Johannesburg’s once-powerful regiment culture — built around the mines, military parades and reserve force traditions of the Witwatersrand — has found a new home inside the Ditsong National Museum of Military History in Saxonwold.
“The Regiments Room has come to life,” said Lt-Col (Ret) Harry van Staden of the Johannesburg Regiment Association, one of the main organisers.
The new exhibition wing — officially known as the Regiments Room — opened on May 24 2026 during a private ceremony and showcases memorabilia linked to Johannesburg’s reserve force regiments and military heritage.
Developed in partnership with reserve force regiments and veterans’ associations, the exhibition has been funded entirely by the regiments and unit associations themselves.
“Our team and dedicated veterans spent days putting the finishing touches on what will be a remarkable tribute to South Africa’s military heritage,” Van Staden said.
“This new exhibition wing is a true labour of love, funded entirely by regiments and unit associations themselves.” The display will be managed in conjunction with Ditsong museum management through the newly established Regiments Room Association.
Among the items on display are ceremonial uniforms, medals, regimental badges, silverware and photographs collected over decades.
“From polished silverware and crisp uniforms to historic medals and photographs, every item being placed today tells a story of bravery and sacrifice,” Van Staden said.
The exhibition also becomes the new home of the Freedom Regiments Sword, the ceremonial artefact that hung for nearly four decades outside the mayoral chambers at Johannesburg’s Metro Centre before being removed from the deteriorating civic complex in July 2024 after the building was declared unsafe.
The sword later became the subject of speculation after it disappeared from public view following the closure of the building, with rumours circulating that it had gone missing or had been moved to a private home. The Johannesburg Regiment Association subsequently confirmed the sword had been removed for safekeeping and would form part of the new exhibition.
Few Johannesburg residents today realise that the city once had one of the country’s strongest concentrations of reserve force regiments, reflecting the strategic and economic importance of the Witwatersrand during the 20th century.
Long before the rise of Sandton and modern Johannesburg’s sprawling suburbs, military parades through the city centre formed part of civic life on the Witwatersrand.
The unusually large military presence grew alongside Johannesburg’s gold-mining economy and expanding English-speaking population after the Anglo-Boer War. As the city became one of the wealthiest urban centres in Southern Africa, volunteer military culture flourished around the mines, professional classes and civic institutions of the Witwatersrand.
This led to the formation of a remarkable concentration of reserve force units linked to Johannesburg, including infantry, artillery, mounted and culturally affiliated regiments such as the Rand Light Infantry, Transvaal Scottish, South African Irish Regiment, Witwatersrand Rifles, Transvaal Horse Artillery and the Johannesburg Regiment.
Military historians say few South African cities developed such a dense network of reserve force regiments tied so closely to a single urban economy and civic identity.
“These were citizen soldiers,” Van Staden said.
“People worked ordinary jobs during the week and then served in the regiments.”
Long before the rise of Sandton and modern Johannesburg’s sprawling suburbs, military parades through the city centre formed part of civic life on the Witwatersrand.
The regiments fought in major conflicts including World War I and World War II, serving in campaigns across Africa and Europe.
Some developed strong cultural identities tied to immigrant communities on the Witwatersrand.
The Transvaal Scottish adopted Highland traditions and pipe bands, while the South African Irish Regiment reflected Johannesburg’s Irish community.
Others became closely associated with the mining industry and the strategic importance of the goldfields during the early twentieth century.
The Freedom Regiments Sword itself was commissioned in 1986 during Johannesburg’s centenary celebrations marking 100 years since the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand.
During the centenary parade, reserve force units that had been granted the Freedom of Entry to the City of Johannesburg marched through the city in ceremonial formation.
To commemorate the occasion, the Freedom Regiments Association commissioned and funded the sword as a symbol of the relationship between Johannesburg and the reserve force regiments linked to the city.
The association represented 72 Brigade and 11 regiments:
- SAS Rand
- Transvaal Horse Artillery 1st
- 2nd Battalion Transvaal Scottish
- Rand Light Infantry
- South African Irish Regiment
- Witwatersrand Rifles
- 1 Light Horse Regiment
- 2 Light Horse Regiment
- South African Air Force
- 2 Squadron
- Johannesburg Regiment
The sword itself was inspired by the famous Sword of Stalingrad, commissioned by King George VI during World War II and presented by Winston Churchill to Joseph Stalin in honour of the Soviet defence of Stalingrad.
Johannesburg’s version was created as a ceremonial display piece rather than a battlefield weapon.
Mounted vertically on a brushed stainless-steel backing plate, it remained on display at the Metro Centre for almost four decades.
Van Staden also dismissed speculation that the artefact was made of gold.
“There have been rumours that the sword is made of gold, which is simply not correct,” he said.
“The blade is stainless steel mounted on a brushed stainless-steel backing plate. Its significance lies in its history rather than its material value.”
Following the restructuring of the South African National Defence Force after 1994, many reserve units were amalgamated, renamed or faded from public visibility.
The Transvaal Scottish became the Solomon Mahlangu Regiment, while the Witwatersrand Rifles became the Bambatha Rifles.
Yet veterans involved in the new Regiments Room project say preserving the history of the regiments remains important because it forms part of Johannesburg’s broader civic and institutional memory.
“As the city changed, the visibility of the regiments faded,” Van Staden said.
“But the history is still there. Many people drive past military buildings or hear old regiment names without realising how connected they were to Johannesburg’s development.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.