A memorial wall listing past members of the SAAF was unveiled by Lieutenant General Roelf Beukes on 6 May 2001, and a Garden of Remembrance, which contains ashes of former SAAF members, opened on 7 May 2004. Any “bone-fides member” of the South African Air Force or the South African Air Force Association can qualify to have his or her ashes stored in a special niche in the garden; the ashes of the member’s spouses or partners may also be stored in an adjacent niche.
Fort Klapperkop had guns mounted on ramparts that could be revolved and fired through numerous openings for maximum firepower in any direction. Trenches and barbed wire further prevented infantry infiltration. The fort harnessed the latest communication systems, which saw the telegraph rooms equipped with telephones. The fort had unique features – it was built with a moat around it and a drawbridge, but the moat was never filled with water. The fort was supplied with running water from a pump station that it shared with Fort Schanskop and electricity was generated by a paraffin engine.
The Ostrich (struthio camelus) is a member of a group of birds known as ratites, that is they are flightless birds without a keel to their breastbone. Of the 8,600 bird species which exist today, the ostrich is the largest. Standing tall on long, bare legs, the Ostrich has a long, curving, predominantly white neck. The humped body of the male is covered in black patches and the wings and tail are tipped with white. The female is brown and white. These huge birds, which sometimes reach a height of 2.6 m and a weight of 135 kg, cannot fly, but are very fast runners.
