National Anglo-Boer / South African War Memorial

Also known as Rand Regiments Memorial, and (pejoratively) as the Khaki Monument

Table of Contents

Last Updated: July 7, 2025

About National Anglo-Boer / South African War Memorial

Described by Clive Chipkin in his book Johannesburg Style as Luytens’s “great arc de triomphe”, the memorial is a 20 metre tall stone four arched structure, with a large bronze Angel of  Peace elevated on top of the archway.  The monument is set within memorial grounds bordering on the Zoo grounds.

State of Conservation

Excellent.

In 2003, remedial work to the monument was commissioned by the City Directorate of Arts, Culture and Heritage.  The work included the relaying of granite paving and treads, re-setting slipped blocks to the upper portion of the monument, the replacement of damaged sandstone blocks, and the introduction of stormwater drainage.

A phase 2 round of restoration and repair took place in 2014, once again commissioned by the City Directorate of Arts, Culture and Heritage, and guided by the heritage architect Jonathan Stone.  The work included:

  • Cleaning and repair of masonry
  • Repair and restoration of copper roof
  • Repair and re-patination of the bronze statue.

Adress

Saxonwold Memorial Park, Erlswold Way, Saxonwold

History

Shortly after the South African War, Randlord Sir Lionel Phillips and others suggested a memorial to commemorate the British soldiers who had died in the conflict.  In September 1904, Captain George A      Hamilton-Dickson, a member of the Johannesburg Town Council, proposed at a Council meeting that a site should be allocated for the purpose of creating a memorial to the men who lost their lives in the war, and that the Council should initiate the project.  The Council resolved that the venture should be undertaken by private initiative, although it would consider provision of a site.  A public meeting was convened and a committee formed under the chairmanship of Captain Hamilton-Dicks     on.

The Town Council felt that such a memorial should be a peace monument to foster reconciliation, commemorating those on both sides who fell in the war, regardless of nationality.  This view was, unfortunately, not shared by Sir Lionel Phillips and the memorial committee set up at the time.  Consequently, the memorial was to hold little relevance for those who identified with the Boer side in the conflict, and was derided as “Die Khaki Monument”.

The location of the memorial in Saxonwo     ld was originally suggested by Sir Percy Lane, the Director of the Dublin Art Gallery and a personal friend of Lady Florence Phillips.  In October 1910 Sir Lionel Philips committed his firm, H      Eckstein and Co     , to the purchase of  40 acres of the Sachsenwald Park, to be donated for the construction of the memorial.  The Town council agreed to lay out the five vistas to the Memorial and to fence off the 40 acres.

A public fund-raising campaign was spearheaded by Sir Lionel Phillips and the monument committee.  Phillips paid for the Angel of Peace fro     m his own pocket, as his gift to the citizens of Johannesburg.

The memorial was designed by notable British architect Sir Edwin Luytens.  The Angel of  Peace was by the Russian sculptor Naoum Aronson.

The monument was erected to the memory of men of the Rand who fell in the service of the British Empire during the Anglo-Boer War.  Partly because of its one-sided dedication, the Town Council chose to distance itself from the project, and the monument was largely neglected.  The grounds and vistas surrounding it were gradually encroached upon by the neighbouring Zoo.  The five vistas leading to the monument have largely been engulfed, and the only one that is still obvious is the avenue looking west from the memorial down into the Zoo.

In 1999 it was decided that the Memorial needed to consider all those who died in the War.  The site was re-dedicated on 10 October of that year to “the memory of the men, women and children of all races and all nations who lost their lives in the Anglo-Boer War, 1899-1902”.  Emphasis was placed on the role played by Black South Africans during the war, an aspect which had previously had little recognition.  Originally called the Rand R     egiments Memorial, at the re-dedication ceremony it was renamed the Anglo-Boer War/SA War (1899-1902) Memorial and designated a national heritage site.

Statement of Significance

The Anglo-Boer War Memorial is Johannesburg’s Premier war monument, meant to be of significance to all South Africans. Although begun as an exclusive and divisive monument, it has since been re-conceived as an inclusive monument which promotes national unity, having been rededicated in 1999 to all those who lost their lives in the South African War, 1899-1902. The monument also holds international significance, as the War involved forces from many countries.

Inscription

Elevated and prominent inscriptions running around the exterior read as follows: [EAST SIDE]: MEN WHO FELL IN [NORTH SIDE]: THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR 1899 [WEST] 1902 [SOUTH] OF RAND REGIMENTS TO RAND The interior walls of the podiums bear the names, engraved in sandstone of 769 officers and men from eight Rand Regiments who died in the War. On Granite Plaque Set on the Interior of the North-west Pillar: THIS STONE WAS LAID BY FIELD MARSHAL H.R.H. THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT KC XXX: NOVEMBER MCMX On Oc tagonal Black Granite Plate Inset on Western Footpath: ON 10 OCTOBER 1999 THIS MEMORIAL WAS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF ALL RACES AND ALL NATIONS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE ANGLO-BOER WAR 1899-1902

Legal Status

Protected under Section 37 of the National Heritage Resources Act: Public Monuments and Memorials. “Public monuments and memorials must, without the need to publish a notice to this effect, be protected in the same manner as places which are entered in a heritage register …”.   Since the Anglo-Boer War Memorial is older than 60 years, it is also protected in terms of Section 34 of the same Act. 

Responsible Authority

City of Johannesburg & Military History Museum