Transvaal Scottish Regiment

The Transvaal Scottish
Cap Badge of the Transvaal Scottish
Active	1902 to present
Country	South Africa
Allegiance	Republic of South Africa  Republic of South Africa
Branch	South African Army  South African Army
Type	Line Infantry
Role	Motorised Infantry
Size	One battalion
Part of	South African Infantry Formation Army Conventional Reserve
Garrison/HQ	The View, Parktown Johannesburg
Motto(s)	Alba nam Buadh (Scotland, Home of the Virtues)
March	The Atholl Highlanders
Battle honours	Awarded Natal 1906 South West Africa 1914 - 1915 East Africa 1940-41 El Wak The Juba Yonte Diredawa Combolcia Amba Alagi Western Desert 1941-43 Sollum Sidi Rezegh Gazala Alem Hamza Acroma Keep Alamein Defence Mega El Alamein Not Awarded Egypt 1916 Somme 1916 Delville Wood Arras Ypres 1917 Menin Road Messines 1918 Hindenburg Line Cambrai 1918 Pursuit to Mons France and Flanders 1918 Le Transloy Scarpe 1917 Kemmel Lys
Commanders
Current commander	Lt Col D.D. Smythe JCD
Insignia
Company level Insignia
SA Motorised Infantry beret bar circa 1992	SA Motorised Infantry beret bar

The Transvaal Scottish 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 Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard unit.

John Murray, Marquis of Tullibardine, who later became the 7th Duke of Atholl, established the regiment after the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Boer War in 1902. Its initial membership consisted of volunteers from Scottish units that had fought in the war who chose to demobilise and remain in the colony. The new unit wore his family tartan and took the form of an oversize battalion with companies in a number of major Transvaal towns.

The unit first saw service during the Bambatha Rebellion. “C” company of the Natal Rangers was recruited from men of the Transvaal Scottish Regiment (then called the Transvaal Scottish Volunteers).

In 1914 during the Maritz Rebellion, when men who supported the recreation of a Boer South African Republic rose up against the newly created government of the Union of South Africa, the Regiment was called up once again and saw action suffering one casualty.

After the official outbreak of the First World War the Transvaal Scottish took part in the invasion of German South West Africa as part of the South-West Africa Campaign in late 1914 with a second battalion (2nd Transvaal Scottish) being raised for the campaign.

Their most serious encounter with German Forces took place near Trekkoppies when a superior German Force attacked 2nd Battalion. They suffered their first casualties of the war with 2 killed and 13 wounded. After the conquest of German South West Africa the 2nd Battalion was disbanded, while 1 Transvaal Scottish spent the remainder of the war in reserve.