The Honoris Crux Silver (Silver Cross of Honour), post-nominal letters HCS, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 1975. It was awarded to members of the South African Defence Force for exceptional acts of bravery while in great danger. The Honoris Crux Silver was the third most senior in a set of four classes of Honoris Crux decorations, which together replaced the discontinued Honoris Crux of 1952.South African Medal Website - Post-nominal Letters (Retrieved 28 April 2015)

The South African military The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).South African Medal Website - SA Defence Force : 1952-1975 (Retrieved 30 April 2015)South African Medal Website - SA Defence Force : 1975-2003 (Retrieved 30 April 2015)

Institution The Honoris Crux Silver (Silver Cross of Honour), post-nominal letters HCS, was instituted by the State President on 1 July 1975.

Award criteria The decoration was awarded to members of the South African Defence Force for exceptional acts of bravery in action, while in great danger. A Bar could be awarded for a further similar deed of bravery. It was the third most senior of a set of four classes of Honoris Crux decorations, the Honoris Crux Diamond, Honoris Crux Gold, Honoris Crux Silver and Honoris Crux, which replaced the discontinued Honoris Crux of 1952.

Order of wear

The position of the Honoris Crux Silver in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1975, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first with the integration into the South African National Defence Force in 1994 and again with the institution of a new set of awards in 2003, but it remained unchanged on both occasions.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005,

Official SANDF order of precedence Preceded by the Honoris Crux (1952) (HC) of the Republic of South Africa. Succeeded by the Van Riebeeck Decoration (DVR) of the Republic of South Africa.

Official national order of precedence Preceded by the Honoris Crux (1952) (HC) of the Republic of South Africa. Succeeded by the Van Riebeeck Decoration (DVR) of the Republic of South Africa.

Description Obverse The Honoris Crux Silver is a silver Maltese cross which fits in a circle 45 millimetres in diameter, with two swords in saltire surmounted by a circular protea wreath, the arms of the cross in green enamel, with a roundel in the centre, tierced horizontally in the orange, white and blue bands of the national flag, framed in a double silver circle containing 24 stones. It is identical to the Honoris Crux of 1975 in all respects, except the colour of the enamel on the arms of the cross.

Reverse The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms, with the decoration number impressed above and the silver hallmark below.

Bar The bar is of silver, with a miniature replica of the Maltese cross embossed in the centre.

Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and orange, with two 1 millimetre wide white bands in the centre, spaced 4 millimetres apart.

Discontinuation Conferment of the decoration was discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003, when the Honoris Crux Silver was replaced by the new Nkwe ya Selefera (NS).

Recipients In respect of those recipients about whom it is available, the actions they were cited for follow below the table.

Name Rank HCS no. Date of action Unit ServiceArmSwanepoel, Pieter ArnoldusCpl0052 SAI BNSA ArmyVan Niekerk, Hermanus2 Lt00114 Fd RgtSA ArmyWannenburg, Frederick Gerhardus 2 Lt0031 Recce RgtSA ArmyPiccione, Kevin BruceTpr0061 SSBSA ArmyRawlins, Vincent R.Cpl0043 SAI BNSA ArmyWard, William James HaroldS Sgt0022 Recce RgtSA ArmyChilds, Perry JamesLt00717 SqnSAAFMeerholz, Cornelius Alwyn JohannesCapt0091 Recce RgtSA ArmyHogan, Leo AnthonyRfn0083 Para BnSA ArmyCosta, Feliciano Rfn01032 BnSA ArmyBreytenbach, Cornelius NoëlCmdt01119 SqnSAAFStannard, Richard John Lt0121 Recce RgtSA ArmyLewer, Richard Campbell McNeillie Maj0198 SqnSAAFBotes, Christo Wilhelm Sgt015AFB OndangwaSAAFBarnes, Leslie Edward Sgt015MRUSAAFBantjes, Alexander PetrusCpl016 MRUSAAFHashomwenda, DawieRfn017101 BnSA ArmyVan Zyl, Hendrik GideonLt018Spec Serv HQSAMSDiedericks, André HCMaj019Spec Forces HQSA ArmySteyn, Jacobus FrederikMaj025NC CommandSA ArmyRoux, Anton LouisL Cpl02110 Med GpSAMSVenter, Johannes AntonieL Cpl10244 Bde Mil IntSA ArmyDe Gouveia, J.H. (Johnny)Sgt0231 Recce RgtSA ArmyBadenhorst, Johannes JacobusSpr02413 Fd Eng RegtSA ArmySlade, Alan MarkCapt10422 SqnSAAFFrederikson, Theodore KurtSgt10531 SqnSAAFScoular, Gary Ian LS116SANGreeff, J.deV. (Jack)S Sgt0321 RRSA Army Note 1: denotes a posthumous award.

Actions cited for

References