Origins Descendants of
Scottish immigrants to South Africa raised the
Cape Town Highlanders in 1885. On 24 April of the same year, their services were accepted – since then, this date has always been celebrated as the regiment's official birthday.
Bechuanaland Campaign The regiment first saw active duty during the
Bechuanaland Campaign that was fought in the
Northern Cape between 1896 and 1897.
Anglo-Boer War At the outbreak of the
Second Anglo-Boer War the regiment was again mobilised for active duty. During the war the regiment or elements thereof took part in several actions, including the
relief of Kimberley.
Volunteer era The
Duke of Connaught and Strathearn became colonel-in-chief of the regiment in 1906, and the regiment's name was thus changed to the '''Duke of Connaught and Strathearn's Own Cape Town Highlanders'''.
With the Union Defence Force When the regiment was embodied in the
Union Defence Force (UDF) Citizen Force in 1913, the title was changed to '''6th Infantry (Duke of Connaught and Strathearn's Own Cape Town Highlanders)'''.
World War I During
World War I the Cape Town Highlanders first fought against Germany in
German South-West Africa, but was subsequently combined with the
Transvaal Scottish Regiment to form the 4th South African Infantry (South African Scottish) Regiment, part of the
1st South African Brigade. (The South African Scottish, like various similar units, was formed by the South African government since a clause in the Defence Act of that time prohibited existing units from serving so far outside the country's borders.) After fighting in the
Senussi Campaign in North Africa the brigade was shipped to
France, where it took part in many battles between 1916 and 1918, including the famous Battle of
Delville Wood. During its time on the
Western Front, the South African Brigade and its Scottish heritage 4th Battalion, first served a lengthy stint with the British
9th (Scottish) Division, and following the Brigade's decimation in March 1918, was reconstituted and incorporated in September into the
66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division until the end of the war. The title was changed again, in 1932, to '''Cape Town Highlanders (Duke of Connaught and Strathearn's Own)'''.
World War II At the outbreak of
World War II in 1939 the regiment was again mobilised. However, it did not fight in the first campaign of the South African Army in the war, the
Abyssinian campaign of 1940 to 1941. However, in mid-1941, the regiment was briefly sent to
Egypt to escort thousands of Italian
prisoners of war to internment camps in South Africa; it returned to Egypt in late June of the same year to join the newly arrived
South African 1st Infantry Division in the Western Desert. The Cape Town Highlanders fought in all of the major battles of the
Western Desert campaign, including the
Battle of El Alamein. Indeed, the regiment is one of only three in the world (all of them South African) to have not only the usual two Alamein battle honours – "Alamein Defence" and "El Alamein" – but a third, "Alamein Box", which resulted from a separate action during the initial defence. This action played a significant role in halting
Rommel's advance on the tired and depleted
British Eighth Army. During the regiment's subsequent deployment to
Italy, the regiment was temporarily combined with South Africa's senior Scottish unit, the
First City Regiment, to form the First City/Cape Town Highlanders. This combined unit fought from
Battle of Monte Cassino to the
Alps, culminating in the heroic capture at
bayonet-point of the strategic peak of Monte Sole as part of the
South African 6th Armoured Division. In 1947, Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth the
Queen Mother) was appointed colonel-in-chief, and from 1948
until South Africa became a republic in 1961, the regiment was the '''Queen's Own Cape Town Highlanders'''.
With the SADF Border War The first significant post-war action of the Cape Town Highlanders took place in January 1976, during
Operation Savannah. This was the first large-scale incursion by the
South African Defence Force (SADF) into
Angola during the 23-year-long "
Border War" in
South-West Africa (now
Namibia). During the following years the regiment was mobilised several times, including for
Operation Prone and others. The last mobilisation during this period occurred in October 1988.
With the SANDF The regiment was mobilised in April 1994 as part of the efforts by the
South African National Defence Force to ensure a peaceful first fully democratic election. As a result of the subsequent abolition of conscription and the transformation of the South African Army, the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment returned to its original form of a volunteer regiment. In 2000 a contingent of the Cape Town Highlanders attended the Queen Mother's 100th birthday and paraded the regiment's Colour on
Horse Guards Parade. The Drums and Pipes participated in a special parade centenary for the Queen Mother in
Edinburgh, and carried on to participate in the
Edinburgh Military Tattoo. With the death of the Queen Mother in 2002, the regiment sent a contingent to participate in her funeral procession. The Drums and Pipes have since performed regularly at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo (2002, 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2012). In 2006, they were invited, together with the Queensland Police Pipe Band and 4 bands from the new
Royal Regiment of Scotland to perform at
Balmoral Castle for the Royal Family. The Band has also participated in the
Basel Tattoo, The Berlin Military Tattoo, Jinhae (South Korea) and at the Cape Town Tattoo, held in the
Castle of Good Hope.
Name change In August 2019, it was announced that 52 South African Army Reserve units would have their names changed to reflect the diverse military history of South Africa. The Cape Town Highlanders was due to be known as the Gonnema Regiment, and along with units undergoing name changes had 3 years from the announcement in August 2019 to design and implement new regimental insignia. In an announcement by the SANDF's Directorate Defence Corporate Communication in June 2022 regarding name changes of South African Army Reserve units in Cape Town, it was confirmed that the unit has not officially changed its name and remains known as the Cape Town Highlanders. ==Current capability==