MEDALS TO AN OFFICER CAPTURED BY MARITZ AND HANDED OVER TO THE GERMANS Frank Hallier was born in Grahamstown on the 23rd of April 1888. He was appointed as an Assistant Field Cornet in the Cradock Commando on the 24th of December 1914 with seniority back dated to the 1st of November 1914. Maritz, during his rebellion, captured and handed over officers and men who refused to join his rebellion to the Germans. This happened on the 9th of October 1914 and Hallier was one of the officers. He was interned until the 2nd of February 1915 when he was released and sent to Wynberg in Cape Town for treatment for a rupture. Service then followed in the 1st Cape Corps where he was promoted to the rank of Captain and appointed as a company commander in the German East African campaign. After suffering from tropical diseases in East Africa, Hallier returned to the Union and was used in various staff appointments including an attachment to the Political Department. In World War 2, Hallier was an Acting Lieutenant Colonel and served in the Intelligence Corps and as the Senior Political Officer in the Middle East for a short period after which he requested to be discharged. Colonel Hallier was then re-appointed as the Commandant of the P.O.W. Camp in Pietermaritzburg and then as Assistant Camp Commandant at Zonderwater. His final military appointment was as a member of the Demobilisation Corps in the Cape Coloured section.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 11:52:37 +0000