General Jan Smuts Regiment

BranchTypeInfantryRoleMechanised infantrySizeOne battalionPart ofSouth African Infantry Formation
Army Conventional ReserveGarrison/HQCape TownMotto(s)Non Sibi Sed Patriae – "Not For Ourselves, But For Our Country"MarchIch hatt' einen KameradenAnniversaries1 April (Regimental Day)CommandersCurrent
commanderLt Col. H.H. GertseHonorary ColonelCapt. G.S. van Niekerk (Col)InsigniaCompany level InsigniaSA Mechanised Infantry beret bar circa 1992

AbbreviationGJSR

The General Jan Smuts Regiment (formerly Regiment Westelike Provinsie) is a reserve mechanised infantry regiment of the South African Army.

History

Origin

Regiment Westelike Provinsie (RWP)^[1] was one of eight Afrikaner-oriented Traditional Citizen Force infantry units raised by the Union Defence Force on 1 April 1934,^[2] as part of a programme to rebuild the UDF after the Great Depression.

Predecessors

While RWP was only raised in 1934, it regards itself as the successor to several small and short-lived units which were formed in the Western Cape country districts in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. They were:

First Volunteer Movement

• Stellenbosch Volunteers – formed 1856, disbanded c. 1865
• Worcester volunteers – formed 1856, disbanded c. 1863
• Paarl Rifle Corps – formed 1856, disbanded 1859
• Malmesbury Volunteer Cavalry – formed 1856, disbanded c. 1866
• Paarl Cavalry – formed 1857, disbanded 1859
• Paarl United Volunteers – formed 1859, disbanded c. 1862
• Robertson and Montague Rifle Corps – formed 1860, disbanded c. 1864

No volunteer units in these districts between 1866 and 1878.

Second Volunteer Movement

• Worcester Volunteer Rifles – formed 1878, disbanded c. 1879
• Worcester Volunteer Rifles – formed 1885, disbanded 1901
• Paarl Volunteer Rifles – formed 1885, disbanded 1897
• Wellington Volunteer Rifles – formed 1885, disbanded 1901
• Victoria College Volunteer Rifles – formed 1888, disbanded 1899
• Robertson Volunteer Rifles – formed 1890, disbanded
• Malmesbury Volunteer Rifles – formed 1892, disbanded 1896.
• Western Rifles – an administrative grouping, which existed from 1893 to 1908, of the Worcester, Paarl, Wellington, Stellenbosch, Robertson, and Malmesbury units
• Western Light Horse – formed at Worcester 1903, disbanded 1908
• Paarl Volunteers – formed 1906, disbanded 1909.

No volunteer units in these districts between 1909 and 1913.

Citizen Force

• Western Province Mounted Rifles – formed at Worcester 1913, disbanded 1929
• 1st Western Province Rifles – formed at Worcester 1913, disbanded 1929
• 2nd Western Province Rifles – formed at Malmesbury 1913, disbanded 1929
• 3rd Western Province Rifles – formed at Stellenbosch 1913, disbanded 1929

No CF units in these districts existed between 1929 and 1934.^[3][4][5]

Garrison

The regiment was based in the country town of Stellenbosch, 45 kilometres (28 mi) outside Cape Town, and recruited its members from the surrounding districts of the western part of the Cape Province. At that time, Citizen Force service was voluntary.

Brandy

The new Regiment lost no time in ensuring that the inner man was cared for and in 1936 the first specially bottled R.W.P brandy was produced.^[6]: 60 The much honoured tradition of toasting the Regiment and dignitaries in pure, undiluted R.W.P brandy is still in use today.

With the Union Defence Force

World War Two

The National Party-voting Western Cape districts generally did not support South Africa's involvement in World War II. In spite of this R.W.P was able to muster enough men who were willing to go on active service. The Regiment mobilised on 1 September 1940^[7] and became No. 12 Armoured Car Company, South African Tank Corps.^[8] After months of training in this new role, No. 12 Armoured Car Company was amalgamated with No. 11 Armoured Car Company (RSWD) Regiment Suid Westelike Distrikte, to form 5th Armoured Fighting Vehicle Regiment, South African Tank Corps.^[9] The Regiment moved to Egypt in September 1941 but was disbanded on 13 October 1941 after arrival. The personnel were used as reinforcements for depleted armoured car regiments already operating in the Western Desert with whom they participated in many of the well known battles in North Africa like Sidi Rezegh, Bir Hakeim, Gazala, and El Alamein.

