Johannesburg Light Horse Regiment
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2021) |
Imperial Light Horse Light Horse Regiment Johannesburg Light Horse Regiment | |
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Active | 21 September 1899 – present |
Country | South Africa |
Allegiance | |
Branch | |
Type | South African Armoured Formation Army Conventional Reserve |
Garrison/HQ | Mount Collins in Sandton, Johannesburg |
Motto(s) | Patria et Libertas (Country and Liberty)[1] |
Equipment | Eland APC, Rooikat |
Insignia | |
Abbreviation | JLHR |
Beret Colour | Black |
Armour Squadron emblems | |
Armour beret bar circa 1992 |
The Johannesburg Light Horse Regiment (JLHR, formerly the Light Horse Regiment, LHR), is a reserve armoured car reconnaissance unit of the South African Army.
History
Anglo Boer War
The Imperial Light Horse was raised by the British in Johannesburg on 21 September 1899 for service in the Second Boer War. Its initial strength was 444 officers and men. It was informally known as the "Reformers Regiment" as many of its officers served on the Reform Committee, or more commonly the Uitlander Regiment by the Transvaal Government and the Boer Commandos.[1][2]
The Light Horse was engaged through much of the war and fought its first
After the successful raising of the siege of Ladysmith the Light horse join the Mafeking Relief Column and were the first to enter the town on the night of 16/17 May 1900.[9]
In late 1900 a second battalion – the 2nd Imperial Light Horse was raised and embodied. Both battalions then went on to fight in the Transvaal and the Orange Free State Republic until the end of the war. In total the members of the Regiment won four Victoria Crosses during the war:[1]
- Charles Herbert Mullins and Captain Robert Johnston
- Battle of Wagon Hill, 6 January 1900, Trooper Herman Albrecht
- Bethlehem, 18 December 1901, Surgeon Captain Thomas Crean
Volunteer era
In December 1902, the ILH was raised out of the Boer War unit of the same name.[10]: 60 Its first commanding officer was Lieutenant-Colonel J. Donaldson with adjutant Captain W. Jardine.[10]: 61 The regiment was reorganised into two wings and in 1904 its left wing was re-designated the Western Rifles at Krugersdorp, both as voluntary units in the Transvaal Volunteers.[1][11] In January 1905, the Prince of Wales became its first Colonel-in-Chief.[10]: 61 Lieutenant-Colonel W.T.F. Davies became its second commander in January 1906.[10]: 61
- A squadron of the Regiment fought with the Zulu Rebellion (1906).[12]
- It also served as a support unit to the South African Police during a general strike and First Rand Revolt in 1913.[1]
Union Defence Force
With the new amalgamation of the British colonies into the
World War I
The Regiment took part in operations during
During the
World War II
At the start of World War II the regiment was brought up to strength and a second battalion reconstituted as infantry battalions. However the two battalions were soon separated and fought different wars.[1]
The second battalion was soon re-designated as the 13th Armoured Car Company in the
The 1st Battalion joined the 3rd Brigade of the
Returning to South Africa the 1st Battalion along with the 2nd were reorganised and amalgamated with the
After a short period of rest and refitting, on 22 August 1944, the South African 6th Armoured Division was then placed under the command of the
The regiment reformed in 1949 as an armoured regiment equipped with
Border War
The Regiment, now equipped with
- 2 Light Horse Regiment formed part of the 8th South African Armoured Division's 81 Armoured Brigade.[1]
- 1 Light Horse Regiment formed part of the 7th South African Infantry Division's 72 Motorised Brigade
Both regiments saw action in the South African Border War (1966–1989) in Northern South-West Africa (now Namibia) and Angola, and were also involved in security operations policing the South Africa's townships in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[1]
Post 1994
After the country's first multiracial elections in 1994, following the Defence Review by the newly formed South African National Defence Force, in March 1997 the two battalions were amalgamated into Light Horse Regiment and designated an armoured reconnaissance regiment.[1]
Name change
In August 2019, 52 Reserve Force units had their names changed to reflect the diverse military history of South Africa.[18] The Light Horse Regiment became the Johannesburg Light Horse Regiment, and have 3 years to design and implement new regimental insignia.[19]
Freedom of entry
During the regiment's sixtieth anniversary celebrations in 1959, the
The unit exercised its freedom of entry into Johannesburg on 9 November 2013 as part of the centenary celebrations of the City of Johannesburg with fixed bayonets, colours flying and drums beating.
