Willem Steenkamp


Willem Steenkamp is a South African author, journalist, historian, military analyst and citizen soldier. He has published a number of books and consults widely in military affairs.

Awards

  • Cited in 1967 and 1968 in United Press International's annual selection of its best news feature articles worldwide.
  • Awarded the Settlers' Prize for Enterprising Journalism in 1982.
  • Awarded the Maskew Miller Prize in 1983 for the Anglo-Boer War novel The Blockhouse.
  • Awarded the Lady Usher Memorial Prize in 1985 for the historical novel The Horse Thief.
  • Awarded the Barcom Prize for Professional Military Writing in 1988 for an essay on future amphibious assault personnel requirements.

Appointments

  • Justice of the peace.
  • UN international election observer.
  • Member of the Ceremonial Staff Board up to 2004.
  • Member of the VOC Foundation.

Military service

List of postings and tasks

  • 1958: Called up for Active Citizen Force service: Study deferment.
  • 1961 – 1965: Routine non-continuous regimental service.
  • 1966 – 1969: On inactive reserve.
  • 1969 – 1979: Regimental service.
  • 1980 – 1983: Seconded to 71 Motorised Brigade staff.
  • 1984 – 1990: Regimental service.
  • 1990 – 1992: Seconded to 75 Motorised Brigade/9 SA Division staff.
  • 1993 – to date: Regimental service, in various capacities: inter alia officer in charge of designing and implementing the wreath-laying at Woltemade Cemetery by HM Queen Elizabeth II, 1995.
  • Extra-regimental/staff employment:
  • * Secondments to 71 Motorised Brigade and 75 Motorised Brigade/9 SA Division, as noted.
  • * Observer on three external operations, 1979 – 1985.
  • * Minute-taker/diarist: Operation Sclera.
  • * Member/scriba of official SADF delegation sent to attend national convention of United States Reserve Officers' Association at Nashville, Tennessee, July 1993; also visited ROA head office in Washington DC for confidential briefing to convey to SA Minister of Defence
  • 1997 – 1998: Member of the SA National Defence Force's Education, Training and Development Team revising Reserve Force training

Military Awards

  • Chief of the Army's Commendation

Published books

Ngami!. Fictionalised re-telling in Afrikaans, for mid-teenagers, of explorer Charles John Andersson's epic mid-19th-Century trek from Walvis Bay to Lake Ngami.Land of the Thirst King. Historical/contemporary travel book about Namaqualand.Adeus Angola. First account of the initial South African military incursion into Angola.The Soldiers. Short interlinked biographies of Generals Christiaan de Wet, Koos de la Rey, Sir Henry Timson Lukin, Sir Jaap van Deventer, Dan Pienaar and Evered PoolePoor Man's Bioscope. Historical/contemporary travel book about Cape TownMoedverloor. Historical novel, in Afrikaans, about Great Namaqualand in the 19th CenturySê vir Leonardo. Contemporary action novel, in Afrikaans, set in Cape TownAircraft of the South African Air Force. Illustrated survey of contemporary SAAF aircraft; later reprinted as Jane's Book of the SAAF Borderstrike!. First detailed account of early South African military incursions into Angola, 1978–1980. Expanded/re-edited edition 2003Namakwalandse Oustories. Re-telling, in Afrikaans, of traditional Namaqualand folk-talesChristmas Story/Kersverhaal. Re-telling of the Nativity, in separate English and Afrikaans versions, from the viewpoint of the animals in the stableThe Horse Thief. Historical novel set in Namaqualand in the 1870s Blake's Woman. Historical novel set in 19th-Century Great Namaqualand The Blockhouse. Historical novel set at the end of the Second Anglo-Boer War South Africa's Border War, 1966–1989. Illustrated history of the SWA/Namibian border warJim Zulu. Historical novel set in the Kimberley diamond diggings area of the 1880s, inspired by South Africa's only known case of public lynchingAssegais, Drums and Dragoons. The early military and social history of the Cape of Good Hope, 1510–1806 The Black Beret: the history of the SA Armoured Corps, Volume 1 SA's Border War 1966–1989 SA se Grensoorlog 1966–1989 Mobility Conquers: The Story of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group 1978–2005, with Helmoed-Römer Heitman The Black Beret: the History of South Africa's Armoured Forces. Volume 2
TitleAuthorTypeGenreTopicYear
Borderstrike! South Africa into AngolaWillem SteenkampNon-FictionMilitary HistoryMilitary2006
Assegais, Drums & Dragoons: A Military and Social History of the CapeWillem SteenkampNon-FictionMilitary HistoryMilitary2012
South Africa's border war, 1966–1989Willem SteenkampNon-FictionMilitary HistoryMilitary1989
Soldiers Verse: An Anthology of PoetryJohn Dovey Non-FictionPoetryMilitary2006
Jim ZuluWillem SteenkampFictionHistoricalNovel2006
Blake's WomanWillem SteenkampFictionHistoricalNovel2007
Freedom Park: Roots and SolutionsWillem SteenkampNon-FictionEditorialMilitary2007
Aphorisms and Observations for the Fighting SoldierWillem SteenkampNon-FictionMilitaryMilitary2007