ABSTRACT
In an attempt to alleviate their boredom, men of the Tank Corps based at the Kaffirskraal training camp near Klerksdorp decided in 1941 to form a debating society. The Springbok Legion, which evolved as a type of soldiers' trade union, was by far the largest forum for white troops' discussion of social justice. The aim of the Legion was to 'get a square deal for soldiers,' and it attracted a fairly substantial following among white servicemen. Of all the organizations – official and other – competing for white servicemen's support during wartime, the Springbok Legion was the only one that attracted anything like a mass membership. There are few scholarly sources on the history of the Springbok Legion. A book on the history of communism in South Africa by Henry Pike, and more recent studies by Barry White and Joshua Lazerson, devote some attention to the Springbok Legion.
