The South African Infantry School is within the Army Base in

Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865–1 ...

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

. The

Infantry School A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces. Schools of infantry include: Australia *Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW. France ...

, now at Oudtshoorn, was established in November 1953, after a history dating back to the South African Military School in Bloemfontein, established in 1912. It is the Infantry’s “centre of excellence” and offers a number of infantry-specific courses to regulars and Reservists.

History

Early history

On the 1 July 1912, the ''South African Military School'' was established in the old President's residence in Bloemfontein. The school's name was changed to ''The School of Musketry'' on the 1 November 1912 and moved to Tempe in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

. On the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914, the school at Tempe was closed and all the members of the staff were transferred to

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...

. These staff members were responsible for the next number of years for the training of volunteers for overseas duty. During 1920, the ''South African Military School'' was established at what was then called

Roberts Heights Thaba Tshwane is a military base (or military area) in Pretoria, South Africa. Units and facilities The oldest building in the complex is the South African Garrison Institute, what is now known as the Army College. Lord Kitchener laid the corn ...

(This has subsequently changed names twice, first to

Voortrekkerhoogte Thaba Tshwane is a military base (or military area) in Pretoria, South Africa. Units and facilities The oldest building in the complex is the South African Garrison Institute, what is now known as the Army College. Lord Kitchener laid the corn ...

and now to

Thaba Tshwane Thaba Tshwane is a military base (or military area) in Pretoria, South Africa. Units and facilities The oldest building in the complex is the South African Garrison Institute, what is now known as the Army College. Lord Kitchener laid the corn ...

). The college was granted the status of ''School'' in 1924 as a result of the training of the first group of permanent force Officer Candidates. The school was enlarged just before the outbreak of 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 ...

in 1935 with the creation of the following branches: #G Branch #Weapon Training Branch #Signals Branch #Training Depot #National Reserve Volunteers #Research and Development Branch #Chemical Warfare Branch #Regiment Training #Armour Branch During the 1940-1945 years, certain of these branches were moved. The ''Regimental Training'' was taken over by the ''Weapon Training Branch'' for example. It was during this era that the idea was mooted that there should be an independent Infantry School. In November 1953 the ''Weapon Training Branch'' was officially renamed the ''Infantry School'' in terms of SADF order No. 206/53, but this renamed unit remained an integral part of the ''South African Military College''. On 1 October 1963, after having been a ghost unit for almost 10 years, the Infantry School was finally established as a self accounting unit. At this stage and until 1 January 1964, Maj J. H. Rossouw, SAIC, was appointed Acting Officer Commanding. It was during this period that the decision to move the Infantry School to

, its present location, was taken.

Oudtshoorn

On 1 January 1964 the new, fully fledged Infantry School opened its portals in Oudtshoorn to admit its first students under the command of Cmdt M. N. Horner, SAIC. Since that day, the School has undergone two major metamorphoses. The first being in January 1974 when, in addition to its established role, it assumed the role of the unit where National Servicemen Junior Leaders were trained. The second occurred in December 1976 when it was decided to remove virtually all Citizen Force courses from the School and transfer them to the

Danie Theron Combat School Danie Theron Combat School was a light infantry training regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve. History Origin Danie Theron Combat Sch ...

in Kimberley. In January 1977 another historic event occurred at the Infantry School that is the advent of the first prospective Cadet Officer intake of then recently qualified teachers. In those years, the unit had shouldered its share of the burden of duty in the operational area. Later on it had become policy to send companies of National Servicemen to the operational area as part of their training as Junior Leaders. 1977 was an important year in the school's history as they received their Colours on the 1 October 1977 and were granted the Freedom of the City by the City Council of Oudtshoorn. On the 28 March 1980, the Infantry School received its own song from the well known Dirkie and Doll de Villiers. The song was handed over to the Commanding Officer, Col W.G. Kritzinger, during a parade at the school and the song was performed for the first time by the School's choir. During December 1980, the ''Exerce Perfectioni'' Statue was handed over to the School by the City Council of Oudtshoorn. The statue was unveiled by Gen

Magnus Malan General Magnus André de Merindol Malan (30 January 1930 – 18 July 2011) was a South African military figure and politician during the last years of apartheid in South Africa. He served respectively as Minister of Defence in the cabinet of P ...

Insignia

* Current role: Corps school. * Current base: Oudtshoorn * Motto: ''Exerce Perfectioni'' (Strive for excellence)

Previous dress insignia

SADF Infantry School Irregular warfare blazer pin

Leadership

References

{{SA Army Units South African Army Military units and formations in Oudtshoorn Infantry training