Regiment Boland

Regiment Boland
Regiment Boland
	Regiment Boland emblem
Active	1 April 1934 to 1997
Country	South Africa
Allegiance	Republic of South Africa;
Branch	South African Army;
Type	Worcester, Western Cape
Anniversaries	1 April 1934
Insignia
Company level Insignia
SA Motorised Infantry beret bar circa 1992	SA Motorised Infantry beret bar

Regiment Boland was an

Territorial Army or United States Army National Guard

unit.

History

Origin

Regiment Boland traced its ancestry back to Regiment Westelike Provincie (RWP) (now called Regiment Westelike Provinsie), which was one of the

Afrikaner-oriented units that was raised by the Union Defence Force

in 1934. RWP was renamed Regiment Onze Jan in 1951, only to be changed again in 1960, to Regiment Boland.

The second battalion

The Regiment acquired a second battalion in 1972, with the 1st Battalion being headquartered at

Worcester

.

When 71 Infantry Brigade was formed in August 1974 as a separate formation, the Cape Town Rifles (Dukes) remained with Western Province Command and Regiment Westelike Provincie joined Regiment Boland and the Cape Town Highlanders as the infantry battalions of the brigade.

Regiment Boland was therefore transferred to Western Province Command as a counter-insurgency battalion in July 1986 after it had been replaced by Cape Town Rifles (Dukes) in early 1984.

However, the 1st Battalion fought to regain their original name and this succeeded in 1974, when the two battalions became independent units - the 1st Battalion became Regiment Westelike Provincie and was headquartered in Cape Town, while the 2nd Battalion retained the designation Regiment Boland. The only remnant of their association was the similar cap-badges of the two Regiments.

Disbandment

Regiment Boland was disbanded in 1997.

Regimental Symbols

Dress Insignia

Battle honours

References

External links

SA Military History Journal <http://samiltaryhistory.org/journal.html>