Regimental symbols
The Regimental device for both headdress and collar dogs are a set of crossed flags mounted on lances. The flags are those of the RSA and the Regiment.
- Regimental motto: Imperium et libertas (Latin: "Empire and Freedom") as the ILH and Patria et Libertas (Latin: "Country and Freedom") as LHR.
- The Regiment received the Hon. P.W. Botha. The National Colourwas presented to both 1 LHR and 2 LHR in 1993.
Previous Dress Insignia
Leadership
From | Honorary Colonel | To |
From | Officers Commanding | To |
1961 | Cmdt AJW Drysdale | c. 1965 |
1966 | Cmdt AR Nel | c. 1970 |
1971 | Cmdt RV Gibson | c. 1974 |
1974 | Cmdt RL Jackson | c. 1978 |
1978 | Cmdt M Finlay | c. 1982 |
1982 | Cmdt AD Thompson | c. 1983 |
1983 | Cmdt DM Bessenger | c. 1983 |
1983 | Cmdt JP Schuin | c. 1985 |
1985 | Cmdt IW Pearce | c. 1990 |
1990 | Cmdt GA Nel | c. 1993 |
1993 | Cmdt DJF Jacobs | c. 1993 |
1993 | Cmdt JF Els | c. 1993 |
1993 | Lt Col WJ Alberts | c. 2000 |
2000 | Lt Col HJ Marks | c. 2003 |
2003 | Lt Col J Martins | c. 2007 |
2007 | Lt Col HE Jansen | c. 2016 |
2017 | Lt Col ID Nkoana | 27 April 2024 |
From | Regimental Sergeants Major | To |
c. 1945 | WO1 WFE Dean | c. 1948 |
c. 1948 | WO1 S de Lange | c. 1953 |
c. 1953 | WO1 CJ Wessels | c. 1959 |
c. 1959 | WO1 WJC Surmon | c. 1965 |
c. 1965 | WO1 PJ Oosthuizen | c. 1975 |
c. 1975 | WO1 R Morton | c. 1976 |
Alliances
- RSA – The Kimberley Regiment (Formal)
- The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish)(Formal)
- Australia – 2/14th Australian Light Horse (Informal)
- GBR – The Grenadier Guards[citation needed] (Informal)
Battle honours
In total 31 battle honours have been awarded to 1 LHR and 2 LHR, 23 of which are currently displayed on the Regimental Colour:
- South Africa 1899–1902
- Natal1906
- South West Africa 1914–1915
- Gibeon[12]
- Western Desert 1941–1943
- Marsa Belafrit
- Bardia
- Gazala
- Alamein Defence
- Alamein Box
- El Alamein
- Italy 1944–1945
- Cassino
- Celleno
- Florence
- The Greve
- Gothic Line
- Monte Porro del Bagno
- Monte Vigese
- Monte Salvaro
- Po Valley
The Battle Honours Elandslaagte and Relief of Mafeking, which the regiment had assumed, were disallowed when pre-Union battle honours were reviewed by the SA Defence Force in the 1960s.
Awarded |
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See also
Notes
- ^ At the British Cemetery on the northern side of Wagon Hill (28°35′15″S 29°45′55″E / 28.587379°S 29.765325°E) there is another obelisk monument to the Imperial Light Horse bearing the epitaph:
There is also another obelisk monument to the Imperial Light Horse at the Intombi Cemetery in Laydsmith (28°35′44″S 29°49′20″E / 28.59559°S 29.82221°E). It states "This monument is erected by their comrades in memory of NCOs and Troopers of the Imperial Light Horse who are buried in this Cemetery" and lists fourteen names. It too bears the same epitaph, written by Edmund Garrett who was inspired by the famous epitaph of Simonides at Thermopylae.[22][23]Tell England, ye who pass this Monument,
We, who died serving her, rest here content.[21]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w SAAA staff 2011.
- ^ SAMH staff 2016.
- ^ a b Nevinson 2005, pp. 211–218.
