On 14 March 2020, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria, Professor Tawana Kupe officially unveiled the Pierre van Ryneveld memorial stone in its third location at the university’s Hillcrest Experimental Farm Campus
Van Ryneveld Air Force Monument
Pierre van Ryneveld Memorial Stone
On 4 February 1920, Sir Pierre van Ryneveld and Sir Quintin Brand set out from London to South Africa to pioneer the first trans-Africa flight. The Mediterranean crossing took 11 hours in a Vickers Vimy (the Silver Queen). Their first forced landing was in Wadi Halfa in present-day Sudan. The plane was unusable and a second Vimy (the Silver Queen II) was delivered 11 days later. The duo took off from Cairo. On 6 March 1920, the Silver Queen II crashed while attempting to take off at Bulawayo. A third aircraft (a De Havilland DH9) was flown to...
