Cap badge, Cape Corps, 1940-1942

White metal badge in the form of a figure of Hope, holding an anchor, with her right hand resting on Table Mountain, a scroll below, with the unit title 'Cape Corps'.

The Dutch and the British both drew on South Africa's 'Coloured', multi-ethnic, non-white population, for auxiliary defence forces. The Cape Corps was originally formed in 1820 from the Cape Light Infantry and the Cape Cavalry. The unit was eventually disbanded in 1870 but reformed in 1915 during World War One (1914-1918). The Corps was reconstituted again to meet the demand for servicemen in World War Two (1939-1945). The Corps operated as a service corps, with pioneer and transport elements, and was expanded to include motorised infantry, used for non-combatant roles such as guarding prisoners of war. The South African Malay and Indian Corps was absorbed into the Cape Corps in 1942. The Corps was disbanded at the end of the War, in 1945.

From the Field Marshal Sir John Chapple Indian Army Collection.