The Umvoti Mounted Rifles (named after the Umvoti River) is an armoured

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

or United States Army National Guard unit. It is part of the South African Army Armour Formation and is based in the town of

Pinetown Pinetown is a large area that is part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, inland from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Pinetown is situated 16 km west of Durban at an elevation of 1,000 to 1,300 feet (305 to 395 m). History Pi ...

History

Origin

On 16 May 1864, years ago, the Umvoti Mounted Rifles (UMR) was founded in Greytown as the Greytown Mounted Rifles. There were some 45 men in the original unit, under command of Capt A.S. Wyndham who was also the Magistrate of Greytown at the time. The ''Umvoti Mounted Rifles Hall'' is the oldest hall in Greytown. It was built in 1880 as a

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Hall, but later became the headquarters of the Regiment. It is currently used by the Greytown public works department. The ''Umvoti Mounted Rifles'' was formed in 1893 at Greytown,

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

by the redesignation of the left Wing of the

Natal Carbineers The Ingobamakhosi Carbineers (formerly Natal Carbineers) is an infantry unit of the South African Army. History Origins The regiment traces its roots to 1854 but it was formally raised on 15 January 1855 and gazetted on 13 March of that year, ...

. On 1 July 1913 the Regiment absorbed the ''Zululand Mounted Rifles'', was redesignated the ''4th Mounted Rifles (Umvoti Mounted Rifles)'' and transferred to the

Active Citizen Force The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. T ...

of the Union Defence Force. In 1934 the Regiment was redesignated as the ''Umvoti Mounted Rifles'' and converted to

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

Engagements and Wars

The Natal Mounted Rifles served in the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), the

Zulu Rebellion The Bambatha Rebellion (or the Zulu Rebellion) of 1906 was led by Bambatha kaMancinza (c. 1860–1906?), leader of the Zondi clan of the Zulu people, who lived in the Mpanza Valley (now a district near Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal) against British ...

(1906–1907),

World War I 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 ...

(specifically in South-West Africa from 1914 to 1915),

World War II 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 opposing ...

and South Africa's post-war internal conflicts and "Border War".

Various musterings

The UMR since 1920 served under command of the OC, Natal Command as firstly a Mounted Regiment on horseback and then, from 1935 as a motorised infantry unit. In September 1939 they were part of the

1st South African Brigade The South African 1st Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the army of the Union of South Africa during World Wars I and II. During World War I, the Brigade served as a British formation in Egypt and on the Western Front, most famous ...

of the Natal Command. During the Second World War the Regiment served as an Infantry unit and in 1954 was converted to a Tank Regiment and subsequently in 1962 into an armoured car regiment.

Affiliation with 8th Armoured Division

During 1984 the UMR was brigaded as the Armoured Car Regiment of 8th South African Armoured Division 84 Motorised Brigade. This necessitated conversion from a county-insurgency unit to a conventional force and ended 74 years service with Natal Command. The unit was then the Armoured Car Reconnaissance regiment of

8 SA Division 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

and was then part of 84 SA Brigade based in Durban, Natal.

Regimental Colours

In 1866 the first Regimental Colours of blue silk were presented to the Grey-town Mounted Rifles. In 1901 the regiment was again honoured by the presentation of colours by two Greytown ladies. In 1904 HRH Princess Helena, third daughter of Queen Victoria, presented the King's Colours to UMR. These have been consecrated and are housed in St James Church in Greytown for safekeeping. In 1964 the latest presentation of the Colours took place during the regiment's 100th birthday celebrations by Commandant-General P H Grobbelaar and incorporates the regimental badge in gold on a blue background which signi¬fies an armoured regiment.

National Colours

On 14 July 1990, National Colours were presented to the Regiment by Major General D J Mortimer.

Under the SANDF

In 1999, 84 SA Brigade was closed and the unit then fell under direct command of the South African Army Armoured Formation, and Umvoti Mounted Rifles was transferred to the new armoured 'type' formation, the South African Army Armoured Formation. The Regiment currently uses the Rooikat armoured fighting vehicle, equipped with a 76 mm quick-fire gun. Rooikat Armoured Car

In 2012 the long-awaited new history of the regiment, written by historian Mark Coghlan, was published by Just Done Productions Publishing.

Insignia

Previous dress insignia

Leadership

Freedom of entry

* Greytown * Melmoth * Empangeni * Eshowe * Pinetown * Pietermaritzburg * Ladysmith

Alliances

* -

The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) (QRH) is a British armoured regiment. It was formed on 1 September 1993 from the amalgamation of the Queen's Own Hussars and the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars. The regiment and its antece ...

Battle honours

South Africa 1879, South Africa 1899–1902,

Relief of Ladysmith When the Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899, the Boers had a numeric superiority within Southern Africa. They quickly invaded the British territory and laid siege to Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking. Britain meanwhile transported th ...

, Natal 1906, South West Africa 1914–1915, Gibeon, Western Desert 1941–43 As virtually the whole Regiment was captured at

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...

in June 1942, there were no more World War II battle honours.

References

Notes

{{SA Army Units Armoured regiments of South Africa Military units and formations in Durban Military units and formations of South Africa in World War I Military units and formations of South Africa in the Border War Military units and formations established in 1864