Cape Town Highlanders Regiment
Encyclopedia
The Cape Town Highlanders Regiment is a mechanised 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.
immigrants to South Africa raised the Cape Town Highlanders in 1885. On 24 April of the same year, their services were accepted - since then, this date has always been celebrated as the regiment's official birthday.
The regiment's first saw active duty during the Bechuanaland Campaign that was fought in the Northern Cape in 1896. At the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War
the regiment was again mobilized for active duty. During the war the regiment or elements thereof took part in several actions, including the relief of Kimberley
.
The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn became colonel-in-chief of the regiment in 1906, and the regiment's name was thus changed to the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn's Own Cape Town Highlanders. When the regiment was embodied in the Citizen Force in 1913, the title was changed to 6th Infantry (Duke of Connaught and Strathearn's Own Cape Town Highlanders).
During World War I
the Cape Town Highlanders first fought against Germany
in German South West Africa, but was subsequently combined with the Transvaal Scottish Regiment
to form the 4th South African Infantry (South African Scottish) Battalion, part of the 1st South African Brigade. (The South African Scottish, like various similar units, was formed by the South African government since a clause in the Defence Act of that time prohibited existing units from serving so far outside the country's borders.) After fighting in the Senussi Campaign in North Africa
the brigade was shipped to France
, where it took part in many battles between 1916 and 1918, including the famous Battle of Delville Wood
.
The title was changed again, in 1932, to Cape Town Highlanders (Duke of Connaught and Strathearn's Own).
At the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the regiment was again mobilized. However, it did not fight in the first campaign of the South African Army in the war, the Abyssinian Campaign of 1940 to 1941. However, in mid-1941, the regiment was briefly sent to Egypt
to escort thousands of Italian
prisoners of war
to internment camps in South Africa; it returned to Egypt in late June of the same year to join the newly arrived South African 1st Infantry Division in the Western Desert.
The Cape Town Highlanders fought in all of the major battles of the Western Desert Campaign, including the Battle of El Alamein
. Indeed, the regiment is one of only three in the world (all of them South African) to have not only the usual two Alamein battle honours - "Alamein Defence" and "El Alamein" - but a third, "Alamein Box", which resulted from a separate action during the initial defence. This action played a significant role in halting Rommel
’s advance on the tired and depleted British Eighth Army.
During the regiment's subsequent deployment to Italy, the regiment was temporarily combined with South Africa’s senior Scottish unit, the First City Regiment
, to form the First City/Cape Town Highlanders. This combined unit fought from Battle of Monte Cassino
to the Alps
, culminating in the heroic capture at bayonet
-point of the strategic peak of Monte Sole as part of the South African 6th Armoured Division.
In 1947, Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) was appointed colonel-in-chief, and from 1948 until South Africa became a republic in 1961, the regiment was the Queen's Own Cape Town Highlanders.
The first significant post-war action of the Cape Town Highlanders took place in January 1976, during Operation Savannah. This was the first large-scale incursion by the South African forces into Angola
during the 23-year-long "Border War
" in South West Africa
(now Namibia
). During the following years the regiment was mobilized several times, the last mobilization occurring in October 1988.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, South Africa's National Party government became
increasingly concerned that the Regiment, whose rank and file were seen to be politically
liberal and opposed to Apartheid, would not be prepared to suppress anti-Apartheid unrest
internally in South Africa amongst local non-white township populations and white protestor groups in the Cape Town area. In order to gain control of the Regiment, the government flooded the unit's ranks with Afrikaners and other National Party supporters from outside of the main recruitment pool area (Cape Peninsula), generally with the rank of NCO or above. This ethnic and political re-engineering of the unit totally altered the tone and culture of the Regiment which had formerly been based on English-speaking South Africans of Scottish or UK descent.
The regiment was also mobilized in April 1994 as part of the efforts by the South African military to ensure a peaceful first fully democratic election.
As a result of the subsequent abolition of conscription and the transformation of the South African Army, the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment returned to its original form of a volunteer regiment.
In 2000 a contingent of the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment attended the Queen Mother's 100th birthday and paraded the regiment's Colour on Horse Guards Parade
. The Drums and Pipes participated in a special parade centenary for the Queen Mother in Edinburgh, and carried on to participate in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. With the death of the Queen Mother in 2002, the regiment sent a contingent to participate in her funeral procession. The Drums and Pipes have since performed regularly at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo (2002, 2004, 2006 and 2009). In 2006, they were invited, together with the Queensland Police Pipe Band and 4 bands from the new Royal Regiment of Scotland to perform at Balmoral Castle for the Royal Family. The Band has also participated in the Basel Tattoo, Jinhae (South Korea) and at the Cape Town Tattoo, held in the Castle of Good Hope.
The Regiment
is currently a mechanised infantry regiment in the SANDF and has sent members as part of the Peace keeping contingent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC) and Burundi.
