Military units in South Africa have a long tradition of using unit insignia to visually identify themselves through the use of helmet and shoulder flashes, as well as hackles. This page serves as an informative overview of the various flashes and hackles utilized by different military units in the South African Military. The insignia were predominantly worn from the post-World War I period until approximately 1943, when the use of cloth helmets ceased and were replaced by berets in the Union Defence Force (UDF). These visual symbols represent the identities and histories of each unit and are unique in their design and colors. The page provides detailed descriptions and images of the different flashes and hackles, as well as their origins and meanings.[1][2][3]
Description
Flash - Natal Infantry in the 1920s and 1930s. Blue on top for Natal and Black on the bottom for Infantry
As a general guide to flashes of the period, the colours had meaning. For Corps/Arm of service, these were, generally, the following:[4]
- Grey - Mounted Units
- Black - Infantry
- Yellow - Artillery[3]
The bottom colour would be the arm of service, the top colour the province.
- Blue - Natal
- Yellow - OVS
- Red - Cape
- Green - Transvaal[3]
Reserve Force
| Corps / Unit | From | To | Flash |
|---|---|---|---|
| SA Staff Corps (SAStC) | 1912 | 1920 |  |
| SA Staff Corps (SAStC) | 1920 | 1935 |  |
| SA Staff Corps (SAStC) | 1935 | 1942 |  |
| South African Field Artillery (SAFA) | 1923 | 1935 |  |
| South African Garrison Artillery (SAGA) | 1923 | 1935 |  |
| Artillery Units | 1935 | 1942 |  |
| South African Instructional Corps | 1923 | 1942 |  |
| South African Mounted Riflemen (SAMR) | 1922 | 1926 |  |
| Infantry Branch (Citizen Force) | 1923 | 1942 |  [lower-alpha 1] |
| Infantry Branch (Citizen Force) | 1942 | 1945 |  [lower-alpha 2] |
| South African Engineers (SAEC) | 1923 | 1928 |  [lower-alpha 3] |
| South African Engineers (SAEC) | 1928 | 1939 |  |
| South African Engineers (SAEC) | 1940 | 1945 |  |
| Field Engineers and Signals | 1923 | 1931 |  |
| South African Army Ordnance Corps (SAOC) | 1923 | 1939 |  |
| South African Service Corps (SASC) | 1923 | 1939 |  |
| South African Army Pay & Clerical Corps (SAAP & CC) [lower-alpha 4] | 1923 | 1939 |  |
| Technical Services Corps (TSC) | 1939 | 1942 |  |
| Technical Services Corps (TSC) | 1942 | 1945 |  |
| Quartermaster Services Corps (QSC) | 1939 | 1942 |  |
| South African Medical Corps (SAMC) | 1923 | 1942 |  |
| South African Veterinary Corps (SAVC) | 1923 | 1942 |  |
| South African Corps of Signals (SACS) | 1923 | 1942 |  |
| South African Corps of Signals (SACS) | 1942 | 1945 |  |
| South African Corps of Military Police (SACMP) | 1939 | 1942 |  |
| South African Army Band[lower-alpha 5] | _ | _ |  [lower-alpha 6] |
| South African Permanent Force Cadets | 1920 | 1939 |  |
| South African Air Force (SAAF) | 1920 | 1942 |  |
Active Citizen Force (ACF)
| Corps / Unit | From | To | Flash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Field Artillery (CFA) | 1923 | 1939 |  |
| Natal Field Artillery (NFA) | 1923 | 1939 |  |
| Transvaal Horse Artillery (THA)[2] | 1904 | 1939 |  |
| 1 Oranjie Vrystaat Veld Artillerie[lower-alpha 7] (1OVSVA)[lower-alpha 8] | 1926 | 1926 |  |
| 2 Oranjie Vrystaat Veld Artillerie[lower-alpha 9] (2OVSVA)[lower-alpha 8] | 1926 | 1926 |  |
| Cape Garrison Artillery (CGA) | 1923 | 1939 |  |
| Cape Town - 1 Medium Battery | 1934 | 1939 |  |
| Armoured Train (Cape) | 1934 | 1939 |  |
| Armoured Train (Transvaal) | 1935 | 1939 |  |
| Royal Natal Carbineers (RNC) | 1923 | 1942 |  |
| Natal Mounted Rifles (NMR) | 1923 | 1940 |  [lower-alpha 10] |
| Natal Mounted Rifles (NMR)[lower-alpha 11] | 1940 | 1943 |  |
| Umvoti Mounted Rifles (UMR)[5] | 1923 | 1942 |  |
| Imperial Light Horse (ILH) | 1905 | 1942 |  |
| Imperial Light Horse (ILH) | 1942 | 1942 |  |
| Royal Durban Light Infantry (RDLI) | 1923 | 1942 |  |
| Duke of Edinburgh's Own Rifles (DEOR) DHQ[lower-alpha 12][lower-alpha 13] | - | - |  |
| Duke of Edinburgh's Own Rifles (DECOR) | 1902 | 1942 |  |
| Prince Alfred's Guard (PAG) | 1902 | 1942 |  |
| First City Regiment (FC) | 1924 | 1935 |  |
| Kaffrarian Rifles (Kaff R) | 1923 | 1942 |  |
