Stephen Melville

Stephen Alexander Melville

SSA OBE
Stephen Alexander Melville; SSA OBE
Born	31 December 1904; Matatiele, Natal
Died	June 17, 1977 (aged 72); Pretoria, South Africa
Allegiance	South Africa
Service / branch	South African Air Force
Years of service	1924 – 1960
Rank	General
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General Stephen A. Melville SSA OBE (1904–1977) was a South African military commander. During World War II he commanded air force formations in East Africa, North Africa, Madagascar, and Italy.

He matriculated from Grey College, Bloemfontein before going to work in a bank. He joined the Merchant Navy as a stoker. He joined the SA Mounted Rifles in 1924 as a trooper before transferring to the Artillery. In 1929 he was trained as a pilot and transferred to the South African Air Force.^[1]^: 152

He served as Air Chief of Staff from 1954 to 1956, as Inspector-General from 1956 to 1958, and as Commandant-General,^[2] i.e. head of the Union Defence Forces, from 1958 to 1960.

He later served on the Armaments Board until 1974. He was also the Government's representative on the Rand Water Board.^[1]^: 153

Awards and Decorations

Then Colonel Melville was Mentioned in Dispatches in July 1943^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Uys, Ian (1992). South African Military Who's Who 1452-1992. Fortress Publishers. ISBN 0-9583173-3-X.
^ Nöthling, C.J.; Meyers, E.M. (1982). "Leaders through the years (1912-1982)". Scientaria Militaria. 12 (2): 95.
^ "No. 36083". The London Gazette. 6 July 1943.

Military offices
Preceded by Hendrik Klopper	Chief of the General Staff of the South African Defence Force 1958 – 1960	Succeeded by Pieter Grobbelaar
Preceded by Hendrik Klopper	Inspector General SADF 1956 – 1958	Succeeded by Pieter Grobbelaar
Preceded by Harold Willmott	Air Chief of Staff 1954 – 1956	Succeeded by Barend Viljoen

This biographical article related to the South African military is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[WhoWhoUys-1] Uys, Ian (1992). South African Military Who's Who 1452-1992. Fortress Publishers. ISBN 0-9583173-3-X.

[Scientaria-2] Nöthling, C.J.; Meyers, E.M. (1982). "Leaders through the years (1912-1982)". Scientaria Militaria. 12 (2): 95.

[3] "No. 36083". The London Gazette. 6 July 1943.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Chiefs of the South African military
List of South African military chiefs
Chief of the UDF 1912 – 1957	Andries Brink Pierre van Ryneveld Leonard Beyers Christiaan du Toit Hendrik Klopper Stephen Melville
Commandant General of the 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 Rudzani Maphwanya

Awards and Decorations

See also

References