On 8 June 1916 the Adjutant General's office at Defence Head-Quarters issued a note stating:
....the force is raised locally for the purpose of assisting the Imperial Authorities...and it amounts to the Union Government having allowed the Imperial Authorities to recruit men in South Africa for this force.....as it is certainly not raised under the Defence Act of the Union of South Africa, and this being the case, the Union Government can grant no commissions. Any such commissions will be of temporary nature and will lapse at the conclusion of hostilities.
As such, the below colours were awarded to the Unit, but because of the unit being an "Imperial Unit" at the stage of award, the right to bear the colours lapsed at the end of hostilities.
The fifteen "missing" battle honours awarded for service in France and Flanders to the 4th South African Infantry (South African Scottish) battalion include some of the most famous in South Africa’s military history:
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.
History
Descendants of ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
immigrants to South Africa raised the Cape Town Highlanders in 1885. On 24 April of the same year, their services were accepted - since then, this date has always been celebrated as the regiment's official birthday.
The regiment's first saw active duty during the Bechuanaland Campaign that was fought in the Northern Cape in 1896. At the outbreak of the Second Anglo-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...
the regiment was again mobilized for active duty. During the war the regiment or elements thereof took part in several actions, including the relief of Kimberley
Siege of Kimberley
The Siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony , when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try to capture the British enclave when war broke out between the British and the two...
.
The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn became colonel-in-chief of the regiment in 1906, and the regiment's name was thus changed to the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn's Own Cape Town Highlanders. When the regiment was embodied in the Citizen Force in 1913, the title was changed to 6th Infantry (Duke of Connaught and Strathearn's Own Cape Town Highlanders).
During 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...
the Cape Town Highlanders first fought against Germany
Germany
Germany , 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...
in German South West Africa, but was subsequently combined with the Transvaal Scottish Regiment
Transvaal Scottish Regiment
The Transvaal Scottish Regiment 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:...
to form the 4th South African Infantry (South African Scottish) Battalion, part of the 1st South African Brigade. (The South African Scottish, like various similar units, was formed by the South African government since a clause in the Defence Act of that time prohibited existing units from serving so far outside the country's borders.) After fighting in the Senussi Campaign in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
the brigade was shipped to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where it took part in many battles between 1916 and 1918, including the famous Battle of Delville Wood
Delville Wood
The Battle of Delville Wood was one of the early engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War. It took place between 14 July and 3 September, between the armies of the German Empire and allied British and South African forces...
.
The title was changed again, in 1932, to Cape Town Highlanders (Duke of Connaught and Strathearn's Own).
At the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the regiment was again mobilized. However, it did not fight in the first campaign of the South African Army in the war, the Abyssinian Campaign of 1940 to 1941. However, in mid-1941, the regiment was briefly sent to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to escort thousands of Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
to internment camps in South Africa; it returned to Egypt in late June of the same year to join the newly arrived South African 1st Infantry Division in the Western Desert.
The Cape Town Highlanders fought in all of the major battles of the Western Desert Campaign, including the Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
. Indeed, the regiment is one of only three in the world (all of them South African) to have not only the usual two Alamein battle honours - "Alamein Defence" and "El Alamein" - but a third, "Alamein Box", which resulted from a separate action during the initial defence. This action played a significant role in halting Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
’s advance on the tired and depleted British Eighth Army.
During the regiment's subsequent deployment to Italy, the regiment was temporarily combined with South Africa’s senior Scottish unit, 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:...
, to form the First City/Cape Town Highlanders. This combined unit fought from Battle of Monte Cassino
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
to the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, culminating in the heroic capture at bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
-point of the strategic peak of Monte Sole as part of the South African 6th Armoured Division.
In 1947, Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) was appointed colonel-in-chief, and from 1948 until South Africa became a republic in 1961, the regiment was the Queen's Own Cape Town Highlanders.
The first significant post-war action of the Cape Town Highlanders took place in January 1976, during Operation Savannah. This was the first large-scale incursion by the South African forces into 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...
during the 23-year-long "Border War
South African Border War
The South African Border War, commonly referred to as the Angolan Bush War in South Africa, was a conflict that took place from 1966 to 1989 in South-West Africa and Angola between South Africa and its allied forces on the one side and the Angolan government, South-West Africa People's...
" in South West Africa
South West Africa
South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....
(now Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
). During the following years the regiment was mobilized several times, the last mobilization occurring in October 1988.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, South Africa's National Party government became
increasingly concerned that the Regiment, whose rank and file were seen to be politically
liberal and opposed to Apartheid, would not be prepared to suppress anti-Apartheid unrest
internally in South Africa amongst local non-white township populations and white protestor groups in the Cape Town area. In order to gain control of the Regiment, the government flooded the unit's ranks with Afrikaners and other National Party supporters from outside of the main recruitment pool area (Cape Peninsula), generally with the rank of NCO or above. This ethnic and political re-engineering of the unit totally altered the tone and culture of the Regiment which had formerly been based on English-speaking South Africans of Scottish or UK descent.
The regiment was also mobilized in April 1994 as part of the efforts by the South African military to ensure a peaceful first fully democratic election.
