Catalogue description War Office: Southern Rhodesian Forces: War Diaries, Second World War

Southern Rhodesia achieved the status of a self-governing colony in 1923. Prior to that it had been controlled by the British South Africa Company, a private commercial venture. As a result of its new status, a Defence Act was passed in 1926 which made all white citizens liable for compulsory military training and service in defence of the colony.

The only full-time members of the defence forces were members of the British South Africa Police, who acted primarily as the colony's police force but who could carry out some military tasks, and a small number of men engaged in training citizens who had volunteered for the small territorial force. The territorials consisted of two cadre battalions of the Rhodesia Regiment, capable of expansion to full battalion strength in an emergency.

Before the outbreak of war in 1939, Great Britain and the government of Southern Rhodesia had agreed that the most useful role for Rhodesians in the event of a major war would be as leaders and specialists in other units in Africa. A large number, therefore, of the 8,000 or so Rhodesians who served in the Army of the Empire did so in units such as the Gold Coast Regiment and the King's African Rifles or in units of the South African Forces. Other sub-units such as infantry companies or artillery batteries of Rhodesians served in British Army units.

In 1941 the Southern Rhodesian Armoured Car Regiment was formed and served in East Africa before being transferred to the South African Forces to serve in an armoured division. A new unit, the Rhodesian African Rifles, drawn from the colony's native inhabitants was also raised and this too served overseas, notably in South East Asia.

Towards the end of 1942 it was decided to link the Southern Rhodesian Forces with those of the Union of South Africa and the majority of the Southern Rhodesian units and sub-units served with the latter, seeing further active operations with the South African 6th Armoured Division in Italy.