The SAAF Forum

Gentlemen,
I at the terminal stage of completing a book on Southern African Regiments and corps. I need, please, assistance with the following entries, which are abbreviated. I can also be contacted at [email protected]. Yours, G/. G.A.MACKINLAY
CAPE REGIMENT. Raised 1st January, 1986
No CAPE LIGHT INFANTRY frequently recorded as the “Cape Flats Regiment”. Raised 1962 as Cape Flats Cdo, with the influx of NSM into the CF reroled as a counter-insurgency inf bn within the Commando structure, & retitled CLI. Made no claim to record of service of the No CAPE LIGHT INFANTRY, but it used “Semper Parati”, the motto of the Cape Regiment. Effectively disbanded 1995, formally 1999. Cape Flats Cdo being subsequently reformed ? DATE, it seeing a great deal of service in support of the SAP in the fight against the criminal gangs in the Cape Flats.
CONGELLA REGIMENT, or Regiment Congella, named after the Durban suburb, now KwaKhangela.
JOHANNESBURG ARTILLERY REGIMENT. Retitled from 2nd Locating Regiment, CF, Johannesburg. Amalgamated into the Transvaal Horse Artillery 1990.
NATAL UNIVERSITY REGIMENT (NUR), formed 1966 from NUR (NATAL FIELD ARTILLERY), the NFA became a seperate regiment.
REGIMENT ALGOABAAI, or Algoa Baai Regiment, converted 1st January, 1960 with HQ at Port Elizabeth, as a armoured inf bn from 5th Field Regiment, SAA..
REGIMENT EDENVALE, or EDENVALE REGIMENT. Nothing on it.
I am about 99.9% certain this regiment never stood up, BUT? REGIMENT EASTERN PROVINCE, mention made in a number of NSM experiences of the 1970-80's, & even in official S & F references. One of the 51 proposed regiments of May, 1965, but, intended to form in the 1970's, it physically never stood up (one of 35).
REGIMENT HILLCREST. Formed from Hillcrest Cdo, the first English speaking cdo in Pretoria, to cope with the large numbers of NSM carrying out their CF service obligation.
REGIMENT HOEVELD. CF infantry regiment, stood up at Middelburg, Eastern Transvaal, 1st January 1960. RHQ to Nelspruit. disbanded 1997.
REGIMENT LANGENHOVEN. A CF Infantry Corps regiment. HQ Oudtshoorn, Cape. Redesignated from No REGIMENT SUID-WESTELIKE DISTRIKTE in 1956, retitled No REGIMENT OUTENIEKWA 1st January 1960, Afrikaans medium. The unit re-adopted the title Regiment Langenhoven 1st September 1966. disbanded ? 1999.
REGIMENT MUNITORIA or MUNITORIA REGIMENT. The retitled Munitoria Cdo, & remained in the commando role. Amalgamated 2000 into No SCHANSKOP REGIMENT.
THIS HAS ME TOTALLY CONFUSED! REGIMENT NAMUTONI. CF infantry regiment, stationed in Western South West Africa. Transferred to the SWATF 1981, recorded as becoming basis of 911th Battalion; but, confusingly No REGIMENT SUID WES AFRIKA is recorded also as being redesignated as 911th Battalion?
No REGIMENT NATALIA usually shown as Natalia Regiment. CF infantry regiment, at Pietermaritzburg. disbanded ? 1999.
REGIMENT OOS R & (Current but no info) Stood up 1st January 1960 with HQ at Benoni, as a Afrikaans speaking infantry regiment of the CF.
REGIMENT OOS-VRYSTAAT (CF inf bn . No Regiment Louw Wepner 1st January, 1960, retitled Regiment Oos-Vrystaat, re-adopted original title 1st September, 1966. ? a new Regiment Oos-Vrystaat later stood up.
REGIMENT OVERVAAL A CF inf bn . First reference found in 1977, HQ Klerksdorp. disbanded 1997, its remaining personnel to Regiment Vaalrivier, a air defence regiment.
REGIMENT PORT NATAL CF motorized infantry regiment. In the 1980's a component of 84 Motorized Brigade. disbanded 1999?
REGIMENT POTCHEFSTROOM UNIVERSITEIT at Noordbrug. Formed 1st January, 1960 from the HQ battery & “radar battery” of 1st Observation Battery. field artillery replacing artillery survey. On 23rd September, 1991, amalgamated with 25 Field Regiment retaining its title. NOTE : The Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education is now Potchefstroom campus of the North-West University.
REGIMENT SCHOONSPRUIT ("Clear Springs"). disbanded July, 1999. HQ Potchefstroom, Western Transvaal.
REGIMENT SCHANSKOP. Regiment Pretorius & 2 Regiment Noord-Transvaal were amalgamated forming Regiment Schanskop (not to be confused with No SCHANSKOP REGIMENT). disbanded post 1999.
REGIMENT SPRINGS CF infantry regiment. A (unknown origin) newspaper article claimed the Regiment “descended from 'Regiment Far East Rand which in turn was raised in January of 1964 in Benoni, from REGIMENT OOS Rand. “The Regiment was relocated to Springs & took on its present name in March of 1972. The Regiment saw service on Internal Security Duties in the townships.” Appears to have been disbanded by 1996. No trace of Regiment Far East Rand found, quite probable Regiment Springs was the 2nd Battalion of Regiment Oos Rand?
REGIMENT TAFELBERG CF SAAC regiment, raised in the Cape Peninsular. The French Huguenot culture of the area, was significant in the regiments life. Had an allegiance with the SAN tanker, SAS Tafelberg.
REGIMENT UITENHAGE. Stood up as a cadre unit in the 1965 Army expansion, & formed as a CF inf bn in 1966. They considered themselves the descendents of the Uitenhage Volunteer Rifles & all other Volunteer corps raised in Uitenhage in the 19th Century.
REGIMENT UNIVERSITEIT PRETORIA When the original Regiment Universitieit Pretoria, a field artillery regiment was converted into the Transvaal State Artillery, the infantry based University of Pretoria Military Unit was formed, this subsequently retitled Pretoria University Regiment.
REGIMENT UNIVERSITEIT STELLENBOSCH also recorded as University of Stellenbosch Regiment & Regiment University Stellenbosch. Formed from No Regiment Tobie Muller, & elements of 1st Locating Regiment/1 Observasie Regiment located within the University, as a field regiment with 25 pounder guns. REGIMENT VANDERBIJLPARK nothing known. NOTE : industrial city on the Vaal River in the south of the Gauteng province of South Africa. just north of Sasolburg. home to Vanderbijlpark Steel (previously part of ISCOR,. REGIMENT VRYSTAAT CF SAAC Regiment. Formed from 2nd Regiment President Steyn, 1st April, 1976, formally disbanded 1999. REGIMENT WESTRAND 1960 reorganisation, retitled from REGIMENT PRESIDENT KRUGER, & converted from infantry to armoured infantry. SASOLBURG REGIMENT, originally was Sasolburg CDo. Became the largest Cdo (a reinforced battalion size) in the Cdo system in the 1980's, providing external defence of the huge oil refinery complex, & the coal to oil facility at Sasolburg. The reraised (?) SASOL Cdo led the internal security of the complexes. UNIVERSITY OF PORT ELIZABETH REGIMENT Retitled 1968 from UPE Military Unit. disbanded 1994. UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA MILITARY UNIT Raised 1980, disbanded 1994. Saw a great deal of service in the townships.

