Topic: Militia - Military Orders
Military Order No. 123, 1908
Honorary Distinctions
South African Campaign
Military Order 123 of 1908.]M.O.-123 HONORARY DISTINCTIONS - SOUTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN.His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the grant of the honorary distinction to "South Africa," with the years in which each unit was represented in that country during the late war by not less than twenty men, to the regiments and corps enumerated hereunder:
Military Order No. 123, 1908, p. 4.
Military Order No. 123, 1908, p. 5.
Transcription of the data in the order.
| State | Present designation of Regiment or Corps | Designation during South African War | Honorary Distinction granted |
| NSW | 1st Australian Light Horse Regiment | NSW Lancers | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| NSW | 2nd Australian Light Horse Regiment | NSW Mounted Rifles | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| NSW | 3rd Australian Light Horse Regiment | Australian Horse | South Africa, 1899 and 1900 |
| NSW | 4th Australian Light Horse Regiment | NSW Lancers | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| NSW | 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment | NSW Mounted Rifles | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| NSW | 6th Australian Light Horse Regiment | Australian Horse | South Africa, 1899 and 1900 |
| NSW | 1st Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | 1st Regiment NSW Infantry | South Africa, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| NSW | 2nd Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | 2nd Regiment NSW Infantry | South Africa, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| NSW | 3rd Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | 3rd Regiment NSW Infantry | South Africa, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| NSW | 4th Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | 4th Regiment NSW Infantry | South Africa, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| NSW | NSW Scottish Rifles, 1st and 2nd Battalions | 5th Regiment NSW Infantry | South Africa, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| NSW | The Australian Rifle Regiment, 1st Battalion | 6th Regiment NSW Infantry | South Africa, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| NSW | The St. George's English Rifle Regiment, 1st Battalion | 7th Regiment NSW Infantry | South Africa, 1901 and 1902 |
| NSW | NSW Irish Rifles, 1st Battalion | 8th Regiment NSW Infantry | South Africa, 1902 |
| Vic | 7th Australian Light Horse Regiment | Victorian Mounted Rifles | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Vic | 8th Australian Light Horse Regiment | Victorian Mounted Rifles | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Vic | 9th Australian Light Horse Regiment | Victorian Mounted Rifles | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Vic | 10th Australian Light Horse Regiment | Victorian Mounted Rifles | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Vic | 11th Australian Light Horse Regiment | Victorian Mounted Rifles | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Vic | 5th Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | 1st Battalion, Infantry | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Vic | 6th Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | 2nd Battalion, Infantry | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Vic | 7th Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | 3rd Battalion, Infantry | South Africa, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Vic | 8th Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st and 2nd Battalion | 4th and 5th Battalion, Infantry | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Vic | Victorian Rangers, 1st Battalion | Victorian Rangers | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Qld | 13th Australian Light Horse Regiment | Queensland Mounted Infantry | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Qld | 14th Australian Light Horse Regiment | Queensland Mounted Infantry | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Qld | 15th Australian Light Horse Regiment | Queensland Mounted Infantry | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Qld | 9th Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st and 2nd Battalion | 1st Queensland (Moreton) Regiment | South Africa, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Qld | The Kennedy Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | 3rd Queensland (Kennedy) Regiment | South Africa, 1902 |
| Qld | The Queensland Rifles, 1st Battalion | The Queensland Rifles | South Africa, 1901 and 1902 |
| SA | 16th Australian Light Horse Regiment | South Australian Mounted Rifles | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| SA | 17th Australian Light Horse Regiment | South Australian Mounted Rifles | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| SA | 10th Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | 1st Infantry Regiment, 1st and 2nd Battalion (Active Force), South Australian Infantry | South Africa, 1901 and 1902 |
| WA | 11th Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | The Western Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st and 2nd Battalions | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| WA | The Western Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | The Western Australian Infantry Regiment, 3rd and 4th Battalions | South Africa, 1901 and 1902 |
| WA | The Goldfields Infantry Regiment of Western Australia, 1st Battalion | The Western Australian Infantry Regiment, 5th Battalion | South Africa, 1902 |
| Tas | 12th Australian Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | The Tasmanian Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Tas | The Derwent Regiment, 1st Battalion | The Tasmanian Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | South Africa, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 |
| Tas | The Tasmanian Rangers, 1st Battalion | The Tasmanian Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion | South Africa, 1901 and 1902 |
Instructions have also been received that the Banners presented to the Australian Light Horse Regiments, Royal Australian Artillery, the Victorian Rangers, and the Australian Army Medical Corps (GO 258/04) are not King's Colours, but honourable insignia presented by the King as a special mark of favour in recognition of valuable services rendered in South Africa in 1899 to 1902 and that Honorary Distinctions are not to be borne upon these Banners.
Military Order No. 123, 1908 was the recognition by King Edward VII of the services rendered by Australian formations during the South African conflict.
Since the formations to which the Battle Honours were allotted had ceased to exist, the Territorial formation from whence the men emerged, were sustained and to where they went subsequent to the Boer War was the formation to which the Battle Honour was allocated.
Military Order No. 123, 1908 formalised the process of Battle Honour allotment to the correct Territorial formation.
Further Reading:
Citation: Military Order No. 123, 1908
Posted by Project Leader
at 7:08 AM EAST
Updated: Thursday, 3 September 2009 1:08 PM EADT
