Honouring South African POWs: A memorial service at the Military Museum
The first VE Day parade in London in 1946.
Image: Photo Courtesy: SA Legion.
Out of the 35 million servicemen captured worldwide during the devastation of World War II, at least 14,583 were South Africans. Mostly taken during the grueling North African campaigns, these men transitioned from frontline combatants to captives in dreadful overseas prisoner-of-war camps. Decades later, their grueling ordeals and quiet heroism are finally stepping into the spotlight.
On Sunday, 31 May 2026, the South African Legion (Cape Town Branch) will host a special Memorial Service at the Military Museum at the Castle. This year’s solemn event shifts the focus to these long-overlooked POWs, building on last year's tribute to the nation’s unsung non-combatant volunteers, women auxiliary forces, and teenage enlistees.
Four trumpeters from SACS on the 80th VE Day commemoration at the Castle on 10 May 2025.
Image: SA Legion
"The importance of continuing to mark the anniversary of this global event that had such a profound effect on modern history is to remind us of the horrors of war and to value the sanctity of peace, lest we forget the former," said Kevin P. Ashton JCD, Chairman of the SA Legion's Cape Town Branch.
Among the incredible stories to be honoured is that of Lance Corporal Job Maseko. A former miner from the Vlakfontein Mine on the East Rand, Maseko joined the Native Military Corps in August 1940 at the age of 25. While held as a POW in Tobruk, Maseko displayed a legendary level of defiance. Using a makeshift bomb, he successfully blew up a German cargo ship while it was moored in the harbour. He later escaped from his Italian POW camp and walked an astonishing 545 kilometres through the desert from Tobruk to El Alamein.
Neville Lewis’s painting of one of the heroes of Tobruk, Job Maseko.
Image: Supplied
There, he immediately rejoined an Infantry Division as a frontline stretcher-bearer, participating in the historic Allied victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein. His extraordinary exploits earned him the Military Medal (MM).
The service will also recount the harrowing journey of Corporal Hillel “Hillie” Feldman of the Transvaal Scottish Regiment (5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Division). Captured by Italian forces during the brutal Battle of Sidi Rezegh in North Africa, Feldman spent two years enduring the harsh realities of POW Camp 52 in Pian di Coreglia Chiavari, Italy. When the Italian armistice was signed, his ordeal did not end; he was immediately captured by the German Army and shipped to a Stalag POW camp in Silesia for another year and a half.
Vermis briefie iinforming family that a soldier has been taken as prison of war.
Image: Supplied
The public is invited to attend this free ceremonial event to honour Maseko, Feldman, and the thousands of other South Africans who shared their fate. The day will feature a traditional moment of silence and a keynote address by acclaimed historian and author Dr. Karen Horn, who has written extensively on the topic in her latest book, In Enemy Hands. Pastor Anthony Bethke will lead the service.
A Red Cross card during WWII
Image: Supplied
Doors open at the Military Museum at the Castle in Cape Town from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Sunday, 31 May 2026, with the Memorial Service starting at 11:00 AM sharp. Admission is free, and all are welcome. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet and engage with Dr. Horn before and after the service. Ratel Booksellers will also host a book stall within the museum, featuring In Enemy Hands alongside various other World War II history titles.