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| Imperial Light Horse Light Horse Regiment Johannesburg Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|
 SANDF Light Horse Regiment emblem | |
| Active | 21 September 1899 – present |
| Country |  South Africa |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch | |
| Type | Armoured Car Regiment |
| Part of | South African Armoured Formation Army Conventional Reserve |
| Garrison/HQ | Mount Collins inSandton,Johannesburg |
| Mottos | Patria et Libertas (Country and Liberty)[1] |
| Equipment | Eland APC, Rooikat |
| Insignia | |
| Abbreviation | JLHR |
| Beret Colour | Black |
| Armour Squadron emblems |  |
| Armour beret bar circa 1992 |  |
TheJohannesburg Light Horse Regiment (JLHR, formerly theLight Horse Regiment,LHR), is a reservearmoured carreconnaissance unit of theSouth African Army.
TheImperial Light Horse was raised by the British in Johannesburg on 21 September 1899 for service in theSecond Boer War. Its initial strength was 444 officers and men. It was informally known as the "Reformers Regiment" as many of its officers served on theReform Committee, or more commonly theUitlander Regiment by theTransvaal Government and the Boer Commandos.[1][2]
The Light Horse was engaged through much of the war and fought its firstbattle at Elandslaagte 21 October 1899, where its first colonel,John James Scott-Chisholme was killed leading from the front.[1][3][4] The Regiment was present at theSiege of Ladysmith (battle of Wagon Hill),Colenso, theBattle of Spion Kop (where they captured Commandant Hendrik Frederik Prinsloo, the commander of theCarolina Boer Commando[5]), and theRelief of Ladysmith.[1][3][6][7][8]
After the successful raising of the siege of Ladysmith the Light horse join theMafeking Relief Column and were the first to enter the town on the night of 16/17 May 1900.[9]
In late 1900 a secondbattalion – the2nd Imperial Light Horse was raised and embodied. Both battalions then went on to fight in theTransvaal and theOrange Free State Republic until the end of the war. In total the members of the Regiment won fourVictoria Crosses during the war:[1]
In December 1902, the ILH was raised out of the Boer War unit of the same name.[10]: 60 Its first commanding officer was Lieutenant-Colonel J. Donaldson with adjutant Captain W. Jardine.[10]: 61 The regiment was reorganised into two wings and in 1904 its left wing was re-designated theWestern Rifles at Krugersdorp, both as voluntary units in theTransvaal Volunteers.[1][11] In January 1905, thePrince of Wales became its first Colonel-in-Chief.[10]: 61 Lieutenant-Colonel W.T.F. Davies became its second commander in January 1906.[10]: 61
With the new amalgamation of the British colonies into theUnion of South Africa in 1910 the separate colonial forces were combined into new organisations. The Regiment was re-designated as the5th Mounted Rifles (Imperial Light Horse) on 1 July 1913 and transferred to theActive Citizen Force (the reserves) of theUnion Defence Force.[1]
The Regiment took part in operations duringWorld War I first in theSouth-West Africa Campaign in what is today Namibia[13] and afterwards in Egypt, Palestine and France.[1]
During theInterbellum the regiment was placed on the reserve but was briefly mobilised in 1922 to support the police during theSecond Rand Revolt and fought in theBattle of Ellis Park.[1]
At the start ofWorld War II the regiment was brought up to strength and a second battalion reconstituted as infantry battalions. However the two battalions were soon separated and fought different wars.[1]
The second battalion was soon re-designated as the 13th Armoured Car Company in theSouth African Tank Corps. The 13th was amalgamated withRoyal Natal Carbineers to create the 6th Armoured Car Regiment and later that unit combined with the 4th Armoured Car Regiment to form the 4th/6th Armoured Car Regiment.[1]
The 1st Battalion joined the 3rd Brigade of theSouth African 1st Infantry Division and fought in theNorth African campaign and fought in thefirst andsecond battles of El Alamein.[1]
Returning to South Africa the 1st Battalion along with the 2nd were reorganised and amalgamated with theKimberley Regiment to form theImperial Light Horse/Kimberley Regiment. In September 1943 the regiment sailed for North Africa and joined theSouth African 6th Armoured Division in Egypt as a motorised battalion[1] under command of Colonel R. Reeves-Moore,DSO MC.[14] On 21 April 1944 the Regiment disembarked inTaranto as part of the 6th Armoured Division to join theBritish 8th Army in theItalian campaign.[15] The Regiment was assigned to the South African 12th Motorised Brigade which was detached from the 6th Armoured Division (which initially formed part of the reserves) and move up to Isernia and relieve the 11th Canadian Infantry Brigade in fighting in the mountains aboveMonte Cassino. They held these positions until after the fall ofMonte Cassino and the breakout from theAnzio beachhead, when they withdrew and were reunited with the 6th Armoured Division.[1][16] The regiment then advanced with the 6th Division as part of theI Canadian Corps until they were north of Rome. The regiment enteredFlorence on 4 August 1944, then as part of the 11th South African Armoured Brigade.[1]