| Kimberley Regiment (KR) | 1923 | 1942 |  |
| Cape Peninsula Rifles (CPR)[lower-alpha 14] | 1914 | 1926 |  |
| Witwatersrand Rifles (WR) | 1923 | 1942 |  |
| Rand Light Infantry (RLI) | 1923 | 1942 |  |
| Rand Light Infantry (RLI) | 1942 | 1942 |  |
| Pretoria Regiment (PR) | 1923 | 1926 |  |
| Pretoria Regiment (PR) | 1926 | 1942 |  |
| Pretoria Regiment (PR)[lower-alpha 15] | 1942 | 1942 |  |
| Regiment Botha (RB) | 1934 | 1942 |  |
| Regiment de la Rey (RDLR) | 1934 | 1942 |  |
| Regiment De Wet (RDW) | 1934 | 1939 |  |
| Regiment Louw Wepner (RLW) | 1934 | 1939 |  |
| Regiment President Steyn (RPS) | 1934 | 1942 |  |
| Regiment Suid Westerlike Distrikte (RSWD) | 1934 | 1942 |  |
| Regiment Westelike Provincie (RWP)[lower-alpha 16] | 1934 | 1942 |  |
| Die Middlelandse Regiment (DMR) | 1934 | 1942 |  |
| 1 South West Africa Infantry Regiment (SWA1) | 1939 | 1942 |  |
| Railways and Harbours Brigade HQ (R&H BDE HQ) | 1910 | 1924 |  |
| Railways and Harbours Brigade (R&H BDE) | 1923 | 1923 |  |
Volunteer Units (1939-1945)
| Corps / Unit | From | To | Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd Mounted Commando Regiment (2 MCR) | 1941 | 1941 |  | |
| First City/Cape Town Highlanders Regiment (FC/CTH)[lower-alpha 17] | 1944 | 1945 |  | |
| South African Irish Regiment[lower-alpha 17] | - | - |  | |
| 1 TVL BN (1st Res Bde)[lower-alpha 18] | 1939 | 1942 | -1939-1942.svg.png.webp) | |
| 2 (CPR) BN (1st Res Bde)[lower-alpha 18] | - | - | _BN_(1st_Res_Bde)-1940-1942.svg.png.webp) | |
| 5 BN (1st Res Bde)[lower-alpha 18] | 1940 | 1942 | -1940-1942.svg.png.webp) | |
| 6 BN (1st Res Bde)[lower-alpha 18] | 1940 | 1942 | -1940-1942.svg.png.webp) | -1940-1942.jpg.webp) |
| SAEC Survey Company | 1940 | 1945 |  | |
| Cape Corps (CC) | 1940 | 1945 |  | |
| Indian & Malay Corps (I & MC) | 1940 | 1942 |  | |
| Native military corps (NMC) | 1940 | 1946 |  |
Divisional Flashes (1940-1945)
| Division | From | To | Flash |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Division | 1940 | 1943 |  |
| 2nd Division | 1940 | 1943 |  |
| 3rd Division | 1940 | 1943 |  |
| 6th Armoured Division | 1943 | 1945 |  |
Notes
- ↑ Black Flash
- ↑ The "Traverse Bar" (known colloquially as a "balkie") was usually the colours of the helmet flash. The infantry traverse bar was, in this case, actually the colours of the SSB, which were the colours of the National Flag (Orange, White and Blue)
- ↑ White Flash
- ↑ Later the Pay Corps part was split off to become just South African Army Pay Corps in 1942 with no distinct flash
- ↑ The SSB band was at the time the de facto Army Band
- ↑ Hackle or arm flash
- ↑ 1 Orange Free State Field Artillery
- 1 2 6 Field Regiment (Bloemfontein)
- ↑ 2 Orange Free State Field Artillery
- ↑ The Numeral 3 was white metal, not sewn or embroidered
- ↑ This Sea Green flash was for the NMR/SAAF amalgamated unit. Amalgamation was to bring up severely depleted numbers
- ↑ DHQ Pattern
- ↑ Never worn
- ↑ This was a Reserve unit and neither CF nor ACF
- ↑ Pretoria Regiment wore a very distinctive Traverse Bar (Red & Yellow) below a very distinctive badge Backing. Also, the 1st Battalion at the beginning of the war wore a arm patch
- ↑ Regiment Western Province
- 1 2 Hackle
- 1 2 3 4 1st Reserve Brigade (1940-1943)
References
- ↑ Military Archives Section (1956). Helmet and Shoulder Flashes and Hackles of South African Units. Pretoria: DHQ - HQ Army Chief of Staff.
- 1 2 Orpen, Neil D. (1975). The History of the Transvaal Horse Artillery 1904 to 1974 (1st ed.). Transvaal Horse Artillery Regimental Council (published 1 January 1975). ISBN 978-0620023504.
- 1 2 3 Tylden, G. Major (1955). "Badges, Buttons and Shoulder Titles of South African Regiments: From the Parkyn Collection". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 33 (136): 162–167. JSTOR 44226309. Retrieved 13 January 2023 – via JSTOR.
- ↑ Owen, Colin R. (1990). The Military Badges and Insignia of Southern Africa (1st ed.). Chimperie Agencies (published 1 January 1990). ISBN 9780620154383.
- ↑ 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. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
See also
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