OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Nasson, Bill"

Browsing by Author "Nasson, Bill"

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Open Access
Arms production and war supply in Southern Africa 1939-1945 : limitations of the industrial war effort of South Africa and Zimbabwe during the second world war
(2000) Mlambo, Norman; Phimister, IR; Nasson, Bill
This thesis will discuss the production of munitions of war in South Africa and Zimbabwe as a contribution to the study of the effects of the Second World War on Africa. The thesis will argue that South Africa was not well prepared for the industrial war effort mainly because there were few large factories which could be readily converted to munitions production. Such factories had to be built from scratch. Machinery for these factories had to be imported or made locally at the expense of quality.
Open Access
Colonial mining policy of the Cape of Good Hope : an examination of the evolution of mining legislation in the Cape Colony, 1853-1910
(2009) Davenport, Jade; Mendelsohn, Richard; Nasson, Bill
The rise of the mining industry in the latter half of the nineteenth century transformed southern Africa. It facilitated the process of industrialisation and enabled the growth and advancement of the region's economy. Owing to the importance of South Africa's mineral revolution as the primary driver for economic development, this subject has assumed a strong theme in South African historiography. However, one subject that has been overlooked by historians is the development and evolution of early mineral law that sought to govern the burgeoning mineral revolution in the nineteenth century. This is a history of the introduction and evolution of mineral law in the Cape of Good Hope, the region of southern Africa where minerals were first discovered and exploited on a commercial basis. This history examines the development of mining legislation between 1853, when the Cape legislature implemented South Africa's very first mineral leasing regulations to regulate the leasing of land believed to contain copper deposits in Namaqualand, and 1910, when the Cape Colony, Natal, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State joined to form the Union of South Africa.
Open Access
Colonialism, dysfunction and dysjuncture : the historiography of Sarah Bartmann
(2000) Abrahams, Yvette; Nasson, Bill
This thesis is the first book-length study of the history of Sarah Bartmann. Its aim is to contribute to the writing of an Africanist history of an African. The thesis grapples with the question of identity. It approaches the study of Sarah Bartmann unconventionally, by investigating the triple identity African/native/slave.
Open Access
Colour, citizenship and constitutionalism : an oral history of political identity among middle-class coloured people with special reference to the formation of the Coloured Advisory Council in 1943 and the removal of the male franchise in 1956
(1995) Villa-Vicencio, Heidi; Nasson, Bill
This thesis explores the political identity of middle-class coloured people in metropolitan Cape Town focusing particularly on the period extending from the formation of the Coloured Advisory Council in 1943 to the removal of the qualified coloured male franchise in 1956. The findings of the thesis are based largely on thirty-one random interviews with coloured men and women over the age of sixty-three. All of the males had the vote and either the fathers or husbands of all the women had enjoyed the vote. The 'open attitude' style of interviewing was employed, enabling the interviewees to help frame the discussions. Politics for most of my respondents was not an integral influence within their childhood. Most men, however, recalled their fathers voting and have clear memories of election days, political movements of the time and meetings that took place. All, except one, became teachers. Their post-secondary education, often at the University of Cape Town, encouraged most to grapple with the political and social processes of the day. By the 1940s the majority of the males began to challenge the prevailing political structures and beliefs of mainstream coloured society. The childhood memories of political events of most women were comparatively less pronounced. Some recalled their fathers voting, although memories of their mothers involvement in church and welfare activities are clearer. They also recalled political events that affected them directly. Most of the women interviewed either became teachers or they married teachers. This exposed them to what they saw as male-dominated coloured politics and they experienced a sense of political alienation from these political processes. This does not necessarily imply that they were apolitical. On the contrary, looking back, they see themselves as having given expression to political concerns in alternative ways. They also showed greater interest in 'white politics' as expressed through the United Party accepting that it was 'white politics' that ultimately had the power to determine their social and economic well-being. Most women showed limited concern about the removal of qualified males from the common voters' roll. They saw this as having a minimal impact on their social well-being. It was largely the Group Areas Act that socially and economically affected their lives, giving rise to a heightened level of political awareness and involvement. The ambiguities and divisions which marked middle-class coloured political groupings could be attributed partly to the historical policies of social-engineering practised by successive governments, whose intention was to construct a coloured political identity separate from whites, while being grounded in civil privileges not extended to Africans. Most of my interviewees acknowledged that by the 1940s they had accepted these privileges. They were naturally reluctant to see these undermined politically. From 1948 onwards middle-class coloured privileges began to be eroded. This signalled the emergence of a new era of coloured identity.
