Casio Survivor

I was conscripted into the South African Defense Force (SADF) in July 1979 and was sent into operational service on the Namibia-Angola border at the beginning of April 1980. On March 11, 1980 I was back home on my final "weekend pass" before heading north when I bought this Casio 83F-80 from "New World Pharmacy" on Pretorius Street, Pretoria.



 According to my diary It cost me a whopping ZAR 45.00 - US$4.50 / £3.00 at today's exchange rate, but a month's salary for me back then. I bought it for a number of reasons:

• It was lightweight plastic. As a reluctant infantryman I already had too much crap to carry!
• It was black and largely matt black. Fewer reflective surfaces to draw attention on patrol.
• It was digital and accurate, and required no winding.
• It had a light - essential when handing over guard duty in the pitch black Namibian night.
• It had an hourly signal to keep track of time & an alarm to help wake up at ungodly hours.
• Apparently it was vaguely water resistant.
• The battery seemed to last forever!

This wristwatch went into combat, and to hell and back with me. It saw four tours of duty (including one "camp" after my national service) and was on "The Border" (operational area) for probably 15 months or so. It survived Ondangwa (Ovamboland) and Operation Sceptic [a.k.a. Operation Smokeshell]), Ruacana, Mpacha, Bagani, Mohembo Hek and the Caprivi Strip It, and even spent some time in the cell at Katima Mulilo...but that's another story! It also survived two major car accidents - I rolled a car on August 28, 1980 and was a passenger in a second rolled car two days later (August 30, 1980). Crazy times...



I had not seen the watch for over 20 years when I found it in a box at my mother's place in 2007. The original strap had perished and crumbled, but I though it worthwhile to shoot pictures of it in that condition. I cleaned the watch, fitted a new battery and she fired up just fine. I couldn't find the right strap anywhere, and so settled for a rubber replacement with round apertures, which served me well until I recently acquired a Casio strap very similar to the original.



This watch is neither expensive nor sophisticated, but it is an important one in my life and a proud representative of its era.

See more photographs in this set on Flickr.

Cheers MAlfaRK ©