[Routine Order] "F" — Orders & Appendices

Document

"F"

SQUADRON ROUTINE ORDER NO. 6/43 No. 21 SQUADRON S.A.A.F. 69
by

LIEUT.COL. C.S. COPPEN
----------------------
Officer Commanding
No. 21 Squadron S.A.A.F.
Middle East
3rd. February 1943.

Para:11 COURT OF ENQUIRY
----------------
A Court of Enquiry, constituted as under, will assemble at
a time and place to be decided by the President to inquire into and report upon
the injury received by Lieut. Charles Martin during a football match on 29.1 .42.
Evidence will be taken on oath and the Court will attribute
blame, if any.

CONSTITUTION:
President: Lieut. B. Simler

Member: Lieut. J.H. Miller

Witnesses:
The Adjutant No. 21 Squadron S.A.A.F. will warn all
Witnesses to attend and will arrange for the production of relative documents.

FINDINGS:
The Court will make a finding.

PROCEEDINGS:
Proceedings will be delivered to the Officer Commanding
No. 21 Squadron S.A.A.F. for disposal.

(Handwritten Signature: [Illegible]) Major.
Adjutant No. 21 Squadron S.A.A.F.

Transcriber's Notes

Phase 2: Technical Expansion (The "Transcriber's Notes")
Glossary of Terms:
* S.A.A.F.: South African Air Force.
* LIEUT.COL. C.S. COPPEN: Lieutenant Colonel C.S. Coppen, the Officer Commanding (O.C.) of No. 21 Squadron S.A.A.F.
* Para:11: Paragraph 11 of the formal Squadron Routine Orders.
* Court of Enquiry: A formal military board convened to establish the facts of an incident—in this instance, a non-combat injury—and determine if negligence or misconduct occurred.
* Lieut.: Lieutenant.
* 29.1 .42: January 29, 1943. (Note: The document contains a clerical error, listing the year as '42' instead of '43', as confirmed by the order's date of 3 February 1943).
* Adjutant: The senior staff officer responsible for squadron administration, legal proceedings, and personnel management.
Operational Context:
Squadron Routine Order No. 6/43, issued on 3 February 1943, documents the administrative management of non-combat personnel attrition within No. 21 Squadron S.A.A.F. during the transition from the Libyan to the Tunisian campaign. Strategically, this period followed the official fall of Tripoli on 23 January 1943. As Allied forces pushed west toward the Mareth Line, light bomber units were frequently staged at forward Landing Grounds (L.G.s) where organized recreation, such as the "football match" involving Lieutenant Charles Martin, was utilized to maintain morale during operational pauses.
The convening of a formal Court of Enquiry for a sports-related injury reflects the rigid administrative requirements of the South African Air Force to document all "casualties" affecting the unit's "Total on Duty" strength. Given the high-tempo interdiction raids conducted throughout January 1943, maintaining a full complement of trained officers—such as those listed in the Sortie Reports for the raids on Pisida and Zuara—was a tactical priority.
The focus on attributing "blame, if any," was a standard legal precaution to ensure that injuries sustained outside of combat were not the result of avoidable negligence that could jeopardize the squadron's operational readiness. This document, archived as Folio 69, highlights the administrative oversight necessary to support the squadron's technical and human assets as the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) prepared for the definitive assault on Tunisia.

90
Phase 1: Verification & Extraction
Identity Check: 3 Feb 1943.