Pierre van Ryneveld

General Sir

Helperus Andreas (Pierre) van Ryneveld

KBE CB DSO MC
General Sir; Helperus Andreas (Pierre) van Ryneveld; KBE CB DSO MC
Nickname(s)	Pierre
Born	2 May 1891; Senekal, Orange Free State
Died	2 December 1972 (aged 81); Pretoria, South Africa
Allegiance	United Kingdom; South Africa;
Service / branch	Royal Flying Corps; Royal Air Force; South African Air Force;
Years of service	1915–1949
Rank	General
Commands	Chief of the General Staff of the Union Defence Force; Director of Air Services; South African Military College; No. 45 Squadron RFC;
Wars	First World War; Second World War;
Awards
Spouse(s)	Enid Kathleen Helen Collard (1901 – 1958)
Children	Son: John Frederick Van Ryneveld (1923 – 1996)

General Sir Helperus Andreas van Ryneveld KBE CB DSO MC (2 May 1891 – 2 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.

Military career

Van Ryneveld began his military career in the First World War, in which he served in the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, transferring in April 1915 to the Royal Flying Corps, later the Royal Air Force. For his service in the war, Van Ryneveld was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross,^[1] Mentioned in Despatches and presented with the Chevalier of the Legion of Honour from the French government.^[2]

After the war, Van Ryneveld was called back to South Africa by the Prime Minister Jan Smuts in order to set up the South African Air Force (SAAF).^[3] He flew back home, across Africa, in a Vickers Vimy – a pioneering feat for which he and his co-pilot Quintin Brand were both knighted.^[4]^[a]

Colonel van Ryneveld established the SAAF in 1920, and directed it until 1933, when he was promoted to Chief of the General Staff (CGS),^[5] 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.^[6]

Van Ryneveld served as CGS for sixteen years, including the whole of the Second World War. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1945^[1] and retired in 1949.^[7]

Honours

Order of the British Empire (Knight Commander) (KBE), Civil Division^[a]
Order of the Bath (Companion) (CB)
Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
Military Cross (MC)
War Medal 1939 – 1945 (Mentioned in Dispatches) (MID)
Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (France)

Namesakes and legacy

The Pretoria suburb of Pierre van Ryneveld Park was named in his honour and the airport just north of Upington in the Northern Cape is also named after Van Ryneveld. Sir Pierre van Ryneveld High School is in Kempton Park, Gauteng. The SAAF's annual air power symposium, is known as the Sir Pierre Van Ryneveld Air Power Symposium.^[8]

Notes

^ ^a ^b The citation for his Knighthood reads as follows: 14 May 1920 - Lieutenant-Colonel Hesperus Andrias Van Ryneveld, DSO, MC, late Royal Air Force - Appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of the valuable services rendered to Aviation by the successful flight from England to Cape Town, South Africa.

References

^ ^a ^b Who Was Who 1971–1980. Bloomsbury Publishing, London. 1989. ISBN 0-7136-3227-5.
^ "Supplement to the London Gazette" (PDF). The Gazette. 15 July 1919. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
^ "Father of the SAAF". Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
^ "No. 31900". The London Gazette. 14 May 1920. p. 5480.
^ Ellis, Johan (2000). "Oswald Pirow's Five-Year Plan for the Reorganisation of the Union Defence Force, 1933-193". South African Journal of Military Studies. 30 (2).
^ Oosthuizen, G.J.J. (13 February 2012). "Luitenant- Kolonel Helperus Andreas (Pierre) van Ryneveld en die Onderdrukking van die Rehoboth-Baster-Opstand in Suidwes-Afrika (Namibië), April 1925" [Lieutenant-Colonel Helperus Andreas (Pierre) van Ryneveld and the Suppression of the Rehoboth-Baster Uprising in South West Africa (Namibia), April 1925]. Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies (in Afrikaans). 26 (1). doi:10.5787/26-1-240. ISSN 2224-0020.
^ "van Ryneveld, Pierre – Prominent people". Prominent people. 14 July 2013. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
^ "Sir Pierre Van Ryneveld Banquet". Archived from the original on 24 September 2006.

External links

Library resources about
Pierre van Ryneveld

By Pierre van Ryneveld

Works by or about Pierre van Ryneveld at the Internet Archive
"South African Air Force Museum – General Sir Helperus Andreas (Pierre) Van Ryneveld". Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
"Prominent People – van Ryneveld, Pierre".
"IN THE AIR: A short study of General Sir Helperus Andries (Pierre) van Ryneveld". Retrieved 20 March 2023.

Military offices
Preceded by W R Read	Officer Commanding No. 45 Squadron RFC April – August 1917	Succeeded by Arthur Harris
Preceded by Ewan Christian	Officer Commanding South African Military College 1929–1932	Succeeded by George Brink
New title South African Air Force established	Director Air Services, South African Air Force From 1933 to 1937 SAAF remained under van Ryneveld's direct control 1920–1933	Vacant Title next held by Francis Hoare in 1937
Preceded by Andries Brink	Chief of the General Staff of the Union Defence Force 1933–1949	Succeeded by Leonard Beyers

[KBE-5] The citation for his Knighthood reads as follows: 14 May 1920 - Lieutenant-Colonel Hesperus Andrias Van Ryneveld, DSO, MC, late Royal Air Force - Appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of the valuable services rendered to Aviation by the successful flight from England to Cape Town, South Africa.

[WWW-1] Who Was Who 1971–1980. Bloomsbury Publishing, London. 1989. ISBN 0-7136-3227-5.

[2] "Supplement to the London Gazette" (PDF). The Gazette. 15 July 1919. Retrieved 19 October 2018.

[3] "Father of the SAAF". Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.

[4] "No. 31900". The London Gazette. 14 May 1920. p. 5480.

[Ellis-6] Ellis, Johan (2000). "Oswald Pirow's Five-Year Plan for the Reorganisation of the Union Defence Force, 1933-193". South African Journal of Military Studies. 30 (2).

[7] Oosthuizen, G.J.J. (13 February 2012). "Luitenant- Kolonel Helperus Andreas (Pierre) van Ryneveld en die Onderdrukking van die Rehoboth-Baster-Opstand in Suidwes-Afrika (Namibië), April 1925" [Lieutenant-Colonel Helperus Andreas (Pierre) van Ryneveld and the Suppression of the Rehoboth-Baster Uprising in South West Africa (Namibia), April 1925]. Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies (in Afrikaans). 26 (1). doi:10.5787/26-1-240. ISSN 2224-0020.

[8] "van Ryneveld, Pierre – Prominent people". Prominent people. 14 July 2013. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2018.

[9] "Sir Pierre Van Ryneveld Banquet". Archived from the original on 24 September 2006.

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v t e Chiefs of the South African military
List of South African military chiefs
Chief of the UDF 1912 – 1957	Andries Brink Pierre van Ryneveld Leonard Beyers Christiaan du Toit Hendrik Klopper Stephen Melville
Commandant General of the SADF 1958 – 1973	Stephen Melville Pieter Grobbelaar Rudolph Hiemstra Hugo Biermann
Chief of the SADF 1973 – 1994	Hugo Biermann Magnus Malan Constand Viljoen Johannes Geldenhuys Andreas Liebenberg Georg Lodewyk Meiring
Chief of the SANDF 1994 – present	Georg Lodewyk Meiring Siphiwe Nyanda Godfrey Ngwenya Solly Shoke Rudzani Maphwanya