Kaffrarian Rifles
Encyclopedia
The Kaffrarian Rifles is an infantry
regiment
of the South African Army
. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British
Territorial Army or United States
Army National Guard
unit. It is headquartered in the city of East London.
The unit was re-formed in July 1883 and was named after the region of Kaffraria
, the 19th-century name for the region around East London. There had previously been many other units from this region, from which the Regiment can also claim descent: Kaffrarian Volunteer Corps, Kaffrarian Mounted Rifles (Kaffrarian Rangers), Buffalo Volunteer Rifles Corps, Buffalo Volunteer Engineers, Kaffrarian Volunteer Artillery Corps, Berlin Mounted Volunteers, Cape Mounted Yeomanry
(1st Regiment), Frontier Mounted Riflemen (Brabant's Horse), East London Volunteers (Von Linsignen's Buffalo Corps and later Walkers Horse).
On 1 December 1900 George Herbert Farrar
was appointed as a Major in the Kaffrarian Rifles.
In 1913 it was embodied in the Citizen Force as the 5th Infantry (Kaffrarian Rifles), but regained its old name in 1932. The unit was temporarily amalgamated with the First City Regiment
, as the First City/The Kaffrarian Rifles from 1954 to 1956. In order to keep pace with the changing political climate in South Africa, the regiment was renamed the Buffalo Volunteer Rifles in 1999.
This Regiment and its predecessors took part in all of South Africa's armed conflicts, including the Bechuanaland Campaign (1897), the Second Boer War
, World War I
(when it fought in the then German South-West Africa
and most of its members went on to serve in East Africa
and Europe
), World War II
(when it fought in the Western Desert during 1941 - 1943) as well as in South Africa's "Border War" during 1975 to 1986 (when it fought in South-West Africa, Angola
and Zambia
).
The regiment claims four more battle honours, which have not been acknowledged:
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the South African Army
South African Army
The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...
. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Territorial Army or United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Army National Guard
Army National Guard
Established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U.S. Code, the Army National Guard is part of the National Guard and is divided up into subordinate units stationed in each of the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia operating under their respective governors...
unit. It is headquartered in the city of East London.
History
This unit was formed in East London in 1876, as the Buffalo Corps of Rifle Volunteers, for service in the 9th Frontier War. It disbanded in 1879. (East London is situated on the Buffalo River, hence the name).The unit was re-formed in July 1883 and was named after the region of Kaffraria
Kaffraria
Kaffraria was the descriptive name given to the southeast part of what is today the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Kaffraria, i.e. the land of the Kaffirs, is no longer an official designation...
, the 19th-century name for the region around East London. There had previously been many other units from this region, from which the Regiment can also claim descent: Kaffrarian Volunteer Corps, Kaffrarian Mounted Rifles (Kaffrarian Rangers), Buffalo Volunteer Rifles Corps, Buffalo Volunteer Engineers, Kaffrarian Volunteer Artillery Corps, Berlin Mounted Volunteers, Cape Mounted Yeomanry
Cape Mounted Yeomanry
The Cape Mounted Yeomanry was a military force created on a militia basis by Act 5 of 1878 in the Cape Colony, with a strength of 3,000 in three regiments, to act in conjunction with the Cape Mounted Riflemen on the eastern frontier...
(1st Regiment), Frontier Mounted Riflemen (Brabant's Horse), East London Volunteers (Von Linsignen's Buffalo Corps and later Walkers Horse).
On 1 December 1900 George Herbert Farrar
George Herbert Farrar
Sir George Herbert Farrar, 1st Baronet, DSO Sir George Herbert Farrar, 1st Baronet, DSO Sir George Herbert Farrar, 1st Baronet, DSO (17 June 1859 Chatteris, Cambridgeshire – 20 May 1915 Kuibis, South West Africa, was a South African mining magnate, politician and soldier - Colonel and assistant...
was appointed as a Major in the Kaffrarian Rifles.
