Cornwall Hill is a small suburb south of

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, Gauteng, South Africa, It borders the suburb of

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

. Cornwall Hill takes its name from the

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd (Cornwall Light ...

brigade that was stationed here during the Anglo-Boer war.

Anglo-Boer War

During the

Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, at the time of the British occupation of Pretoria, over a thousand Mounted Infantry, two companies of the 2nd

and 350

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution an ...

guarded the section of railway line at

. Cornwall Hill takes its name from the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry brigade. These Cornish men, camped on the western slopes of the highest hill in the vicinity of the Irene Station, built a rough stone fort to protect the railway line linking Johannesburg to Pretoria, and thus the hill became known as Cornwall Hill.

World War II Monument

A memorial was erected on Cornwall Hill to fallen members of the

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

of the Union Defence Force who died during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It consists of an obelisk with a bronze eagle on top. The memorial contains the following inscriptions: * "Paul Nellmapius of Irene killed while advancing past Rome 15-6-1944" * "Peter Versveld of Constantia killed when H.M.S. Cornwall was sunk off

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

5-4-1942" * "Andrew Duncan of

killed in an air battle over Libya 31-5-1942" * "Ulrich van Rooyen van Worcester gesneuweld in 'n lugaanval teen Ploesti 26-7-1944" * "David Howe-Browne of

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

killed in an air battle while attacking Berlin 2-12-1943"

References

{{City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality Suburbs of Centurion, Gauteng South African military memorials and cemeteries