Browsing by Author "Walton, Sarah-Jane"

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    Cape Town at war: the city, lived experiences and loyalties, 1914-1919
    (2020) Walton, Sarah-Jane; Bickford-Smith, John
    This thesis explores ways in which the First World War affected Cape Town. It addresses the absence of research on urban histories in South Africa and non-European urban histories of the war. It tells of the history in Cape Town and the history of Cape Town during the war. By drawing on a variety of primary sources – government and city records, organisational archives, print media - it demonstrates some of the infrastructural, economic and social consequences of the war on the city. The thesis is structured in three main parts. The first considers the city on the advent of the war and Capetonians' responses to its declaration. This related to the Anglo-Boer War and the 1910 formation of Union, and Cape Town's particular history of Anglicisation. It also explores how war changed the experience of daily life, imbuing the city with war-related sights, sounds and symbols. The second part of the thesis emphasises that the war was a period of considerable infrastructural and demographic change. The city's work-force, too was affected by the war, whilst a rise in living-expenses, and a wartime spread of socialist ideas, led to intensified strike action. This was notable for increased cross-racial co-operation, as well as the marked presence of semi- and unskilled workers organising en-mass for the first time. The third part of the thesis speaks to subjective depictions of Cape Town. It considers three main discourses about the city – ‘slum city,' ‘sin city' and ‘destination city' - indicating the co-existence of multiple and sometimes contrasting representations of wartime Cape Town. Lastly, the war was a period of heightened identifications with Britain, which cut across race, gender and class lines. Nevertheless wartime patriotism was inconsistently sustained, with certain events fuelling feelings of loyalty towards Empire and animosity towards those deemed as ‘disloyal.' Overall it is concluded that although the war has faded in Cape Town's popular memory, it was important to how many Capetonians identified themselves. Moreover it was a significant catalyst for change, informing debates and subsequent policies about health, segregation and the future of South African cities.
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    Remembering and Recollecting World War Two: South African Perspectives
    (2014) Walton, Sarah-Jane; Bickford-Smith, Vivian
    This thesis explores some of the memories and recollections of World War Two in South Africa today. It aims to address an absence of work done on South Africa in relation to World War Two, memory and commemoration. This thesis is as much about the diverse processes of remembrance and recollection as it is about the war itself and assumes that memories of the war can be located in different media. Accordingly the chapters herein are each delegated a media form, from newspapers, literature, memorials, film and photography to oral interviews, in which ‘memories’ of the war are located. The arrangement of the chapters mimics the history of the war’s remembrance in South Africa as it moved from public to private remembrance. This follows the historical context of South Africa from the war period until approximately mid-2013. The white Anglophone experience is given prominence in approaching the subject of commemoration and World War Two in Cape Town. This is motivated by Vivian Bickford- Smith and John Lambert, both of whom recognise it as South Africa’s ‘forgotten identity.’1 Nevertheless other non-white memories of the war are also discussed as important to understanding South Africa’s relationship to it. In particular, the sons and daughters of the Cape Corps briefly feature in this thesis in recognition of a greater Anglophone identity that is not necessarily bound by race. Black recruits are also touched upon as an oft-forgotten group involved in the war. Accordingly this thesis emphasizes that although some experiences and memories were shaped by race, there were others that transcended it. Lastly the different media forms discussed within this thesis are suggestive of technology’s advances and its impact on the way memories are stored and retrieved. Ultimately, despite the fact that the war has fallen out of public remembrance in Cape Town today, this thesis concludes that it remains important to a few groups and individuals for whom it continues to inform a sense of history and identity.