In 1913 it was embodied in the Citizen Force as the 5th Infantry (Kaffrarian Rifles), but regained its old name in 1932. The unit was temporarily amalgamated with the First City Regiment
South African First City Regiment
First City is an infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army or United States Army National Guard unit.-History:...
, as the First City/The Kaffrarian Rifles from 1954 to 1956. In order to keep pace with the changing political climate in South Africa, the regiment was renamed the Buffalo Volunteer Rifles in 1999.
This Regiment and its predecessors took part in all of South Africa's armed conflicts, including the Bechuanaland Campaign (1897), the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(when it fought in the then German South-West Africa
German South-West Africa
German South West Africa was a colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915, when it was taken over by South Africa and administered as South West Africa, finally becoming Namibia in 1990...
and most of its members went on to serve in East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
), World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(when it fought in the Western Desert during 1941 - 1943) as well as in South Africa's "Border War" during 1975 to 1986 (when it fought in South-West Africa, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
).
Regimental symbols
- Current regimental colour (since 2001): a dark green background with embroidered in the centre a wreath of ten proteaProteaProtea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes.-Etymology:...
s and two king proteaKing proteaThe King Protea is a flowering plant. It is a distinctive Protea, having the largest flower head in the genus. The species is also known as Giant Protea, Honeypot or King Sugar Bush...
s. Beneath the wreath and above the ribbon is an aloeAloeAloe , also Aloë, is a genus containing about 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera, or "true aloe"....
with five blooms. This symbolises the BVR link with the Border region, the fact that some of its members are Xhosas from the greater Eastern CapeEastern CapeThe Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
, and its status of the 5th Infantry Regiment from 1913 to 1933. Within the wreath is the regiment's Maltese crossMaltese crossThe Maltese cross, also known as the Amalfi cross, is identified as the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta and through them came to be identified with the Mediterranean island of Malta and is one of the National symbols of Malta...
(symbolic of the regiment's King's Royal Rifle CorpsKing's Royal Rifle CorpsThe King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
and GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
affiliations, as many of the Regiment's 19th century members were of German extraction) with a buffaloAfrican BuffaloThe African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
head in the centre, surrounded by two concentric circles. Between the circles the regimental motto, Nunc animus (meaning "Now with courage" or "Now without fear") is inscribed. At the top of the regimental crest is a powder hornPowder Horn (ammunition)A powder horn was a device used to carry gunpowder, and was generally created from cow or buffalo horn. They were most commonly used with eighteenth century muskets, but were rendered obsolete by the development of breech loading fire arms, in particular, innovations brought about by Hall, Sharps,...
, symbolizing the link with the British Royal Green JacketsRoyal Green JacketsThe Royal Green Jackets was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division .-History:...
regiment. - East London bestowed the freedom of the cityFreedom of the CityFreedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
on the regiment on 25 May 1957.
Battle honours
- Gaika-Gcaleka 1877
- Bechuanaland 1897
- South Africa 1899 - 1902
- South-West Africa 1914 - 1915
- Western Desert 1941 - 1943
- Bardia (Due to almost the complete regiment being captured at TobrukTobrukTobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
in June 1942, no further World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
battle honours were awarded.) - South-West Africa/ZambiaZambiaZambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
1979 - South-West Africa/AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
1975 - 1976 - South-West Africa/Angola 1976 - 1989
The regiment claims four more battle honours, which have not been acknowledged:
- TranskeiTranskeiThe Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
1879 - Transkei 1880 - 1881
- BasutolandBasutolandBasutoland or officially the Territory of Basutoland, was a British Crown colony established in 1884 after the Cape Colony's inability to control the territory...
1880 - 1881 - WepenerWepenerWepener is a village in the Free State, South Africa, located on the border with Lesotho. The town is named after Louw Wepener, the leader of the Boers in their war with the Basotho chief Moshoeshoe I in 1865. It was founded in 1867 on the banks of Jammersbergspruit, a tributary of the Caledon...
(during the Second Boer War)