THESE NATIONAL PEACE-KEEPING FORCE, There is a great deal of seperate evidence stating that there were 4 bns raised with Commonwealth funding, & having a Commonwealth military presence in each. NEED info on the 2 not shown.
KOEBERG BATTALION info is sparse & contra-indicatory, it would appear that 1. was used as the basis to form 2., & it disbanded when the need over. 1. The Koeberg Cdo raised 1962, converted to CF counter-insurgency inf bn with the expansion of NS training, & retitled, disbanded 1999.
2. A 950 strong NPKF bn raised in Koeberg, Feb 1994. A BHQ & HQ Coy from the SADF, with one each company from; SADF; Umkhonto we Sizwe; Transkei Defence Force & a composite one from all police forces. Protection of Koeberg nuclear power station was a specific role. It had 20 foreign civilian monitors integrated into its sub-units. disbanded late 1994.
WYNBERG BATTALION. Formed from Wynberg Cdo (raised 1962), later converted to CF with the expansion of NS, as an counter-insurgency inf bn & retitled, disbanded 1999. A NPKF bn with same title raised Feb 1994, & quickly disbanded.

THESE 3 probably formed from various Black organisations
11th SA inf bn (11 SAI, 1994 11 SAI Bn). A lt inf bn, orginally was to have disbanded 1997.
13th SA inf bn (13 SAI, 1994 13 SAI Bn). A lt inf bn, amalgamated 1997 with 14 SAI, at Umtata.
16th SA inf bn (16 SAI, 1994 16 SAI Bn). Lt inf bn disbanded 1997.