Open Access
Development transformation and freedom : critical perspectives on development, transformation and freedom, with reference to a social and economic history of the state, markets and civil practices in the Western Cape of South Africa, c. 1910-1984
(2006) Sayers, Adrian; Nasson, Bill
This dissertation examines the history of its evolution with particular reference to regional development and planning. Regional and local development and planning practices emerged, offering possibilities for more efficient resource allocative arrangements that distinguished not only between sectors, but also provided the promise of its inter-relationship and urban and rural dimensions.
Open Access
The guerrilla war in the Cape Colony during the South African War of 1899-1902 : a case study of the republican and rebel commando movement
(1996) Constantine, Rodney James; Nasson, Bill
This dissertation examines the nature and extent of armed conflict in country areas of the Cape Colony, between 1900 and 1902. The relationship between invasion and rebellion is explored, as are the tactics and strategies of the Boer commando movement. Only republican and rebel military activity is examined, not the counterresistance of the imperial army, the colonial state, or of black agrarian communities. A general uprising in the Cape Colony was regarded by many Boer leaders as the key to their success in the South African War. This case study reveals the reasons why this general uprising did not occur during the second Cape invasion. In 1901 a general uprising did take place in certain Cape regions (notably west of the Cape Town-Johannesburg railway) but these regions were either strategically unimportant, in which case events within them could not decisively influence the course of the war, or else they were regions such as the Midlands, where a unique combination of geographical features, Boer command problems, lack of access to the lines of communication, in combination with other factors suppressed the uprising just when it was beginning to exhibit popular and universal features. The Cape guerrilla war was subject to moderating and constraining influences for much of its course, despite being characterized by rebellion and executions. Extremism and moderation were both freely exhibited by the Boers in the conflict. But ultimately it was the moderation and restraint of the senior Boer commanders in the Cape (as elsewhere in South Africa) which emerged as the defining feature of the war there. Features of total war were rarely present, and the peace treaty concluded at Vereeniging represented a defeat for the irreconcilable and extremist elements of the Boer forces.
Open Access
Historical process and the constitution of subjects : I.D. du Plessis and the reinvention of the "Malay"
(1987) Jeppie, Shamil; Merrifield, Andrew; Nasson, Bill
The purpose of this thesis is to examine how a ruling-class actor attempted to reinvent and reconstitute an ethnic subject. Dr I.D. Du Plessis was, among other things, an Afrikaner litterateur and Commissioner of Coloured Affairs between 1930 and 1962, the period covered by this thesis. In Cape Town he applied himself to "preserve" what was known as "the malays". Although having an historical presence in Cape Town, defining the "malays" was always a problem as their very basis was in the process of being eroded as industrialisation forced social and communal changes. But the specificity of the "malays" was not an ethnic specificity with a rigid system of control and leadership, and staunchly cast against other sets of "identities" (such as Indians or "coloureds"). As chapter one shows, Du Plessis initiated the project at a conjuncture when the existence of ethnic units was presumed and the efforts to "preserve" them were profoundly political. A background to his ideological location is also discussed. From his particular location he journeyed amongst the "malays" and attempted to reinvent them as a specific ethnic unit fixed in space and time. Chapter two presents Du Plessis' model of "malay ethnicity" and its roots in history.
Open Access
A history of dance and jazz band performance in the Western Cape in the post-1945 era
(1995) Layne, Valmont; Nasson, Bill
This thesis considers aspects of jazz and dance band performance in Cape Town between the 1930s and the 1960s, with special reference to the post-1945 period. It examines ways in which local dance and jazz musicians and audiences responded to political, social and cultural change in this period by considering key institutional constraints, the impact of broader political, social and cultural change, and local responses to this change. Primary data was collected from oral biographical material, archives, official printed sources, and newspaper reports.
Open Access
Hugh Archibald Wyndham : his life and times in South Africa, 1901-1923
(2005) Van der Waag, Ian Joseph; Nasson, Bill
Hugh Archibald Wyndham was born in 1877, on the eve of the so-called 'Scramble for Africa', and died in 1961, surviving long enough to witness the dissolution of empire and the exit of South Africa from the British Commonwealth. His eighty-six years break into four, almost equal periods; the second of which, his twenty-two years spent in South Africa, are the focus of this study. These years, marked by the creation of the South African state, the forging of an exclusive, white, South African nationalism and, increasingly, by conflict among her peoples, is the core of what seems to be a coherent historical period extending from approximately 1800 to 1950.
