General Jan Smuts Regiment

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.

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:

• 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.

• 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.

• 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]

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.

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.

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.

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]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

• 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