As a result of the subsequent abolition of conscription and the transformation of the South African Army, the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment returned to its original form of a volunteer regiment.
In 2000 a contingent of the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment attended the Queen Mother's 100th birthday and paraded the regiment's Colour on Horse Guards Parade
Horse Guards Parade
Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London, at grid reference . It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and Beating Retreat.-History:...
. The Drums and Pipes participated in a special parade centenary for the Queen Mother in Edinburgh, and carried on to participate in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. With the death of the Queen Mother in 2002, the regiment sent a contingent to participate in her funeral procession. The Drums and Pipes have since performed regularly at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo (2002, 2004, 2006 and 2009). In 2006, they were invited, together with the Queensland Police Pipe Band and 4 bands from the new Royal Regiment of Scotland to perform at Balmoral Castle for the Royal Family. The Band has also participated in the Basel Tattoo, Jinhae (South Korea) and at the Cape Town Tattoo, held in the Castle of Good Hope.
The 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...
is currently a mechanised infantry regiment in the SANDF and has sent members as part of the Peace keeping contingent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
(DRC) and Burundi.
Regimental Symbols
- Regimental tartanTartanTartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
: The Gordon regimental tartan from the clanScottish clanScottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...
Gordon; it is the only regiment in the world other than The Gordon Highlanders to wear this tartan. - Regimental mottos: The regiment has two mottos. The first, "Nemo Me Impune Lacessit", is in LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and means "No Man Challenges me with Impunity"; it is used by several Scottish regiments. The second, "Bydand", is in DoricDoric dialect (Scotland)Doric, the popular name for Mid Northern Scots or Northeast Scots, refers to the dialects of Scots spoken in the northeast of Scotland.-Nomenclature:...
and means "Steadfast". This motto was unique to The Gordon Highlanders and the Cape Town Highlanders. However, with the amalgamation of The Gordon Highlanders with other Scottish units, this motto has fallen into disuse by them; the Cape Town Highlanders still uses it on a shield that also bears a stag's head which is worn on the ceremonial sporranSporranThe Sporran is a traditional part of male Scottish Highland dress. It is a pouch that performs the same function as pockets on the pocketless Scottish kilt....
by those with the rank of corporal and below. - Regimental quick march: The regimental quick march is "Cock o' the NorthCock o' the North (music)Cock o'the North is a 6/8 march bagpipe tune, for the Great Highland Bagpipe. It is named after Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, who in 1794 raised the Gordon Highlanders, the 92nd Regiment. It is a development of the 17th century English tune Sir Roger de Coverley, found in Playford's...
"; it was also the march of The Gordon Highlanders and commemorates the Marquess of Huntly, son of the Duke of Gordon, whose nickname was the "Cock o' The North".
Awarded
The Cape Town Highlanders Regiment has the following battle honours on its regimental colours:- Bechuanaland 1896-97
- South Africa 1899-1902
- South West Africa 1915
- Gazala
- Alam Hamza
- Best Post
- Alamein Box
- Alamein Defence
- Alam el Halfa
- Battle of El AlameinSecond Battle of El AlameinThe Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
- Western Desert 1941-43
- Cassino II
- Paliano
- Chiusi
- Florence
- Gothic Line
- The Greve
- Monte Stanco
- Monte Pezza
- Sole/Caprara
- Po Valley
- Italy 1944-45
The "Lost" Colours
The South African Union Defence Act of 1914 prohibited the deployment of South African troops beyond the borders of the South Africa and its immediate neighbouring territories. In order to send troops to Europe to support the Commonwealth in World War I, Generals Botha and Smuts created the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force. However, because of the limitations of the Defence Act, they issued a General Order (Order 672 of 1915) which stated that The South African Overseas Expeditionary Force will be Imperial and have the status of regular British Troops. "Status" was meant to imply administrative purposes, as Britain was paying for the maintenance of the force in the field for the sake of local political sensitivities.On 8 June 1916 the Adjutant General's office at Defence Head-Quarters issued a note stating:
....the force is raised locally for the purpose of assisting the Imperial Authorities...and it amounts to the Union Government having allowed the Imperial Authorities to recruit men in South Africa for this force.....as it is certainly not raised under the Defence Act of the Union of South Africa, and this being the case, the Union Government can grant no commissions. Any such commissions will be of temporary nature and will lapse at the conclusion of hostilities.
As such, the below colours were awarded to the Unit, but because of the unit being an "Imperial Unit" at the stage of award, the right to bear the colours lapsed at the end of hostilities.
The fifteen "missing" battle honours awarded for service in France and Flanders to the 4th South African Infantry (South African Scottish) battalion include some of the most famous in South Africa’s military history:
- Egypt 1916
- Somme 1916
- Delville Wood
- Arras 19l7
- Ypres 1917
- Menin Road
- Messines 1918
- Hindenburg Line
- Cambrai 1918
- Pursuit to Mons
- France and Flanders 1918
- Le Transloy
- Scarpe 1917
- Kemmel
- Lys