Open Access
Living for the city : Drum magazine's journalism and the popular black press
(2006) Lane, Katie; Nasson, Bill
This study examines Drum magazine's journalism from 951 to 1959. Many studies have primarily examined Drum and its role as a vehicle for the "Sophiatown generation" of fiction in the 1950s but this study instead concentrates on Drum's non-fiction reporting. It looks at both Drum's role in the birth of the popular black press and the magazine's complex conceptions of urban life. It argues that Drum's non-fiction promoted a cosmopolitan identity for its urban readers, in direct opposition to the efforts by the apartheid government to "retribralise" black urban residents, but also reflected anxieties about the urban experience. Drum was also one of the first non-partisan black publications to make political news accessible to a mass audience and the study argues that Drum's coverage of black politics has been overlooked and sometimes underestimated.
Open Access
Mission christianity and the social gospel in Langa : a socio-political and cultural history, ca.1927-1960
(2000) Hartley, G F; Nasson, Bill
This study aims to contribute to the socio-political and cultural history of Langa during the years ca. 1927-1960 by exploring the critical religious influences, perceptions and ideologies that deeply shaped the longitudinal development of the local black township of Cape Town,South Africa. It is the contention of the thesis that religious factors and considerations were of fundamental significance to the marked processes of historical change that Langa underwent during this period, from being one of the most peaceful, cohesive and ""politically backward"" urban Mrican communities since its official opening in 1927, to becoming a place of militancy, violence and social polarisation by the time of the March 1960 uprisings against apartheid. In particular, the thesis seeks to trace the formative role of a combination of conservative and liberal modes of mission Christianity. Often loosely described as the ""Social Gospel"", this powerfully shaped the historical development and character of Langa â€“ both positively and negatively, constructively and divisively, subtly and overtly - during a period of increasingly harsh and oppressive segregationist legislation in South Africa. It is argued that the variety of Christian forms of religious consciousness and ideological perceptions operated in a range of contradictory ways to effect historical patterns of social legitimation and solidarity on the one hand, and processes of liberation and dislocation on the other. Especially during the late 1920s, 1930s and early 1940s, it is claimed that the more conventional forms of a predominantly mission Christianity functioned to define a strikingly conservative, integrated and petty bourgeois-orientated township. The strength and influence of the ""respectable"" churches, the staunch, churchgoing petty bourgeoisie and their respective Christian-based cultural, educational and civic organisations, proved crucial in this regard in collusion with the municipal and township authorities. At the same time, it is held that the progressive strands of the Social Gospel, in particular, contributed towards the early shaping of an important dissenting tradition of protest in the township. In addition, the diverse influences of Social Christianity served to reinforce structural trends of class, religious and cultural differentiation and provoked more radical, even militant and antithetical, socio-religious and political responses. Amongst semi-urbanised, rural and migrant working-class elements in Langa, in particular, such processes had become especially evident by the late 1940s and into the 1950s. In this work, each chapter is geared historically towards examining these contradictory functions of the combination of conservative and progressive forms of Christianity, according to particular domains of social activity - the spheres of institutional religion, education and culture, and politics, respectively_ Thus, in a parallel fashion, the chapters address the themes of the Social Gospel's pervasive rise, mediation and consequent decline, together with the related questions of social integration, class differentiation and political liberation, towards assessing the historical role of religion in each distinctive social sphere in relation to the fundamental transition in Langa. The study concludes that Langa's socio-political and cultural history can be more effectively interpreted on the basis of this critical assessment of the Social Gospel's ambiguous impact during the inter-war and early apartheid years. Such an approach allows for conceptual constructs such as petty bourgeois identity, social group divisions, ideological expression and social change to be more fully explored. As such, this local study seeks to make a contribution to the growing body of scholarship that recognises the vital historical role of religion particularly Christianity, in the shaping of South African communities in the twentieth century.