On the disbandment of the South African Tank Corps early in 1943, former RWP personnel were absorbed into the Royal Natal Carbineers and Imperial Light Horse and soon adapted themselves to tank warfare, serving with distinction in their new units with the 6th South African Armoured Division in Italy.

Post war

The regiment was presented with a Regimental Colour by his Majesty King George VI during the visit of the royal family to South Africa on 31 March 1947. The wartime Prime Minister Gen Jan Smuts accepted the appointment as Colonel-In-Chief of the regiment from 17 September 1948.^[10]

Remustered and renamed

In 1949, RWP itself was converted to Armour, and it was renamed Regiment Onze Jan, after 19th-century Afrikaner political leader Jan Hofmeyr, in 1951. From 1952, Citizen Force recruits were chosen by ballot rather than volunteering.

During the 1950s and 1960s the Regiment was part of the part-time component of Western Province Command.

With the SADF

When the Army was re-organised for internal security duties in 1960, Regiment Onze Jan was converted back to infantry and was renamed Regiment Boland. Regiment Boland later moved to Paarl and, after the introduction of national service conscription (in 1968), it formed a second battalion in Worcester on 1 September 1970.

The two battalions were separated in April 1974. 1 Regiment Boland resumed the original title Regiment Westelike Provinsie and moved to Cape Town, while 2 Regiment Boland remained in Worcester as Regiment Boland. The only remnant of their association is the similar cap-badges of the two regiments.

Operations

RWP served in the Angola campaign in 1976, and carried out several tours of duty in the Border War in South West Africa. It was also deployed on internal security duties in the Townships during the 1985–90 State of Emergency.

With the SANDF

Military service has been voluntary again since 1994.^[6] 71 Motorised Brigade and 9 Division were dissolved in the late nineties and the regiment presently forms part of the South African Army Infantry Formation.

Name change

In August 2019, 52 Reserve Force units had their names changed to reflect the diverse military history of South Africa.^[11] Regiment Westelike Provinsie was renamed General Jan Smuts Regiment, and have 3 years to design and implement new regimental insignia.^[12]

Jan Smuts, the regiment's honorific, was chosen because Smuts was Colonel-in-Chief of the then Regiment Westelike Provinsie from 1948 until his death. Having served in the Boer War and in both World Wars, the latter of as part of what is now today the SANDF, he was promoted Field Marshal in 1941.

Regimental Symbols

Spelling

In 1983, RWP adopted the Dutch spelling of "Provincie" because it regards itself as the successor to several short-lived volunteer units which existed in the Stellenbosch and Paarl and neighbouring districts in the 19th century, when Dutch, rather than Afrikaans, was the prevailing language in those areas. (See below for a list of those units.)

Insignia

• Badge : The Unit's Badge consists of a wreath of leaves of the Silver Leaf tree encompassing a kernel of the same tree with the inscription R.W.P Due to an error in the original artwork, the full stop after the "P" was omitted, hence creating a tradition that remains part of the Regimental history.
• Flash : The beret flash (originally a helmet flash) has horizontal stripes of red over white over black, with a blue diamond on the white stripe: blue and white are the traditional colours of the Western Cape.^{[13][6]: 60}
• Credo : "Loyalty, Commitment, Excellence"
• March : De Trouwe Kameraad, a Dutch translation of the German Der Guten Kamerad.
• Anniversaries : Regimental Day (1 April) Gen. JC Smuts Parade (24 May)^[6]: 61
• Brandy : R.W.P Brandewyn^[6]: 60
• Motto : Non Sibi Sed Patriae – Not for ourselves, but for our country.^[6]: 68

