General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Helperus Andreas van Ryneveld (2 May 18912 December 1972), known as Sir Pierre van Ryneveld, was a South African military commander. He was the founding commander of the

South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...

Military career

Van Ryneveld began his military career in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in which he served in the

Loyal North Lancashire Regiment The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire Re ...

, transferring in April 1915 to the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

, later the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. For his service in the war, Van Ryneveld was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

and

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

and presented with the

Chevalier of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

from the French government. After the war, Van Ryneveld was called back to South Africa by the Prime Minister

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts, 24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as P ...

in order to set up the

(SAAF). He flew back home, across Africa, in a

Vickers Vimy The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Vimy was designed by Rex Pierson, Vickers ...

– a pioneering feat for which he and his co-pilot Quintin Brand were both knighted. Colonel van Ryneveld established the SAAF in 1920, and directed it until 1933, when he was promoted to

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

(CGS), in command of the Union Defence Forces. However, for the next four years the SAAF remained under Van Ryneveld's direct control as no one was appointed as the Air Force's director until 1937. In 1925, then Lt-Col van Ryneveld took part in the government's suppression of the Baster Council's rebellion. Van Ryneveld served as CGS for sixteen years, including the whole of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in 1945 and retired in 1949.

Honours

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(''Knight Commander'') (KBE), Civil Division * * * * * Legion Honneur Chevalier ribbon

(France)

Namesakes and legacy

The

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Pierre van Ryneveld Park Pierre van Ryneveld Park is a suburb of Centurion in Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is named after Sir Pierre van Ryneveld. It is bisected by the N1 freeway and is bordered by Pretoria's South Eastern suburbs Waterkloof Ridge, Elardus Park ...

was named in his honour and the airport just north of

Upington Upington () is a town founded in 1873 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. The town was originally called Olijvenhoutsdrift ('Olive wood drift'), due to the abundance of olive wood trees i ...

in the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

is also named after Van Ryneveld. Sir Pierre van Ryneveld High School is in

Kempton Park, Gauteng Kempton Park is a city in the East Rand region of Gauteng province, South Africa. It is part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. It is situated south of Thembisa, one of the largest townships in South Africa, which is also ...

. The SAAF's annual

air power Airpower or air power consists of the application of military aviation, military strategy and strategic theory to the realm of aerial warfare and close air support. Airpower began in the advent of powered flight early in the 20th century. A ...

symposium, is known as the Sir Pierre Van Ryneveld Air Power Symposium.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Ryneveld, Pierre 1891 births 1972 deaths Loyal Regiment officers Royal Flying Corps officers South African military personnel of World War II South African Air Force generals Royal Air Force officers South African Air Force personnel Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Distinguished Service Order South African Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent Knights of the Legion of Honour Military personnel from the Free State (province)