Umvoti Mounted Rifles

The Umvoti Mounted Rifles (named after the Umvoti River) is an armoured regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army 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.

Umvoti Mounted Rifles
SANDF Umvoti Mounted Rifles emblem
Active16 May 1864 to present
Country South Africa
Allegiance
Branch
TypeArmoured Car Regiment
SizeOne Battalion
Part ofSouth African Armoured Formation
Army Conventional Reserve
Garrison/HQPinetown
PatronKing Zwelithini Goodwill ka Bhekuzulu
Motto(s)Toujours Pret
(Always Ready)[1]
Anniversaries16 May (Regimental Day)
EquipmentRooikat armoured fighting vehicle
Battle honours
Battle Honours
Awarded
South Africa 1879
South Africa 1899-1902
Relief of Ladysmith
Natal 1906
South West Africa 1914 - 1915
Gibeon
Western Desert 1941-43
Websitehttp://www.umrhistory.com/
Commanders
Current
commander		Lt Col M.S.C. Magigaba
Insignia
Beret ColourBlack
Armour Squadron emblems
Armour beret bar circa 1992

History

Origin

On 16 May 1864 the Umvoti Mounted Rifles (UMR) was founded in Greytown as the Greytown Mounted Rifles.[1] 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 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 by the redesignation of the left Wing of the Natal Carbineers. 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 of the Union Defence Force. In 1934 the Regiment was redesignated as the Umvoti Mounted Rifles and converted to infantry.

Engagements and Wars

The Natal Mounted Rifles served in the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), the Zulu Rebellion (1906–1907), World War I (specifically in South-West Africa from 1914 to 1915), World War II and South Africa's post-war internal conflicts and "Border War".[2]

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 of the Natal Command.[3] 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.[4]

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 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 July 14, 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.[5]

Insignia

Previous dress insignia
SADF era Umvoti Mounted Rifles insignia

Leadership
Leadership
From Honorary Colonel To
From Officer Commanding To
1946 Lt Col V.H.E. Reiche c. 1947
1947 Lt Col W.S. Slatter c. 1949
1949 Cmdt O.C. Oftebro c. 1957
c. 1957 Cmdt C.L.J. Crookes c. 1959
c. 1959 Cmdt R.G. Norman Smith c. 1965
c. 1965 Cmdt A.Z. Titiestad c. 1967
c. 1967 Cmdt A.J.S. Slatter c. 1972
c. 1972 Cmdt P.T. Menne c. 1977
c. 1977 Cmdt S.R. Meyer c. 1980
c. 1980 Cmdt D.N.E. Leitch c. 1984
c. 1984 Cmdt D.H.E. Tweedie c. 1987
c. 1987 Cmdt J.W. Allchin c. 1992
c. 1992 Cmdt L.F. Stapelberg c. 1994
c. 1994 Cmdt W.R.L. Wilson c. 2000
c. 2000 Lt Col W.P.Titlestad c. 2016
c. 2016 Lt Col D. Quinton c. 2017
c. 2017 Lt Col M.S.C. Magigaba c. To Present
From Regimental Sergeant Major To
c. 1946 WO1 J.S.S. Martens c. 1955
c. 1955 WO1 P.G. Reynaud c. 1984
c. 1984 WO1 J.L. Shardelow c. 1988
c. 1988 WO1 P.G. Reynaud c. 1995
c. 1995 WO1 C.A. Greef c. 1997
c. 1997 WO1 C.E. Wilson c. 2005
c. 2005 WO1 A.R.J Morrison c. 2017
c. 2017 WO1 V.R. Chamier c. to present

Freedom of entry
  • Greytown
  • Melmoth
  • Empangeni
  • Eshowe
  • Pinetown
  • Pietermaritzburg

Alliances
  •  United Kingdom - The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish)

Battle honours

As virtually the whole Regiment was captured at Tobruk in June 1942, there were no more World War II battle honours.

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References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 April 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Coghlan, Mark (2012). History of the Umvoti Mounted Rifles: 1864-2004. Durban, South Africa: Just Done Productions Publishing (published October 2012). ISBN 978-1920-315-77-1. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  3. Reference see Natal Command article
  4. "Loading..." (PDF). www.africanafrican.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  5. "Umvoti Mounted Rifles". UMR. Retrieved 5 October 2014.

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