''The Trooper'', also popularly referred as ''The Troopie'', is a Rhodesian statue and war memorial. It is located in the grounds of

Hatfield House Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house, a leading example of the prodigy house, was built in 1611 by Robert Cec ...

, home of the

Marquess of Salisbury Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury. Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over the last two centuries, particularly th ...

, in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. It was originally erected in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

, Rhodesia and is dedicated to the

Rhodesian Light Infantry The 1st Battalion, Rhodesian Light Infantry (1RLI), commonly The Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), was a regiment formed in 1961 at Brady Barracks (Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia) as a light infantry unit within the army of the Federation of Rhodesi ...

(RLI) as their regimental statue.

History

The statue was cast from 700 melted down rifle cartridges. The statue was sculpted by Captain Michael Blackman of the

and based on a photo of Trooper Wayne Hannekom. It was erected on 1 February 1979 in front of the entrance of Cranborne Barracks in Salisbury. It was unveiled by

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

Ian Bate at a ceremony involving the

Rhodesian African Rifles The Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) was a regiment of the Rhodesian Army. The ranks of the RAR were recruited from the black African population, although officers were generally from the white population. The regiment was formed in May 1940 in the ...

band. At the dinner the day before the unveiling, the RLI's General John Hickman accused the

Selous Scouts The Selous Scouts was a special forces unit of the Rhodesian Army that operated during the Rhodesian Bush War from 1973 until the reconstitution of the country as Zimbabwe in 1980. It was mainly responsible for infiltrating the black majority ...

's Lieutenant-Colonel

Ronald Reid-Daly Ronald Francis Reid-Daly (22 September 1928 – 9 August 2010) was a Rhodesian military officer who founded and commanded the Selous Scouts special forces unit that fought during the Rhodesian Bush War. Career Reid-Daly, who was born ...

of poaching ivory in the

Zambezi Valley The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

. Following reports that the statue would be torn down after the establishment of

Zimbabwe Rhodesia Zimbabwe Rhodesia (), alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, and sometimes as Rhobabwe, was a short-lived sovereign state that existed from 1 June to 12 December 1979. Zimbabwe Rhodesia was p ...

, Bate said that the statue would never be destroyed as long as an RLI soldier draws breath. Following the changes in political status which resulted in the establishment of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

and the end of the

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also called the Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe-Rhodesia). The conflict pitted three for ...

, the statue was smuggled onto a

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

plane, along with the regiment's records under orders of Lt-Colonel Charlie Aust, and flown to South Africa prior to the RLI's disbandment. It was placed on display at the

South African National Museum of Military History The South African National War Museum in Johannesburg was officially opened by Prime Minister Jan Smuts on 29 August 1947 to preserve the history of South Africa's involvement in the Second World War. In 1975, the museum was renamed the South Af ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

and later moved to the

British Empire and Commonwealth Museum The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum () was a museum in Bristol, England, exploring the history of the British Empire and the effect of British colonial rule on the rest of the world. The museum opened in 2002 and entered voluntary liquid ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. A replica of ''The Troopie'' remains on display in Johannesburg. Later, the statue was installed in the grounds of Hatfield House on the river Lea and was rededicated by

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury Robert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, Baron Gascoyne-Cecil, (born 30 September 1946), is a British Conservative politician. From 1979 to 1987 he represented South Dorset in the House of Commons, and in the 1990s he wa ...

on 28 September 2008. The rededication included a new plaque stating "In reconciliation and hope for future peace in Zimbabwe" alongside the RLI roll of honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troopie, The Statues in England Rhodesian Light Infantry 1979 establishments in Rhodesia 2008 establishments in England Monuments and memorials in Hertfordshire Rhodesian sculpture Sculptures of men in the United Kingdom Outdoor sculptures in England Peace monuments and memorials