South African Irish Regiment The South African Irish Regiment is an infantry regiment of the South African Army . As a reserve unit , it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army or United States Army National Guard unit . History . Origins . Although all the regular units of Irish origin in the British Army have served in South Africa at some time during its colonial involvement in South Africa , the first autonomous South African units shaped by Irish influences were the Cape Town Irish Volunteer Rifles ( raised by a Major O ' Reilly in 1885 ) and Driscoll ' s Scouts ( raised by Capt D . P . Driscoll during the Second Anglo - Boer War of 1899 - 1902 ) . However , an Irish Brigade also fought on the side of the Boer republics . World War I . The South African Irish was formed at the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 when three officers ( Major George Twomey , Captain J . Jeoffreys and a Captain MacDonald ) met at the Irish Club in Johannesburg in order to raise an Irish regiment from among the citizens of Johannesburg and its surrounding areas . After a request to The Union Defence Force ( UDF ) Headquarters , authority was granted to form the regiment and Lieutenant - Colonel Brennan was appointed as its first commanding officer . Major Twomey was appointed as its recruiting officer . The wife of General Louis Botha ( a lady of Irish descent with the maiden name of Emmett ) was appointed as the regiment ' s first honorary colonel . Sources are not clear on the official date of formation of the South African Irish , but it is either 9 September or 1 December 1914 . In any case , the battalion , consisting of six companies , first formed up at Booysens Camp in Johannesburg on the former date . After training , the regiment was made part of 4 South African Infantry Brigade ( part of the Northern Force ) and embarked from Cape Town to the ( then ) German South - West Africa on 21 December 1914 . On 25 December 1914 the Force landed at Walvis Bay and went into action immediately . The Regiment itself first came into contact with their German enemy on the following day , barely three months after it was raised . At the end of the campaign in South - West Africa , Active Citizen Force regiments were by law not permitted to proceed to other theatres of war as such . Special war service units were thus created to fight in East Africa and Europe . Volunteers from the South African Irish Regiment was formed , together with members of other units , into the composite 9 South African Infantry Regiment . 9 SAI campaigned in East Africa , where it earned the honours " Kilimanjaro " and " East Africa 1916 - 17 " . The SA Irish were formally disbanded on 31 December 1919 . On 29 January 1921 , at a ceremony in Johannesburg , the regiment was posthumously presented with the King ' s Colour by Prince Arthur of Connaught , the ( then ) Governor - General of the Union of South Africa , in recognition of its service in South - West Africa . World War II . Mobilisation . At the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the " 1st South African Irish Regiment " was reformed through the efforts of Major Twomey , Captains Jeoffreys and Cullinan ( the latter was the son of Sir Thomas Cullinan , of diamond fame ) . Although the unit was designated as the 1st South African Irish a second battalion was never formed as the men intended for this second battalion were drafted to the first . In practice , the usual designation for the regiment was thus the " South African Irish Regiment " . The South African Irish Regiment initially consisted of a regimental HQ , a Support Company and three infantry companies ; a pipe band was later added . After a period of training , the regiment was mobilized on 16 June 1940 under the command of Lieutenant - Colonel D . I . Somerset . It was grouped together with 2 Regiment Botha and 3 Transvaal Scottish to form the 5th South African Infantry Brigade . In July of the same year , the brigade was shipped to Kenya via the port of Durban to become part of 1st South African Infantry Division . East Africa . After concentrating at the town of Gilgil in Kenya , the regiment took part in the invasion of Southern Abyssinia on 1 February 1941 , part of the East African Campaign ; it distinguished itself during the fighting at El Gumu , Hobok and Banno in early February as well as during the capture of Mega on 18 February . 5 Brigade , including the South African Irish , then returned to Kenya and embarked at Mombasa on 18 April . The Brigade reached Suez in Egypt on 1 May . Western Desert . In November 1941 Operation Crusader , the invasion of Libya and relief of Tobruk , began . 5 South African Infantry Brigade , together with the Transvaal Horse Artillery Regiment , took part in the fighting at Sidi Rezegh culminating on 23 November 1941 with the German armour overwhelming the Allied forces , destroying 5 Brigade , and breaking through to the Eighth Army ' s rear areas on the Libyan border with Egypt . The casualties of the South African Irish were extremely heavy ( only 140 men of all ranks survived ) , including its commanding officer , Lieutenant - Colonel Dobbs who was wounded in the early stages of the battle ( he was replaced by Major C . McN . Cochran ) . Major Cochran then led the remnants of the battalion , along with the remaining five guns of 9th Field Battery eastwards towards the lines of the Scottish ( these were the only guns in 5 Brigade which were not captured ! ) , in an attempt to escape . In addition , several members of the unit drowned while on their way to Italy by ship as prisoners of war . The survivors of the regiment served with New Zealand forces until the end of November , when they rejoined the remnants of the decimated Brigade at Mersa Matruh . Due to their heavy losses , the South African Irish and 3 Transvaal Scottish ceased to exist as independent infantry units . In February 1942 , the survivors of these two battalions joining together to form a composite battalion and it was later re - constituted as 2nd Regiment Botha under command of Lt - Col Boerstra . 2nd Regiment Botha was then further reinforced with replacements coming from the 2nd Witwatersrand Rifles after which , the battalion moved by rail and in New Zealand troop carriers from Mersa Matruh to El Adem . In this form , the remnants of the South African Irish were once again in action during September 1942 , during the fighting at El Alamein . 11 Battery , 4 Field Regiment , South African Artillery , returned to the Union of South Africa in 1943 and was reconstituted as 4 / 22 Field Regiment , South African Artillery . This unit later returned to North Africa as a component of the South African 6th Armoured Division and also took part in the subsequent fighting in Italy . The regiment received four battle honours ( see below ) for its service during World War II , but they were not awarded immediately because , at the time of the publication of the honours , the unit was an artillery regiment - artillery regiments in the South African Army do not carry any honours . However , when the regiment was later converted back to an infantry unit it became entitled to those honours and they were incorporated into the colour of the regiment . Post - War . At the end of World War II it was requested that the Regiment be reformed as an infantry unit . However , as there was no intention at that time to establish additional Active Citizen Force infantry battalions , this request was refused . However , as a form of compensation , authority was granted for the formation of an artillery unit with the designation of " 22 Field Regiment ( South African Irish ) , South African Artillery " . This unit was formed in June 1946 and it operated until 31 December 1959 as an artillery regiment . However , on 1 January 1960 the regiment was converted back to an infantry unit and regained its old nomenclature , the " South African Irish Regiment " . Battle honours . The following Battle Honour s have been awarded to the regiment : Note : As the regiment was virtually wiped out during the fighting at Sidi Rezegh in November 1941 , no further World War II Battle Honours were awarded .