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King's African Rifles

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The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from the various British possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within the East African colonies as well as external service as recorded below. Rank and file were African, while most officers were seconded from British Army regiments. Towards the end of British colonial rule African officers were commissioned in the various battalions.

The parade uniform of the KAR comprised khaki drill with tall fezs and sashes. These were normally red, although there were some battalion distinctions, Ugandan units for example wearing black fezs.

Contents

History

Formation

Six battalions were formed in 1902 by the amalgamation of the Central Africa Regiment, East Africa Rifles and Uganda Rifles, with one or two battalions located in each of Nyasaland, Kenya, Uganda and Somaliland:

The KAR took part in the campaigns against Sayyid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan (known to the British as the "Mad Mullah", though he was neither mad nor a mullah) in Somaliland during the early 1900s.

First World War

The 5th (Kenya) Battalion [1916-1963] and 6th (Tanganyika Territory) Battalion [1917-1961] were formed during the First World War, the latter from askaris of the former German East Africa. Many duplicate battalions were also created.

The regiment fought in the East African Campaign against the German commander Paul Erich von Lettow-Vorbeck and his forces in German East Africa.

Second World War

The regiment fought against Italy in Abyssinia, Vichy France in Madagascar and against Japan in Burma during World War II. At one stage the regiment had 44 battalions and several independent garrison companies. Its most infamous member was Idi Amin.

During the Abyssinian campaign, in 1941, Sergeant Nigel Gray Leakey of the 1/6th Battalion was awarded the regiment's first and only Victoria Cross (VC).

Post-War

In 1952, during the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, the regiment reformed the 7th (Kenya) Battalion. It was renumbered as the 11th (Kenya) Battalion in 1956. The regiment actively assisted in operations against the insurgents.

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions saw service in the Malayan Emergency where they were heavily involved in fighting Communist rebels, suffering 23 dead.

When the various nations that made up the regiment became independent, the regiment began to break up:

The regiment's last Colonel-in-Chief was HM Queen Elizabeth II. The extent to which KAR traditions influence the modern national armies of the former East African colonies varies from country to country. In Tanzania for example a mutiny in 1964 led to a conscious decision to move away from the British military model. In Kenya on the other hand the title of Kenya Rifles survives and the various campaigns in which the KAR distinguished itself in both World Wars are still commemorated.

Battle honours

The regiment's battalions were not awarded colours until 1924, as colours were not traditionally carried by rifle regiments. The colours had many of the regiment's battle honours emblazoned on it. The old colours were replaced in the 1950s.

1. awarded 1908 for services of The Central Africa Regiment

See also

Reference

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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