Open Access
Not only 'the younger daughter of Dr Abdurahman': a feminist exploration of early influences on the political development of Cissie Gool
(2002) Van der Spuy, Patricia; Bradford, Helen; Bennett, Jane; Nasson, Bill; Adhikari, Mohamed
Cissie Gool was an extraordinary presence on Cape Town's political and social scene in the first half of the twentieth century. She was the first black woman to preside over a national liberatory organisation, the National Liberation League (1935), and the Non-European United Front (1938). She was the only black woman to be elected to the Cape Town City Council before 1994, where she served for 25 years. She was the first black woman to obtain a Master's Degree in Psychology at the University of Cape Town, where she studied on and off from 1918 to the year of her death, 1963. In 1962 she graduated with a BA (LLB), and was the first black woman to be invited to the Cape Bar. This thesis explores the childhood and early life of Cissie Gool. I examine influences on her political development before she became the leader of the National Liberation League in 1935. This period of her life has left few material traces. Methodologically, this thesis confronts a challenge facing those who wish to discover hidden lives in the South African past. I argue that it is possible to trace influences on such a life if one shifts the lens through which one conducts historical research. Working with a paucity of sources, where most of the people who knew Cissie Gool as a young person are deceased, this thesis searches for and highlights key influences on Gool's early personal-political development. The thesis rests on a number of premises rooted in feminist theory. I begin from the position that 'the personal is political' and take seriously the argument that the family is a key engine of historical process. I take issue with the statement in much of the secondary literature that Cissie Gool was (merely) 'the younger daughter of Dr Abdurahman', which obscures the fact that this relationship was embedded in a family, in which Cissie's mother was at least as important as her father, and where being a younger daughter with an older sister was significant too. While recognising the significance of the fact that Cissie Gool was fathered by Dr Abdurahman, I underline the centrality of women in a patriarchal society where early socialisation is the specific task of women, and where women and girls experience some degree of social segregation from men and boys. In addition to focusing the lens on family dynamics, I trace sometimes tenuous but nevertheless, real threads linking Cissie Gool to particular political circles on the left in Cape Town in the 1920s and 1930s. I suggest that the leftist heterodoxy which characterised the mature Cissie Gool may be linked to a kindred political spirit among some of her early acquaintances, specifically those at the University of Cape Town, counterposed with the more rigid orthodoxies of friends of the Communist Party on the one hand, and on the other, the so-called Trotskyite purists with whom she was linked by marriage. Cissie Gool, may have been unique in her involvement in all three circles, which intersected at socials hosted by herself and her husband, Dr A H Gool. The androcentricity of both the secondary literature and contemporary documentary sources obscures the specifics of Cissie Gool's political development in this period. Nevertheless, this thesis is based on the premise that, in the absence of more concrete sources, an exploration of the various political circles with which Cissie Gool was associated, in the wider political and socio-economic context of 1920s and 1930s Cape Town, permits one to gain insight into key influences on the political development of Cissie Gool.
Open Access
The political development of the Natal Indian community in the approach of the South African War (1899-1902), circa 1860-1902
(2001) Noyce, Laura J; Nasson, Bill
Includes bibliographical references.
Open Access
Sitting on the fence or walking a tightrope? : a political history of the coloured community in Zimbabwe, 1945-1980
(2001) Muzondidya, James; Nasson, Bill; Adhikari, Mohamed
This thesis examines the political history of the Coloured community of Zimbabwe, a group that has not only been marginalised in most general political and academic discourses but whose history has also been subject to popular misconceptions. The specific focus of the thesis is on the evolution of political ideologies and strategies among members of the Coloured community. The thesis opens by looking at the construction of Coloured identity from the early 1890s. In this section, through a detailed analysis of the various processes involved in the construction of Coloured identity, the study first challenges the notion that Coloured identity was imposed exclusively from above, by the colonial state.
Open Access
South African public memorials of World War One. A historical view of processes in public memorialisation through symbolic content, with particular reference to Cape Town
(2010) Binckes, Helen; Nasson, Bill
The dissertation is an attempt to unravel the sentiments which are embodied in war memorials by examining the conditions and events of the war as a way into understanding the motivations of the survivors, who brought them into being. The memorials in Cape Town do not exist in isolation, and therefore it was expedient to refer to both the art and architecture of death in general, through modern history up to contemporary prototypes, particularly the war memorials in northern Europe. The symbolic content is of paramount importance. Photographs, in the Appendix, will visually illustrate many points which are referred to during the course of the study. Each memorial embodies its unique set of cues for articulating an interpretation. To do this it is necessary to present the background of the War, 1914-1918/191 in terms of the intricacies of South African social and political dynamics: the war lives at the Front and the home lives in Cape Town. Initial information came with the viewing of the memorials in their present localities, so that the dialogue of interpretation between the art object-memorial and the viewer, could be set in motion. Out of that dialogue came the structure for the study of Cape Town memorialisation.