- ^ Wynn & Edwards 2007 cites Dooner, pp. 62–63
- ^ NYT staff 1901.
- ^ Churchill 1900, Ch. XXVI The Relief of Ladysmith.
- ^ AngloBoerWar.com 2004–2019.
- ^ "Battle of Elandslaagte". Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ Medal Roll of the Queen's South Africa Medal- Defence of Mafeking Bar
- ^ a b c d Praagh, L.V. (1906). The Transvaal and Its Mines: (The Encyclopedic History of the Transvaal). London: Praagh & Lloyd.
- ^ Miller 2009, pp. 254–255.
- ^ a b South African Military History Society 1997.
- ^ Monument: Cavalry Memorial.
- ^ Englebrecht 2011.
- ^ a b Orpen 1975, p. [page needed].
- ^ Klein 1946, p. 234.
- ^ Winterbach 2014.
- ^ "New Reserve Force unit names". defenceWeb. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ "Renaming process has resulted in an Army structure that truly represents SA". IOL. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ City of Johannesburg 2018.
- ^ Jebb 1907, p. 423.
- ^ Vandiver 2010, p. lxii.
- ^ Markham 1913, p. 88.
Bibliography
- South African units:Imperial Light Horse, AngloBoerWar.com, 2004–2019, retrieved 23 June 2019
- Churchill, Winston (1900), "XXVI – The Relief of Ladysmith", London to Ladysmith via Pretoria, Longmans Green and Co – via Project Gutenberg
- "2011-11-10: Annual Freedom Regiments Parade: 12 November 2011", Joburg.org.za, City of Johannesburg, 2018, retrieved 23 June 2019
- Englebrecht, Leon (7 January 2011), "Fact file: Light Horse Regiment", defenceweb.co.za, DefenceWeb, retrieved 27 October 2014
- Jebb, Caroline (1907), The Life and Letter of Sir Richard Claverhouse Jeb O.M., Litt.D. by his wife., Cambridge University Press, p. 423
- Klein, Harry (1946), Springbok Record, Johannesburg: South African Legion, OCLC 6570993
- Markham, Violet Rosa (1913), The South African Scene, London: Smith, Elder & Company, p. 88
- "Cavalry Memorial", London Remembers, Aiming to capture all memorials in London, retrieved 23 June 2019
- Miller, Stephen M., ed. (2009), Soldiers and Settlers in Africa: 1850 – 1918, History of warfare, vol. 56, BRILL, pp. 254–255, ISBN 9789004177512
- Nevinson, Henry (2005) [1900], Ladysmith – The Diary of a Siege, Project Gutenberg
- NYT staff (31 March 1901), "Gen. Prinsloo Captured.; Is Made a Prisoner by the Imperial Light Horse." (PDF), The New York Times, retrieved 12 February 2009
- Orpen, N (1975), Victory in Italy, Cape Town: Purnell – Also see overview of this book at ibiblio.org for overview of the book
- SAAA staff (2011), Light Horse Regiment, South African Armoured Association, archived from the original on 12 July 2011
- SAMH staff (May 2016), "Newsletter", Samilitaryhistory.org, Johannesburg: South African Military History Society (SAMH)
- "Light Horse Regiment Centenary", South African Military History Society, 13 April 1997, retrieved 23 June 2019
- Vandiver, Elizabeth (2010), Stand in the Trench, Achilles: Classical Receptions in British Poetry of the Great War Classical Presences, Oxford University Press, p. lxii, ISBN 9780191609213
- Winterbach, J.C. von; et al. (17 April 2014), "6th South African Armoured Division", flamesofwar.com, Flames of War
- Wynn, Vikki; Edwards, Martin (2007), "Hawick South African (Boer) War Memorial", Roll of Honour3, retrieved 18 May 2017
- Dooner, Mildred G., The Last Post, pp. 62–63
Further reading
- Ash, Chris (12 July 2018), "Book review of 'We Rest Here Content' (2018) by Robin Smith", Chris Ash – Author, retrieved 29 May 2020
- Gibson, George Fleming (1937), The story of the Imperial Light Horse in the South African War, 1899–1902, G.D. & Company, OCLC 752706183
External links
- – The Transvaal Horse Artillery shares premises with the Light Horse Regiment.