116th SAI Stationed at Messina. Date of disbandment unknown.
117th SAI Stationed at Soekmekaar, converted into a training unit, 1997, amalgamated into 3 SAI.
118th SAI 118 SAI Bn). lt inf bn stationed at Mtubatuba (was Ellisras), KwaZulu-Natal. disbanded 2006, date unknown.

Gentlemen,
I must apologise for the abbreviated entries in the initial message, but, I had to do so to keep within the word limit.
The entries show the very limited information that I have on these regiments and battalions, and after a huge amount of time spent searching through newspaper and journal articles this is the result.
Whilst mention found in such SADF journals as Commando and Paratus, only entries found just give information that the unit concerned was on exercise, on the Border or performing Township duties. The SANDF never bothered to respond, even though I have used the Australian Defence Adviser to write on my behalf. Nor the SA War Museum, nor the SA Military Historical Society, even bothered to send a email to my formal letters!
I do not want to have these entries only half complete (actually far less I think), as they were living bodies, whose men put their lives upon the line, so it is an insult not to make a good effort to find information.
Anything will help, even if it is only a email address of a chap who served in one of the regiments.
If anyone can point in the direction of any organisation extant that may help, again of help.
Equally if you could pass the information given in the first message onto anyone who again could help, greatly appreciated.
I intend to publish the book sometime this year. Hard cover, with quality paper used in the printing, with some eight pages of photos, this with Goods and Services Tax will cost me some 24,000 Australian Dollars, which I can just afford. These would cost to the purchaser some 100 A$ per copy plus postage, and making no profit. I could bring the cost down by printing 500 copies, but this would cost 35,000 including G&S Tax, which I cannot afford.
As with previous books, I have found that I can sell 250 easily and get my money back. There is just to much mucking about and having dead money lying around to do a second run, so I will do what I have done in the past, and offer a Free electronic copy with no photos to those who want it, and they can print it out for their own pleasure.
Yours, G/.
G.A.MACKINLAY New South Wales Australia

I may be able to help, will have alook through my info & badge collection of SADF Regts in the next week or so, am just abit snowned under with another project or two.

I have most of those Regt/Comdo badges, flashes etc in my collection so should have info on them.

Triva
Congella Regt used the Iniskillings badge as a starting point from the Battle of Congela, hence the castle in their badge and their shoulder flash was the flag used by the Boers. They were also based at the old Bluff Commando base, not the Recce base at the end of the Bluff.

Regiment East Rand or Oosrand is alive and well here in Benoni, you might get info from the Benoni City Times who did something on them last year.

Benoni City Times. Name: Editor Hilary Green. Email Address: [email protected].

http://www.army.mil.za/hq_units/infantr ... tactus.htm

Mac

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My thanks for your response gentlemen.

In regard to badges I have both Owen and just printed :
DINNES Andrew Ross. Border War Badges : A Guide to South African Military and Police Badges 1964-1994. Reach Publishers, Johanesburg, SA, 2011. Hard cover, dust jacket, 302p., photographs of badges, index.

I have been corresponding with Mr Dinnes for nearly three years on the subject.

I have sent a email off to the editor of The Benoni City Times, and hopefully something of use may come.

Previously, I have written off to all current SANDF Reserve regiments, and the response has been pretty pathetic, not that they don't answer, its just that they have no idea. I have requested assistance from the last two Australian Defence Advisers, and what the SANDF gave them is ever equally pathetic or is just totally incorrect.

What I am after is such as dates of formation, disbanding, any operational history, to what corps they belong infantry or armour (in a couple of them I just cannot find out what they actually where), where their HQ, and any pieces of trivia and such like.

I have had to spend a huge amount of time trying to find the correct information, as so much that is available is totally contradictory, if not absolute falsehoods. What passes for history being written in South Africa in recent years, wanders off into the realms of fantasy so we find a recent book relating to 1819 describing a Black army being destroyed by the British with machine guns, rifles and shrapnel firing artillery (the first recorded use of shrapnel being in 1851). Or British armoured cars and aircraft stopped the 1914 Rebellion, whilst the "brilliant" victory of 1988 by the Cubans and Angolans forced the South African Army out of Nambia. And many variations on similar themes from 1657 to 1994. Added to which the changes in languages, for example to get the information on the various campaigns, civil wars of the Zulu nation, I purchased in total four Zulu-English dictionaries, all are significantly different!

I did stuff up in the use of the title "Defunct regiments) in this message, as of course some of the regiments shown are still extant - within its pages the book contains at various periods of time then regimental and corps ORBATS.
Once more my thanks,
Yours,
G/.
G.A.MACKINLAY New South Wales Australia