Open Access
Sports, festivals and popular politics : aspects of the social and popular culture in Langa township, 1945-70
(1994) Molapo, Rachidi Richard; Nasson, Bill; Bickford-Smith, Vivian
The rapid industrialization which transformed South African Society after the discovery of minerals, had a profound impact on the lives of most South Africans. The process of urbanization escalated during and after the Second World War because of better wages and job opportunities in the urban areas. South African urbanization was characterized by the brutal manner in which the state dealt with the Black people. The White middle and working classes' fear of being engulfed by this Black tide led to the multi-pronged strategies which were devised to contain and co-opt the Africans, hence the creation of townships like Langa. This study looks at how the journey from the rural areas to the cities became part of the 'making of Black working class'. Material conditions in the cities were characterized by social squalor and overcrowding. Ghetto-like conditions created ethnic identities and working class culture, consciousness and community struggles came to reflect capitalist domination in the twentieth century township of Langa. Many residents in the township indulged in leisure pursuits such as dance and music which had their origins in the rural areas and this indicated an important cultural resource which they adhered to so as to cope with the alienating and corrosive compound and hostel life. Some of the residents found pleasure in leisure pursuits whose roots and ethos could be traced to the Victorian period such as cricket, soccer and rugby. All these leisure pursuits however, came largely to be influenced by the realities of township life and the general national and economic exploitation. The working class in Langa was not a homogeneous block as there were intense struggles between the migrants and immigrants over township space and resources. Therefore festivals and sporting activities played an important part in the cultural history of Langa township's effort to create "communities". The last part of the study looked at how the conditions in the city led to the realization by the dominated classes that the solution towards the alleviation of the conditions that they were confronted with was through the formation of structures which aimed at overthrowing institutions of oppression, such as the pass laws.
Open Access
Tapes and testimony : making the local history of Italians in the Western Cape in the first half of the 20th century
(1989) Corgatelli, Pietro; Nasson, Bill
The history of long distance immigrant communities, particularly those with few or no written documentary records, is often cited as an obvious example for oral historical enquiry. Such groupings would be represented by the Greek, Portuguese and Jewish as well as the Italian population in South Africa, and by similar settler communities in Great Britain and the USA. The advantages of an orally-derived community history is surely shown by the potential richness of information found in interviews where people's history is offered in their own words, in which migrants consider the life they have lived as basically their own formations. The Italian community was selected because there are only very thin and fragmentary records of its local history and because of the author's own origins. Through interviews, one has been able to expand on the existing sparse historical picture and to gather fresh material concerning a range of active individuals who, through their business lives and practices, established successful new industries and other local economic enterprises. Sample interviews have been transcribed and edited, to illustrate the range of oral testimony. Through them one hears something of the history of men such as Oreste Nannucci who started a laundry business, Giuseppe Rubbi, who was one of the most prominent builders in Cape Town before the Second World War, and Amedeo Traverso who, with his partners, developed the sea front in Sea Point, among many other speculative ventures. Through the examples of Mrs Ida Peroni's and Antonio Introna's testimony we move away from the historical voice of male petty entrepreneurs to obtain a new insight into the fortunes of the Sicilian fishing community. Wherever possible, attempts have been made to check the information generated by oral testimony by consulting census reports, migration figures, consular and parliamentary reports, books, documents, newspapers and personal correspondence both in South Africa and Italy. Written documentary sources are utilised in relevant chapters. By piecing together this disparate range of source material, the present study shows the dimensions of Italian migrant economic and social experience not simply as generalities but as something to be glimpsed in the uniqueness inherent in every life history.
Open Access
Today's boys, tomorrow's men' : a short history of the Boys' Brigade of Britain, with further reference to the Boys' Brigade in South Africa (circa 1880s-1980s)
(1995) Adonis, Dan Frederick; Nasson, Bill
This study examines the origins of the Boys' Brigade Christian Youth Movement and its historical development in British society, with further consideration of the work of the Boys' Brigade in South Africa, from the 1880s until the 1980s. This movement, which originated in an environment of Liberal Nonconformity, 'muscular' Christianity, and adolescent-centred educational and social outreach, was linked initially to the needs of the Sunday School movement in urban Scotland. From its evangelical and Volunteer base, the Brigade expanded into an international interdenominational youth organisation, establishing specific roots in South Africa. The present study pays attention to the composition, philosophy, •and objectives of the B.B. movement, and considers its military-inspired disciplinary and recreational programme in terms of social need, Christian mission, and social control. It also considers the evolution of the B.B. identity through changing historical contexts. The historical link between the B.B. and other youth movements is also noted, and particular attention is paid to the contentious issue of the Brigade's relationship with militarism. While the history of the B.B. over this period is ultimately one of declining influence, its enduring presence illuminates the continuity of conservative forms of church-based youth organisation.
