Pierre van Ryneveld

Sir Hesperus Andrias van Ryneveld KBE CB DSO MC
Nickname(s)	Pierre
Born	(1891-05-02)2 May 1891 Senekal, Orange Free State
Died	2 December 1972(1972-12-02) (aged 81) Pretoria, South Africa
Allegiance	British Empire  South Africa  South Africa
Service/branch	Royal Flying Corps Royal Air Force South African Air Force
Years of service	August 1914 – 2 May 1949
Rank	General
Commands held	South African Air Force Union Defence Forces
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) Distinguished Service Order (DSO) Military Cross (MC)
Spouse(s)	Edith 'Betty' Sterling

General Sir Hesperus Andrias van Ryneveld KBE CB DSO MC (2 May 1891 – 2 December 1972), known as Pierre van Ryneveld, was a South African military commander. He was the founding commander of the South African Air Force (SAAF).

He began his military career in World War I, in which he served in the Royal Flying Corps (later Royal Air Force), where he distinguished himself as a fighter ace.

After the war, van Ryneveld was called back to South Africa by the Prime Minister Jan Smuts in order to set up the SAAF.^[1] 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.

(L-R) Lt Col van Ryneveld with First Lt Quintin Brand, February 1920, in front of Vickers Vimy Silver Queen, before their England to South Africa flight

Colonel van Ryneveld established the SAAF in 1920, and directed it until 1933, when he was promoted to Chief of the General Staff (CGS),^[2] 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.

He served as CGS for sixteen years, including the whole of World War II. He retired in 1949.^[3]

Honours and awards

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.^[4]

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.^[5]
• Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)

• Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB)

• Distinguished Service Order (DSO)

• Military Cross (MC)

• 1914–15 Star

• British War Medal
• Victory Medal (South Africa) with MID
• Africa Star

• War Medal 1939–1945

• Africa Service Medal (WWII)

• King George V Coronation Medal
• King George VI Coronation Medal

He was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1919.^[6]

References

External links

• Works by or about Pierre van Ryneveld at Internet Archive
• South African Air Force Museum - General Sir Helperus Andreas (Pierre) Van Ryneveld
• Prominent People - van Ryneveld, Pierre

See also

• List of South African military chiefs
• South African Air Force

Chiefs of the South African military
List of South African military chiefs
Chief of the Union Defence Force 1912–1957	Andries Brink Pierre van Ryneveld Leonard Beyers Christiaan du Toit Hendrik Klopper Stephen Melville
Commandant General 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