Government Notice No. 27376 dated 11 March 2005. All medals from the President must be worn as indicated in the Table – whether or not they were earned in different Services.
Miniature badges of orders, decorations and medals and buttonhole replicas are not the insignia proper. They are not named or numbered. In the past they had to be bought by recipients. They are concessions for convenience in wearing on mess dress or in civilian evening dress and their separate status is implied in Presidential Warrants. Miniature decorations and medals are only worn during evening functions, i.e., after 18:00. They may be worn at a suitable formal civilian event when the invitation specifies “formal” or “dinner jacket: decorations” (i.e., dinner jacket and black tie for civilians).
In South Africa there are two styles of mounting decorations and medals – court mounting and standard mounting.
Court mounting of medals means fixing the medals to a backing. The backing is itself covered with the medal ribbons and looks very attractive look while keeping medals firm and prevents damage from their banging against each other. Behind the medal you can see the ribbon extending to the middle of the medal.
Standard or swing mounting of medals means they are threaded through the medal brooch hanger or ring and then hang loosely from the medal brooch. They may then bang against one another as they swing free. Some people prefer the look of ordinary mounting and it is very much a case of personal choice except in the SANDF.
Decorations and medals are to be worn side by side, suspended on the left breast from a single line brooch. Brooches vary from one to five ribbons’ width. The standard and court methods of mounting are customary in South Africa. When mounted, the ribbon and medals should measure 100 mm from the top of the ribbon to the bottom of each medal (the drop). For miniatures, the drop is 55 mm.
The custom for South African and Commonwealth medals is that the group is no more than five (5) medals wide. Miniatures are generally 10 medals wide. If you have more medals than those to mount, then the medals overlap from first to last, with the first entirely visible.
The width of the brooch depends on the number of medals worn, but the maximum width is 160 mm, i.e., the width of five ribbons of 32 mm each. It must not extend under the left lapel, nor cross over the shoulder seam of the jacket.
When insignia exceed five they are to overlap one another with the senior honour completely visible, i.e., the first over the second, the second over the third.
When two or more decorations or medals are worn, they must be arranged so that their bottom edges are in line.
Standard size decorations and medals are worn when members attend mess dinners in Dress No.2 (Service Dress) or a civilian lounge suit.
Wear miniature decorations and medals, on a medal brooch, on the left lapel in a horizontal line through the point of the lapel of a dinner jacket. Beckets (loops) may be sewn to the lapel for convenience.
The various emblems of Bars, Miniature Replicas, Rosettes and Clasps are affixed so that they are equidistant from the top and bottom of the ribbon. The first bar or clasp awarded is nearest to the medal. There is no restriction on the number of bars or clasps worn with a medal.
When you are invited to attend dinners, wreath laying and other ceremonies or reunions arranged by veterans associations or the members of a particular unit the following may help.
Occasions for wearing honours are determined by the type of event, i.e. formal ceremonial parades or other ceremonies. Invitations should specify dress and the wearing of decorations and medals to avoid embarrassment.
Former members and members of veterans associations, e.g., the SA Legion, SAMVA or the Memorable Order of Tin Hats (MOTHs), wear their standard size decorations and medals, on appropriate civilian dress when attending ceremonial occasions, Remembrance and wreath-laying services. Miniature insignia may not be worn as an alternative at such occasions.
Do not wear medal ribbons alone on civilian dress on formal occasions.
When decorations and medals are not being worn people admitted to orders may wear the rosette of the senior order in the buttonhole of the left lapel of a civilian suit jacket.
Often people complain about the difficulty of wearing medals on civilian jackets because the medals distort the cloth. The problem arises from wearing medals above the pocket as on tunics. It is much easier to use the previous style of pinning the medal brooch along a line through the lapel to the shoulder. The strain is then taken by the stronger part of the jacket which is braced by the shoulder padding. A useful alternative to holes in the cloth is to sew three or four beckets (small loops) onto the jacket through which to pass the brooch pin.
The next-of-kin of the fallen or any other heirs are only permitted to wear the decorations or medals of deceased personnel at commemoration parades and services, e.g. on Remembrance Sunday in November each year. On those occasions only, the direct next-of-kin may wear the awards on the right breast to commemorate their dead. The decorations and medals of only one person may be worn in this way.
Permission for acceptance and wearing will only be considered if the honours have been offered by foreign heads of state or governments, according to the particular country’s usage, or by recognised international, e.g., the United Nations, the African Union or NATO.
If you are in the Services ask for permission through official channels.
Retired or Resigned Personnel. If you are out of the Services write to the Chancellor of Orders, The Presidency, Union Buildings, Pretoria asking for permission.
Private Organisations Medals. Medals awarded by private organisations may not be worn on a military uniform or with official honours. However, the medals of some Life-Saving Societies have been given limited official recognition, enabling recipients to wear them when official honours were worn, usually on the right breast – after permission has been granted through official channels. Two examples are the Medal of the Royal Humane Society and the Medal for Life Saving at Sea of the German Society for Saving the Shipwrecked. Medals awarded by recognised private associations, such as the Scouts or military veterans’ associations, are not to be worn in uniform. If they are worn in civilian dress or the association uniform they are worn them after official SA honours or on the right breast as prescribed.
Permission for acceptance and wearing will only be considered if the honours have been offered by foreign heads of state or governments, according to the particular country’s usage, or by recognised international, e.g., the United Nations, the African Union or NATO.
There are numerous false orders on sale. Many resemble genuine orders whose names have been adopted wrongly or illegally. The only orders recognized are those subordinate to heads of state or governments. They are not to be worn with official honours.
Various commercial ventures sell medals called commemorative medals. These have private origins and have no official sanction. Many are advertised and sold. They include medals for former Prisoners of War, for various campaigns and engagements for which no official medals have ever been instituted or for National Service. Periodically rumours are put out that they have been accorded official recognition. It is essential to be aware of these spurious medals. To wear them with official honours lowers the status of earned South African honours. Do not wear them with official honours in any circumstances.
Lately South Africans attending Remembrance services and parades have been adorning their jackets with qualification, proficiency, unit, veteran association and other badges. Of course, one is proud of what some badges indicate. However, cluttering civilian dress with badges makes them look like cheap tourist pins.
Several badges are meant for wearing on uniform not on civilian dress. Wearing an array of badges, including, qualification and proficiency badges, makes the wearer look unprofessional and unmilitary. Badges are not the equivalent of decorations and medals. Wearing several detracts from the dignity and significance of the decorations and medals being worn.
Instead of wearing everything, select what is the single most important to yourself – a regimental association badge, unique proficiency badge or other veterans’ association badge – something significant. Maximum of two is preferable. If you wear medals as described above, place the badge high up on the lapel or on the right lapel.
Being a civilian should not make you lose your respect for the Service in which you served and of which you were proud and its traditions. Your personal discipline should ensure you continue to observe the rules.
