Pretoria Regiment
Pretoria Armour Regiment
SANDF Pretoria Regiment emblem
Active1 July 1913 – present
Country South Africa
Allegiance Republic of South Africa
 Republic of South Africa
Branch South African Army
 South African Army
TypeArmoured Regiment
Part ofSouth African Armoured Formation
Army Conventional Reserve
Garrison/HQMagazine Hill, Patriot Street, Salvo Kop, Pretoria
Motto(s)Nulli Secundus ("Second to None")
Equipment
Commanders
Commanding OfficerLt Col MJB Chabalala (2017 – Current)
Insignia
Beret ColourBlack
Armour Squadron emblemsSANDF Armour squadron emblems
Armour beret bar circa 1992SANDF Armour beret bar
AbbreviationPAR

The Pretoria Armour Regiment (formerly the Pretoria Regiment) is a reserve armoured regiment of the South African Army.

History

Origin

The regiment was formed in Pretoria on 1 July 1913 as the 12th Infantry (Pretoria Regiment) – a unit of the Active Citizen Force – by the amalgamation of several units: the Pretoria Company of the Transvaal Scottish, the Central South African Railway Volunteers, the Northern Mounted Rifles and the Pretoria detachment of the Transvaal Cycle and Motor Corps.[1]

World War One

The Regiment landed from the sea and served in German South West Africa at Aus and Tschaukaib in the south.[1] They were part of the advance on Tsumeb in July 1915.

Rand Revolt

The regiment prevented a force of armed strikers from damaging the Pretoria-Germiston Railway line in May 1922.

Renamed

In 1928, it was renamed the Pretoria Regiment.[2]

The Royal Colonel

On 24 October 1930 it was once again renamed, to the Pretoria Regiment (Princess Alice's Own) after Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone.[1] The Regiment became fully bilingual with the addition of a 2nd Battalion staffed predominantly by Afrikaners.[2]

World War Two

During World War II, the Regiment was converted to an armoured formation attached to the 11th South African Armoured Brigade, South African 6th Armoured Division. The unit was demobilised after the war, and in 1946 it was re-organised as a part-time force, consisting of two separate regiment-sized formations. These were re-integrated in 1954.[2]

Tanks of the Pretoria Regiment, 1944

Renamed again

After the establishment of the Republic of South Africa on 31 May 1961, the unit was again renamed Pretoria Regiment by the South African Defence Force.[1] In the 1960s, recruits were trained on Centurion tanks and the new Eland armoured cars.[2] The regiment assisted in the development of the Olifant MBT.

Border War

The regiment was placed under the command of the 8th Armoured Division (South Africa) in this period.

The regiment saw service in the Border War in operations such as Operation Prone.

One squadron of the regiments tanks was attached to 61 Mechanised Battalion Group for operations near Cuito Cuanavale sustaining no personnel or vehicle casualties.[3]

SADF era Regiment Pretoria commemorative letter

SANDF era

Name Change

In August 2019, 52 Reserve Force units had their names changed to reflect the diverse military history of South Africa.[4] The Pretoria Regiment became the Pretoria Armour Regiment, and have 3 years to design and implement new regimental insignia.[5] Unlike others it was only a confirmation of the regiment's armoured role.

Equipment

Name Type Country of Origin In Service Notes
Ford CMP[2] Utility truck  Canada Retired
Bedford MK[2] Utility truck  United Kingdom Retired
SAMIL Utility truck  South Africa Yes SAMIL 20, 50, and 100 variants.[2]
Morris C8[6] Artillery tractor  United Kingdom Ceremonial
Eland[2] Armoured Car  South Africa Retired
Ferret Scout Car  United Kingdom Ceremonial Mk 2.[6]
Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car  South Africa Retired Mk IV.[2]
Ratel[6] Infantry Fighting Vehicle  South Africa Yes
Sherman Firefly[2] Medium Tank  United Kingdom Retired
Centurion[2] Main Battle Tank  United Kingdom Retired
Skokiaan[2] Main Battle Tank  United Kingdom/ South Africa Retired
Semel[2] Main Battle Tank  United Kingdom/ South Africa Retired
Olifant[2] Main Battle Tank  United Kingdom/ South Africa Yes Mk 1A.
SANDF Oliphant mark 2 main battle tank at AAD 2016

Insignia and honours

Regimental Symbols

  • Badges: An impala on a mountain representing the Magaliesberg range to north of Pretoria, with in the foreground some succulents. Beneath the impala and the mountain is a ribbon bearing the regiment's motto, Nulli Secundus ("Second to None"). This motto was granted to the regiment by the then Prime Minister Louis Botha after the 1914 – 1915 campaign.[2]

Previous dress insignia

UDF and SADF eras Pretoria Regiment insignia

An unusual backing appeared on the regiment's cap badge around 1945 when it was associated with a British unit, the 24th Guards Brigade, when they were both part of the 6th South African Armoured Division. The two units had fought side by side on the Italian Front and ended their association by celebrating their co-operation; the 24th Guards Brigade gave their arm badge as a present to the unit. The two wings are therefore those depicted on the Guards Brigade arm patch.

Divisional Affiliation

SADF 81 Armoured Brigade Regiment Pretoria Flash

Alliances

Battle honours

Conflict Honour Year(s)
World War I South-West Africa Campaign 1914–1915
World War II Battle of Madagascar 1942
World War II Bagnoregio 1944
World War II Sarteano (Trasimene Line) 1944
World War II La Foce 1944
World War II Florence 1944
World War II Gothic Line 1944
World War II Caterelto Ridge 1944
World War II Po Valley (Spring offensive) 1945
South African Border War Battle of Cuito Cuanavale 1988
Battle Honours
Awarded to Pretoria Regiment
South West Africa 1914–1915
Madagascar 1942
Italy 1944-45
Bagno Regio
Sarteano
La Foce
Florence
Gothic Line
Catarelto Ridge
Po Valley
Cuito Cuanaval

Official mascot

Class 21 no. 2551

During the Second World War, the sole Class 21 2-10-4 Texas type locomotive of the South African Railways (SAR) was often used to haul long and heavy military trains, troop trains and sometimes Italian prisoners-of-war to the military unit and prisoner-of-war camp at Sonderwater near Cullinan. In the process it was made the official mascot of the military unit in Pretoria, the Pretoria Regiment (Princess Alice's Own). The Class 21 was the only SAR locomotive to be honoured in this way by the armed forces.[7][8]

Leadership

Leadership
From Honorary Colonel To
nd Unknown Unknown
From Officer Commanding To
2017 Lt Col MJB Chabalala 27 December 2023
From Regimental Sergeants Major To
nd Unknown 27 December 2023

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 D. J. Potgieter, M. A. (1973). Standard Encyclopedia of Southern Africa. Internet Archive. p. 114.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Pretoria Regiment". South African Armour Association. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Fourie, Brig Gen (ret) D. The Pretoria Regiment.
  4. ↑ "New Reserve Force unit names". defenceWeb. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "Renaming process has resulted in an Army structure that truly represents SA". IOL. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Pretoria Regiment turns 100
  7. ↑ Pivnic, Les; Lewis, Charlie; Martin, Martin; Deacon, Andrew (15 April 2022). "System 8, Part 2: Pretoria: including local services, workshops and running sheds, Part 2. Captions 2, 3". Soul of a Railway. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  8. ↑ Samuels, J.E. Lieutenant-Colonel (SANDF, Ret) (December 2005). "The Rayton-Cullinan Railway Line and World War 2". Bulletin of the Railway History Group (82).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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