The De Wet Decoration, post-nominal letters DWD, is a military long service decoration which was instituted by the

Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1965. It could be awarded to members of the

Commandos A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as opp ...

, the rural civil defence component of the South African Defence Force, for twenty years of efficient service and good conduct. The decoration was initially reserved for officers, but it was made available to all ranks in 1986. A clasp could be awarded after thirty years service.South African Medal Website - Post-nominal Letters
(Accessed 28 April 2015)

The South African military

The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
(Accessed 30 April 2015)
(Accessed 30 April 2015)

Institution

The De Wet Decoration, post-nominal letters DWD, was instituted by the State President, C.R. Swart in 1965. It was named after

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

General

Christiaan de Wet Christiaan Rudolf de Wet (7 October 1854 – 3 February 1922) was a Boer general, rebel leader and politician. Life Born on the Leeuwkop farm, in the district of Smithfield in the Boer Republic of the Orange Free State, he later resided at ...

. The De Wet Decoration was one of only three South African military awards for long service which entitled the recipient to the use of post-nominal letters, the others being the

John Chard Decoration The John Chard Decoration, post-nominal letters JCD, was a military long service decoration which was instituted by the Union of South Africa on 6 April 1952. It was awarded to members of the Citizen Force of the South African Defence Force for ...

(JCD), which was awarded to Citizen Force members, and the defunct

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces, Auxiliary Military Forces, ...

(ED).South African Medal Website - Legal aspects - Fount of Honour
(Accessed 1 May 2015)

Award criteria

The decoration could be awarded to officers of the

, the rural civil defence component of the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Fo ...

, for twenty years of efficient service and good conduct. Award of the decoration was made available to all ranks in 1986.Alexander, E.G.M., Barron, G.K.B. and Bateman, A.J. (1986). ''South African Orders, Decorations and Medals''. Human and Rousseau. A clasp could be awarded to holders of the De Wet Decoration after 30 years service. When medals are not worn, recipients of the clasp wear a button with the encircled letters "DWD" on the ribbon bar.

Order of wear

The position of the De Wet Decoration in the official order of precedence was revised three times to accommodate the institution or addition of new decorations and medals, first upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, again when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory forces, the

Azanian People's Liberation Army The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), formerly known as Poqo, was the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, an African nationalist movement in South Africa. In the Xhosa language, the word 'Poqo' means 'pure'. After attacks ...

and

Umkhonto we Sizwe uMkhonto weSizwe (; abbreviated MK; ) was the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC), founded by Nelson Mandela in the wake of the Sharpeville massacre. Its mission was to fight against the South African government to brin ...

, and again when a new series of military decorations and medals was instituted in South Africa on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged on all three occasions.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, Ribbon - John Chard Decoration

;Official SANDF order of precedence: * Preceded by the

(JCD) of the

. * Succeeded by the Cadet Corps Medal of the Republic of South Africa. ;Official national order of precedence: * Preceded by the John Chard Decoration (JCD) of the Republic of South Africa. * Succeeded by the Cadet Corps Medal of the Republic of South Africa.

Description

;Obverse The De Wet Decoration is a medallion, struck in silver, 38 millimetres in diameter and 3 millimetres thick, depicting

General

on horseback, surrounded by a wreath of proteas and inscribed "DEKORASIE ~ DE WET ~ DECORATION". ;Reverse The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms, with the decoration number impressed or engraved below. ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide, with a 3 millimetres wide green band, a 2 millimetres wide white band and an 8 millimetres wide yellow band, repeated in reverse order and separated by a 6 millimetres wide dark blue band in the centre. The green and yellow colours have their origin in the ribbon colours of the three awards which were belatedly instituted in 1920, as retrospective awards for Boer veteran officers and men of the

of 1899–1902, the

Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst The ''Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst'', post-nominal letters DTD, is a South African military decoration. It was instituted in 1920 as a retrospective award for Boer officers of the 1899–1902 Second Boer War.Alexander, E.G.M., Barron, G.K.B. a ...

, the Medalje voor de Anglo-Boere Oorlog and the

Lint voor Verwonding The ''Lint voor Wonden'' (Wound Riband, also ''Lint voor Verwonding'') is a South African military campaign award. It was instituted on 21 December 1920 as a retrospective award for Boer veteran officers and men of the 1899–1902 Second Boer W ...

. For these three awards, these two colours had been gazetted as green and orange, but the orange appeared as yellow on the actual ribbons. ;Clasp The clasp is in silver, with the encircled letters "DWD" embossed in the centre. Two versions of the clasp exist, the original with the tops and bottoms of the characters "DWD" following the circumference of the circle, and a second version with the bottoms of the characters in line. Members who had been awarded the clasp wear a silver button, 8 millimetres in diameter and inscribed "DWD", on the ribbon bar when medals are not worn.

Discontinuation

Conferment of the De Wet Decoration was discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 26778, Pretoria, 17 September 2004

References

{{South African military decorations and medals Military decorations and medals of South Africa Awards established in 1965 Awards disestablished in 2003 Long service medals Long and Meritorious Service Medals of Britain and the Commonwealth 1965 establishments in South Africa 2003 disestablishments in South Africa