Open Access
“The voice of the people” : personal reflections on the impact of the 1985 class
(2000) Houghton, Barbara Delaney; Siebörger, Rob; Nasson, Bill
This dissertation is divided into two parts as required for the coursework Masters degree in History Education. Part I is a study of a high school community's participation in a regional and nationwide class/school boycott, from July 1985 to January 1986. It analyses how this event affected the community, and how the community responded to the authoritarianism of apartheid rule at critical moments during the course of the boycott. A key factor identified, is the solidarity of the community, which was responsible for its ultimate victory, albeit a small one, against the minority-elected apartheid state. The account provides evidence that this solidarity was the key and most effective weapon used by the school community during the 1985/6 class/school boycott period. It was evident when school communities re-opened their schools closed by the state in September 1985, in the discussions on the postponement of the 1985 final examinations, by the parental support shown for suspended and dismissed teachers in December 1985, and finally, on the day when teachers were allowed to return to their posts in January 1986. The primary source of data for the study is oral interviews conducted by the researcher. Questions were asked about the daily issues, events, emotive responses, ordeals experienced and decisions made when students from the oppressed community used the one weapon at their disposal, namely the boycott, to protest against the inequalities within the education system and South African society. Interviewees included staff, students, parents and members of political and teacher organisations associated with the school, referred to as Central High. during the 1985/6 boycott period. The answers elicited provided the evidence on which to construct an historical account of how ordinary men. women and children engaged in a struggle and challenged oppression at a local, community level. Part II comprises learning materials for a module of history on the 1985/6 class/school boycott, developed for learners at Grade 9 level. Current learners in South African schools were not even born in 1985. They need to know this history because it is their history. The materials contribute to the history of resistance in South Africa which is currently being taught and learnt at school level. The module has been constructed on the principles of source-based history teaching and the notion that learners learn history by "doing" what historians do. It provides a selection of historical skills, values and knowledge to enable a reconstruction of the history contained in Part I in the classroom. The approaches used include the search for evidence on the 1985/6 class/school boycott from source materials by understanding, critically examining, analysing, reasoning, detecting bias, interpreting and communicating answers to the questions and/or problems posed.
Open Access
"You chaps mustn't worry when you come back" : Cape Town soldiers and aspects of the experience of war and demobilisation 1939-1953
(1995) Greenbank, Kevin; Greenbank, Kevin; Nasson, Bill
Very little scholarly work has been written about Cape Town during the Second World War. Indeed, very little has been written about South African society at all during this period. This study is an attempt to contribute towards scholarly discussion of the effects of war on South African society, and to try to understand the largely neglected effects of the War on those who took part in it. Much of this study focuses on the experiences of white Englishspeaking veterans. This is because the majority of soldiers fighting in the Second World War were from this particular population group, and also because it was this group that was about to lose commanding political influence upon its return to South Africa. A central theme of this study is the government's neglect of the returning soldiers, and their failure to live up to their promises. The change of government in 1948 was to ensure that the needs of the ex-volunteers were never fully addressed, and that the veterans would never occupy the central position in society which they thought was their right, having fought in a war which many members of the new government had opposed. The focus on Cape Town also ensures that this study remains separate from the many papers which have been written detailing the rise of Nationalism from the late 1930s until the 1948 election. Looking at the other side of the political spectrum - at the eventual losers - has important and interesting political and historical implications, and adds a new dimension to the political history of the period. The methodology used for this study is mainly oral - interviews were conducted with a small representative sample of veterans and have provided a basis for all secondary research. Using the testimony of veterans has proved a useful and original tool for examining the period in question. One further aim of the thesis is to provide an opportunity for the voices of the veterans to be recognised as an authoritative resource about the history of Cape Town during the War and in the immediate post-War period. The thesis is split into two parts to reflect the different nature of Cape Town society during and after the War. The early part deals with Cape Town during the War and the changes which were taking place there as a result of South African participation in the conflict. This section also examines the wartime experiences of the soldiers and assesses how these experiences helped to forge new identities and behaviour after the War. Part Two looks at the post-War period and the demobilisation process, examining how it treated and prejudiced the soldiers who were involved.