Winburg Commando

In October 1899, President Marthinus Steyn of the Free State ordered his commandants to muster all able bodied burgers in anticipation of war with the British.

Marthinus Prinsloo was elected as commandant of Winburg.

On 9 October he occupied positions at Platberg. He was subsequently elected Chief Commandant of the Free State and thus Helgard Theunissen was placed in command of this commando.

Note:The Boer General Koos de la Rey was born in the district of Winburg on the farm Doornfontein.

A sub commando of Winburg from Senekal began operating independently. Together these and other commandos invaded Natal in the upper Tugela region.

(Transfer to the Western Front and the Battle of Paardeberg) The Winburg Commando was withdrawn from the Natal Front on 14 February 1900 and rushed to the Kimberly area to assist General Piet Cronje.

500 boers from Heidelberg and Winburg Commandos attacked a koppie held by the Yorkshire Regiment and East Kent Regiment.

The boer forces was using this area as an escape route. Kommandant Helgaard Theunissen with 87 Winburgers held their ground until the main boer forces reached safety and after a few hours surrendered to the British. At least 15 Winburgers were killed in this operation.[1]

By 1902 all Commando remnants were under British military control and disarmed.

By 1912, however previous Commando members could join shooting associations.

By 1940, such commandos were under control of the National Reserve of Volunteers.

These commandos were formally reactivated by 1948.

UDF era National Reserve of Volunteers shoulder tab

The majority of the commandos operations in this era was local area protection.

This unit, along with all other Commando units was disbanded after a decision by South African President Thabo Mbeki to disband all Commando Units.[2][3] The Commando system was phased out between 2003 and 2008 "because of the role it played in the apartheid era", according to the Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula.[4]