After a short period of rest and refitting, on 22 August 1944, the South African 6th Armoured Division was then placed under the command of theUnited States 5th Army. The army took part in the attack on theGothic Line in which during heavy fighting around Monte Porro del Bagno almost a quarter of the Regiment were either killed or wounded before the breakthrough was achieved. The Regiment remained in the line and after breaching German defences atBologna, the regiment fought its last large engagement atFinale south ofVenice, after which the regimental band led the Allied victory parade at Monza on 14 May 1945.[1][15] The regiment remained in northern Italy for about three months before returning to South Africa in August 1945 where they were demobilised shortly after arriving back home.[1][17]
The regiment reformed in 1949 as an armoured regiment equipped withSherman tanks in the Citizen Force.[1] In 1960 when South Africa left theCommonwealth and the Union became theRepublic of South Africa the Regiment was symbolically retitled theLight Horse Regiment abandoning the inclusion of Imperial in its name.[1]
The Regiment, now equipped witharmoured cars, prospered during the next 15 years reaching a strength of 2,000 by 1975 when it was split into two:
Both regiments saw action in theSouth African Border War (1966–1989) in Northern South-West Africa (now Namibia) andAngola, and were also involved in security operations policing the South Africa'stownships in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[1]
After the country's first multiracial elections in 1994, following the Defence Review by the newly formedSouth African National Defence Force, in March 1997 the two battalions were amalgamated intoLight Horse Regiment and designated an armoured reconnaissance regiment.[1]
In August 2019, 52 Reserve Force units had their names changed to reflect the diverse military history of South Africa.[18] The Light Horse Regiment became theJohannesburg Light Horse Regiment, and have 3 years to design and implement new regimental insignia.[19]
During the regiment's sixtieth anniversary celebrations in 1959, theFreedom of the Cities of Johannesburg,Mafeking andLadysmith were awarded to it.[20]
The unit exercised its freedom of entry into Johannesburg on 9 November 2013 as part of the centenary celebrations of the City of Johannesburg with fixed bayonets, colours flying and drums beating.
The Regimental device for both headdress and collar dogs are a set of crossed flags mounted on lances. The flags are those of the RSA and the Regiment.
| From | Honorary Colonel | To |
| From | Officers Commanding | To |
| 1961 | Cmdt AJW Drysdale | c. 1965 |
| 1966 | Cmdt AR Nel | c. 1970 |
| 1971 | Cmdt RV Gibson | c. 1974 |
| 1974 | Cmdt RL Jackson | c. 1978 |
| 1978 | Cmdt M Finlay | c. 1982 |
| 1982 | Cmdt AD Thompson | c. 1983 |
| 1983 | Cmdt DM Bessenger | c. 1983 |
| 1983 | Cmdt JP Schuin | c. 1985 |
| 1985 | Cmdt IW Pearce | c. 1990 |
| 1990 | Cmdt GA Nel | c. 1993 |
| 1993 | Cmdt DJF Jacobs | c. 1993 |
| 1993 | Cmdt JF Els | c. 1993 |
| 1993 | Lt Col WJ Alberts | c. 2000 |
| 2000 | Lt Col HJ Marks | c. 2003 |
| 2003 | Lt Col J Martins | c. 2007 |
| 2007 | Lt Col HE Jansen | c. 2016 |
| 2017 | Lt Col ID Nkoana | 23 November 2025 |
| From | Regimental Sergeants Major | To |
| c. 1945 | WO1 WFE Dean | c. 1948 |
| c. 1948 | WO1 S de Lange | c. 1953 |
| c. 1953 | WO1 CJ Wessels | c. 1959 |
| c. 1959 | WO1 WJC Surmon | c. 1965 |
| c. 1965 | WO1 PJ Oosthuizen | c. 1975 |
| c. 1975 | WO1 R Morton | c. 1976 |
United Kingdom –The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish)(Formal)In total 31battle honours have been awarded to 1 LHR and 2 LHR, 23 of which are currently displayed on the Regimental Colour:
The Battle HonoursElandslaagte andRelief of Mafeking, which the regiment had assumed, were disallowed when pre-Unionbattle honours were reviewed by the SA Defence Force in the 1960s.
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There is also another obelisk monument to the Imperial Light Horse at the Intombi Cemetery in Laydsmith (28°35′44″S29°49′20″E / 28.59559°S 29.82221°E /-28.59559; 29.82221). It states "This monument is erected by their comrades in memory of NCOs and Troopers of the Imperial Light Horse who are buried in this Cemetery" and lists fourteen names. It too bears the same epitaph, written byEdmund Garrett who was inspired by the famousepitaph of Simonides at Thermopylae.[22][23]Tell England, ye who pass this Monument,
We, who died serving her, rest here content.[21]