Previous Dress Insignia

Current Dress Insignia

Regimental Freedoms

R.W.P has been granted the Freedom of the following Cities:^[6]: 65

• 23 April 1983: Cape Town
• 3 November 1984: Bellville
• March 1987: Keetmanshoop Honorary Citizenship
• 24 March 1990: Parow
• 24 March 1994: Goodwood
• 2006: Overstrand Municipality Hermanus

These honours mean that the Regiment may march on foot or mechanised with drums beating, colours flying and bayonets fixed through the streets of Cape Town or any of the Overstrand towns, namely Hermanus, Rooi Els, Pringle Bay, Betty's Bay, Kleinmond, Fisherhaven, Hawston, Onrus, Sandbaai, Stanford, Gansbaai, Uilenskraal Mond, Franskraal, Pearly Beach and Baardskeerdersbos.

Leadership

Regiment Westelike Provinsie Leadership

From	Colonel-In-Chief	To
1948	Field Marshal the Right Hon. J.C. Smuts, PC OM CH ED KC FRS	1950
From	Honorary Colonels	To
10 July 1934	Major P. J. Roos (Col)	22 September 1948
26 September 1960	Capt. W. N. Naude (Col)	24 February 1969
30 October 1982	Councillor M. J. van Zyl (Col)	30 November 1997
1 December 1997	Capt. G. S. van Niekerk (Col)	Present
From	Commanding Officers	To
31 May 1934	Lt Col. J. H. Wicht CM	1 October 1939
1 September 1939	Lt Col. G. C. G. Werdmuller	6 September 1939
7 September 1939	Lt Col. C. J. Lemmer	8 December 1939
9 December 1939	Major. M. Versveld	13 January 1940
14 January 1940	Lt Col. C. J. Lemmer	31 August 1940
1 September 1940	Lt Col. H. S. G. Taylor	31 December 1941
1 February 1946	Lt Col. L. Verwoerd	30 June 1947
1 July 1947	Major. G. W. Krige MC	30 September 1947
1 October 1947	Lt Col. L. Verwoerd	21 April 1948
22 April 1948	Major. G. W. Krige MC	11 February 1951
12 February 1951	Cmdt. W. S. Malan	6 January 1956
7 January 1956	Cmdt. F. C. de Goede	6 February 1961
7 February 1961	Cmdt. D. I. Moodie SM JCD	29 February 1968
22 July 1968	Cmdt. J. Kruger	31 July 1971
1 August 1971	Cmdt. E. J. J. Nel	6 June 1972
7 June 1972	Cmdt. A. A. Rossouw JCD	25 March 1976
26 March 1976	Cmdt. A. W. Bester SD SM MMM JCD	01 01 1900[a]
1 January 1982	Cmdt. G. W. Boshoff SD SM MMM JCD	31 March 1987
1 April 1987	Cmdt. D. J. Holtzhausen SM MMM JCD	2 April 1992
3 April 1992	Lt Col. A. A. Duminy MMM JCD	1 April 1999
2 April 1999	Lt Col. D. H. Saayman MMM JCD	1 April 2000
2 April 2000	Lt Col. J. J. Visser MMM JCD	1 April 2005
2 April 2005	Lt Col. S. E. Pierce	18 August 2012
19 August 2012	Lt Col. H. H. Gertse	Present
From	Regimental Sergeants Major	To
1934	WO1 SH Joubert	1938
1939	WO1 SW Burger	1945
1946	WO1 F Ferreira	1952
1952	WO1 R du Toit	1955
1955	WO1 M Louw	1956
1957	WO1 IM van Rooyen	1964
1965	WO1 L Liebenberg	1968
1969	WO1 H du Toit	1972
1972	WO1 PF de Bruyn	1983
1983	WO1 MP Eagar	1985
1985	WO1 WP van Rhyn	1992
1992	WO1 DR Oosthuizen	1992
1992	WO1 ND van der Walt	2001
2001	WO1 JM Cupido	2005
2005	WO1 T Jordaan	2005
2006	WO1 A Wakies	Present

Notes

References

External links

• "The South African Military History Society". SA Military History Journal.