The sound of motorcycle engines roared in Kimberley this past weekend as 150 members of 15 chapters of the Moth Motorcycles Association descended on Kimberley to commemorate their 15th year of existence.
The members marched in perfect order to the Honoured Dead Memorial on Saturday, 23 September, to remember their fallen brothers in arms who perished in the two World Wars, the Korean War, the Rhodesian and the South African Border War. A lament also sounded in the early morning air.
According to Piet Fourie, one of the organisers who stems from the Mills Bomb Shellhole in Warden Beach on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, members from all over South Africa gathered in Kimberley as it is very centrally located.
“The association was formed as membership was dwindling and we wanted to attract more members with a common love of motorcycles. The association was established in Cape Town, then in Johannesburg and the rest of the country followed.”
“We commemorated our fifth and tenth anniversaries in central South African as well.
He said the different chapters visited the Siege Shellhole in Cassandra and held a meeting at El Daba Corder Shellhole to exchange ideas.
According to their website, the Memorable Order of Tin Hats (Moth) was founded in 1927 and is a benevolent organisation that takes care of military veterans and their next of kin.
Utilising World War I language, the order is managed and guided by a body known as general headquarters which includes the full national executive. Administration takes place at provincial and district level where dugouts are established and Moth-dom happens at local “clubs” known as Shellholes.
Shellholes provide that very important element of camaraderie, through which benevolent funds are raised.
These activities in return leads to the partial funding of mutual help projects which have seen the order providing a home for more than 1 000 individuals nation-wide.
Fourie says the association has around 300 members or more. Steve Lunderstedt, a local historian was also due to give a talk about Anglo Boer War battles around the city and highlighted specific characters who played a role during this war.
“The weekend in Kimberley has been very festive, and most of us also joined to watch the World Cup Rugby games,” says Fourie.
