Fallen Gunners Remembered at National Memorial Service in Potchefstroom
- Karen Scheepers
- 5 hours ago
- 6 min read
The South African Gunners’ Association held a solemn national memorial service on Sunday, 18 May 2025, at the National Gunners Memorial in Potchefstroom, paying tribute to the country’s fallen artillery soldiers. Scores of veterans, serving military personnel, and families gathered to honor their sacrifice, with wreaths laid in remembrance of their contributions to South Africa’s freedom. The ceremony featured a military parade, a dignified two-minute silence for reflection, and the firing of an artillery salute, symbolizing both respect for the fallen and the enduring legacy of their service.
Historical Significance of the National Gunners Memorial (Est. 1952)
The National Gunners Memorial in Potchefstroom has been a cornerstone of military remembrance in South Africa for over 70 years. It was unveiled on 10 May 1952 by the then Chief of Staff of the South African Army, Lieutenant General Christiaan “Matie” de Wet du Toit defenceweb.co.za, and was originally dedicated “to the glory of God and the memory of all Gunners who lost their lives in two World Wars, 1914–1918; 1939–1945” . The design of the memorial reflects its artillery heritage: three vintage World War I field guns and a World War II anti-aircraft gun flank a central stone monument, standing guard over the site .
From its earliest days, the memorial has served as a gathering point for remembrance, the first annual commemoration service was held here in May 1953, drawing hundreds of gunners and family members in tribute gunners.org.za. Over the decades, the monument’s purpose has expanded to honor fallen gunners from all conflicts: after the 1970s border wars, for example, additional plaques were installed to inscribe the names of artillerymen who paid the supreme sacrifice, and new names have continued to be added with each era of service. Today, the National Gunners Memorial stands not only as a historic tribute to those lost in the World Wars, but as a living memorial bearing the names of all known South African gunners who died in the line of duty, a sacred roll of honour that grows as history unfolds.
Highlights from the Memorial Service Ceremony
Wreaths adorn the National Gunners Memorial at Potchefstroom during the memorial service, a symbol of gratitude to the fallen. The 2025 memorial service was marked by precise military pageantry and poignant tributes. An SANDF honor guard led a procession and parade onto the grounds, their boots and drums setting a respectful cadence. In a traditional wreath-laying ceremony, senior officers, veterans, and relatives stepped forward to place floral wreaths at the foot of the monument, each bloom a testament to a life lost in service southafricatoday.net.
The assembled crowd then stood in reverent silence for two minutes, heads bowed under the late-morning sun as they remembered comrades no longer present southafricatoday.net. Finally, the stillness was broken by the thunderous report of a gun salute: an artillery detachment fired a volley of blank rounds that echoed across the parade ground. The crack of the guns served as a solemn salute to the fallen gunners, a ritual both honoring their sacrifice and resonating with the very military tradition the Gunners’ Association strives to preserve.
Brigadier General Mafune’s Tribute: “A Pledge to Those Who Sacrificed”
One of the most moving moments of the service came during the keynote address by Brigadier General Lufuno Mafune, a senior SANDF artillery officer. Speaking to the gathered crowd of soldiers, veterans, and families, Mafune emphasized the enduring importance of remembering those who fought for the nation’s liberty and security. The freedoms South Africans enjoy today, he noted, were hard-won by the courage of men and women who answered the call of duty. “This memorial stands as a pledge to those who sacrificed when sacrifice was not fashionable,”
Brig Gen Mafune said, describing the monument as a perpetual commitment to honor those who served even in times when their service went unheralded southafricatoday.net. His words underscored the core message of the day: that the debt owed to fallen heroes is timeless. The audience listened in respectful silence as Mafune reminded all present that every name etched in the memorial’s stone represents a story of valor and selflessness. In pledging never to forget these sacrifices, the gathering affirmed the very pledge the Brigadier General so eloquently put into words.
Honoring a Recent Fallen Gunner: Lance Bombardier Itumeleng Moreo
This year’s memorial service carried special significance as it recognized the recent losses suffered by South Africa’s military in ongoing African peacekeeping operations. Lance Bombardier Itumeleng Macdonald Moreo, a 37-year-old artillery NCO from Mahikeng, was one of 14 South African National Defence Force members killed during fierce fighting against M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this year defenceweb.co.za. His death in that January 2025 battle, alongside thirteen comrades, reverberated through the SANDF and the Gunners’ Association alike.
In recognition of his sacrifice and his service as a gunner, Moreo’s name will be inscribed on the National Gunners Memorial’s roll of honour, joining those of the fallen from previous generations gunners.org.za. This addition ensures that his valor, like that of the many gunners before him, is formally memorialized in the same hallowed space. As the ceremony proceeded, attendees were mindful that the legacy of bravery commemorated on the Potchefstroom memorial now extends to include this newest generation of soldiers who gave their lives far from home. For the family, friends, and fellow soldiers of Lance Bombardier Moreo, seeing his name etched in stone stands as a solemn reminder that his sacrifice, too, will never be forgotten by the artillery fraternity or the nation he served.
The South African Gunners’ Association: Preserving Memory and Heritage Since 1945
The memorial service at Potchefstroom is the culmination of efforts by the South African Gunners’ Association, an organization that has devoted itself to honoring fallen gunners and upholding artillery heritage for nearly eight decades. Founded in 1945, in the closing months of World War II, by returning South African artillery veterans gunners.org.za, the Association was established to unite past and present gunners into a proud community of remembrance and support. According to its mission statement, the Gunners’ Association seeks to “promote Gunner traditions and preserve Gunner heritage,” while also providing camaraderie and welfare support to gunners and their families.
This mandate is evident not only in the annual National Gunners Memorial service, but in numerous other activities the Association organizes: from restoring historic artillery pieces and maintaining memorial sites, to hosting regional remembrance ceremonies and educating new generations about the sacrifices of their predecessors. Over the years, the Gunners’ Association has worked closely with the SANDF to ensure that memorials like the one in Potchefstroom are well kept and that the names of fallen artillerymen and -women are duly recorded and honored. By fostering fellowship among veterans and active-duty members of the artillery corps, the Association keeps alive the spirit of unity and dedication that these soldiers shared. Through these efforts, the legacy of South Africa’s gunners, their traditions, their service, and above all their sacrifice, continues to be preserved for posterity.
Remembrance in a Time of Ongoing Conflict
As Africa continues to grapple with armed conflicts and peacekeeping challenges, the commemorative service in Potchefstroom carries a profound contemporary relevance. The ceremony unfolded against the backdrop of current missions and skirmishes, from the volatile Great Lakes region, where South African peacekeepers like Moreo have been deployed, to other conflict zones on the continent. This year’s memorial service served as a poignant reminder that the sacrifices being honored are not only those of a distant past, but also of present-day battlefields.
The reality was underscored by the recent losses in the DRC, which lent a somber immediacy to the day’s tributes. In an era when instability and insurgencies persist in parts of Africa, the pledge embodied by the National Gunners Memorial feels especially urgent and solemn. The gathering in Potchefstroom reaffirmed a national commitment: to remember the fallen, to cherish the peace for which they fought, and to support the men and women who continue to don the uniform in defense of that peace.
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As the last notes of the South African national anthem drifted into the autumn air and attendees slowly dispersed, the towering memorial stood watch, its plaques reflecting both history and the present, a lasting symbol of gratitude and hope amid the uncertainties of a conflict-prone world.
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