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Rhodesian Services Association Incorporated |
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This page is currently hosted on the Rhodesian Services Association website. Various domain names for the Rhodesia Regiment point to this web address. In due course there will be a Rhodesia Regiment website using www.rhodesiaregiment.org It will work in conjunction with the book of the regimental history that is being compiled for the Rhodesian Services Association to post amendments and updates for the rolls that are being written up by a dedicated team of people. We are grateful to Chris Whitehead, Editor of Rhodesians Worldwide www.rhodesia.org, for making available to us the domain names rhodesiaregiment.org and rhodesiaregiment.com both of which will be linked to www.rhodesiaregiment.org Unit Pages Please click on the links at the top of this page to navigate to the various unit and intake pages. We welcome other intakes or units to participate in displaying their history. You will need to supply me with the text and photos I will do the rest. I will ask for a small contribution per annum towards the internet service providor's hosting costs. Email hbomford@clear.net.nz for more information. Rhodesia Regiment museum display The display area in the Garrison Club, 6th Battalion Hauraki Group, Tauranga, New Zealand has recently been set up with an emphasis on the Rhodesia Regiment. See our Hauraki Display page - click on this link Rhodesia Regiment Book ProjectThis book is being compiled for the Rhodesian Services Association. Over 160 people have submitted material so far; eight very dedicated people are involved with in depth research and assembly of this material; then there is the publishing team who are aiming at publication in 2012. This project has turned into a true team effort and the individual contributions are amazing. I thank everyone who has put their shoulders to the wheel with me. Background to the project Sometime around July 2007 I approached Chris Cocks with the idea of writing a book on the history of the Rhodesia Regiment. We approached Alex Binda who had recently completed 'The Saints' and 'Masodja'. Alex agreed to take on the task. In 2009 disagreement arose between the three parties and Alex Binda went his own way and sought a new publisher. We took stock of the situation and many people who had supplied material at my instigation, agreed to cede the rights to that material to the Rhodesian Services Association. The objective of this book is to record the unit's history. It is not about egos and who writes the book. This regiment has a proud history dating back to 1898. We have set in place a management group. The sponsor and 'trustee' of this book is the Rhodesian Services Association. It is very important to those of us involved with this project that we get as complete and accurate record of this unit’s history as possible. What records there are, are spread all over the world in archives, books, journals and people’s heads. We want to bring as much of this information together as possible so that it is available now and for the future. We owe it to our forefathers, our mates and ourselves to do this job.
Please come on board – your contribution is essential – don’t put it off any longer – write it down before you forget it, if not for your sake but for your children and grandchildren’s. Our deadlines are:
Regimental Roll of Honour 1898 - 1981 Our team compiling this history has been joined by Adrian Haggett and Gerry van Tonder who are assigned to assembling the first ever Rhodesia Regiment Roll of Honour covering the years 1898 – 1981. This is a huge task but one which already is achieving some wonderful results. The period 1966 – 1981 is already part of a project mentioned earlier in this publication. The period 1898 – 1966 is a lot harder to find records of so your input is most welcome. We require legible photos of memorials, headstones, Rolls of Honour, family records etc. In particular we are looking for:
Honours and Awards made to soldiers serving in the Rhodesia Regiment 1898–1980 Another member of the team, Craig Fourie, is compiling this list. He needs your help. Any details no matter how small will make a difference.
Roll of Commanding Officers, 2 I/Cs and RSMs Gerry van Tonder is compiling a record of COs, 2I/Cs and RSMs of the Battalions and Depot (Llewellin) and OC, 2I/C and CSMs in the case of the Indep Coys. up until they became part of the RAR at the end of 1977 as well as the Cadet Battalions. If you can assist in any way this would really help with getting these records cemented for the future. Old issues of the Assegai as well as recollections from the officers and men of the Rhodesia Regiment are where this information is located.
This has never been done before - please help us.
Any recollections are of value to cross check what we already have. You can view this document which lists our deficiencies. RRBattalionsAndCompaniesLeadershipStatusJuly2011.pdf
Record of all Intakes This has also never been done before. Gerry van Tonder is in charge of compiling these rolls, please email him at g.van-tonder@sky.com (NOTE - Gerry is currently on leave for Sept. and will respond when he can) The details required in part or full are: Intake Number Unit (Royal Rhodesia Regiment, Rhodesia Regiment, Intaf, RLI etc)
Any material can be sent to: Hugh Bomford, email hbomford@clear.net.nz tel +64 7 576 9500 fax +64 7 576 9501 cell +64 275 45 8069 postal address PO Box 13003, Tauranga 3141, New Zealand. Your input is important to the development of this book. This cartoon was specially drawn for this project by Vic Mackenzie.
There is a wonderful wealth of interesting facts about the Rhodesia Regiment and some of the famous people who served in it. Below is something to tantalise you extracted from Contact! Contact! - October 2009. "We have had some really interesting material come in and we welcome more. Some of the material received covered Sir Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris former Marshal of the royal Air Force in WWII and bugler in the 1st Battalion Rhodesia Regiment in WWI. He farmed around Salisbury before WWI. Farm names Crofton Townsend and Gibson’s have come to light. If anyone has any information on these farms please contact us. Another gem gives us the details we had been seeking that link the Rhodesia Regiment to the 6th Battalion (Hauraki) Group through a common alliance with various British regiments which today form The Rifles. The Hauraki Regiment and Rhodesia Regiment share the same year of formation – 1898. In simple terms the regimental family tree runs like this: In 1914 Capt. J.B. Brady set out with a number of Rhodesians from Cape Town bound for South Hampton. A fellow passenger asked them where they were going. “To France” was the prompt and spirited reply to which the passenger identified himself as the Marquis of Winchester and explained to the keen Rhodesian warriors that it was not as simple as they imagined to join the war effort against Germany and that they must first join a British regiment. He invited them to join his regiment, the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (60th Rifles). On a more sober note, of that platoon that joined The King’s Royal Rifle Corps only twelve were still alive on the 11th November 1918. Thus began the association between the Rhodesia Regiment and The King’s Royal Rifle Corps which can be seen through various parts of the Rhodesia Regiment uniform. The Hauraki Regiment’s first Regimental Alliance began in 1913 with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. In 1958 the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry were brigaded with The King’s Royal Rifle Corps. The King’s Royal Rifle Corps titles are thus: The other anecdote concerns the 1937 Coronation where we learned that that the Rhodesians were the second contingent of Empire troops to land in England, behind the Australians. The Rhodesians, wearing their knee length shorts, together with the Australians had the place to themselves and it appears they had a hectic round of social engagements which they bravely endured and were injected with renewed vigour upon the arrival of the New Zealanders followed by the other Empire troops from Canada, West, East and South Africa, India, Malaya, Hong Kong, Somaliland, Aden, Fiji and Mauritius. It seems like they had one hell of a party but to get the full story you will have wait until this book is released!"
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The Rhodesia Regiment 
