The Buffalo Volunteer Rifles (BVR) (formerly the Kaffrarian Rifles) is an infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard unit. History Origin This unit was formed in East London in 1876, as the Buffalo Corps of Rifle Volunteers, for service in the 9th Frontier War. It disbanded in 1879. (East London is situated on the Buffalo River, hence the name). Reformed The unit was re-formed in July 1883 and was named after the region of Kaffraria, the 19th-century name for the region around East London. There had previously been many other units from this region, from which the Regiment can also claim descent: Kaffrarian Volunteer Corps, Kaffrarian Mounted Rifles (Kaffrarian Rangers), Buffalo Volunteer Rifles Corps, Buffalo Volunteer Engineers, Kaffrarian Volunteer Artillery Corps, Berlin Mounted Volunteers, Cape Mounted Yeomanry (1st Regiment), Frontier Mounted Riflemen (Brabant's Horse), East London Volunteers (Von Linsignen's Buffalo Corps and later Walkers Horse). On 1 December 1900 George Herbert Farrar was appointed as a Major in the Kaffrarian Rifles. Under the Union Defence Force By 1913 the unit was embodied in the Citizen Force as the 5th Infantry (Kaffrarian Rifles), but regained its old name in 1932. In March 1947 the regiment was formally inspected by King George VI on a visit to East London and a photo is available The unit was temporarily amalgamated with the First City Regiment, as the First City/The Kaffrarian Rifles from 1954 to 1956. Conflicts This Regiment and its predecessors took part in all of South Africa's armed conflicts, including: Bechuanaland Campaign (1897), Second Boer War, World War I (when it fought in the then German South-West Africa and most of its members went on to serve in East Africa and Europe), World War II (when it fought in the Western Desert during 1941 - 1943) as well as in South Africa's "Border War" during 1975 to 1986 (when it fought in South-West Africa, Angola and Zambia). Under the SANDF post 1994 and Peacekeeping In order to keep pace with the changing political climate in South Africa, the regiment was renamed the Buffalo Volunteer Rifles in 1999, a revised form of the regiment's name when it was raised. It is thus defacto and dejure the successor to the reserve SAA formations of the Eastern Cape. As of 2014 this