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With the blessings of His Royal Highness, Oheneba Nana Kwame Obeng II, the 29th also operates as the historic Ghana regiment which fought for the free world in both World Wars and continues service to this day.
Men and women who join our living monument to the Ghana Regiment can expect to learn the discipline and tradition of the King's African Rifles to honor the heroism of these African heroes and their allies.
The Gold Coast regiment was initially formed in 1879, made up of local soldiers known as "Askari" and British officers. By the outbreak of the first World War, the regiment raised five battalions.
In the first World War, the Gold Coast Regiment fought Imperial German forces in the Togoland colony, capturing the entire colony between 7 and 26 August, 1914. The first British shot in World War I was fired by Alhaji Gurunshi, pictured here.
The Regiment also fought in the East Africa campaign between 1916-18, fighting German holdings in Kamina, Duala and Cameroon.
In 1924, Otumfuo Nana Sir Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II returned from British imposed exile in Seychelles. He was not allowed to assume the title "Asantehene" or ruler of the Ashanti, when elected in 1931.
Reverend Sidney Jacoby Pearson served as a British Chaplain with the King's African Rifles and made an unlikely friendship with Prempeh II. Through significant efforts, Prempeh II was enstooled Asantehene in 1935.
The Ghana regiment served in World War II, fighting Axis forces across the globe.
Their first battles were against Italian forces in Egypt and Sudan, fighting to defend against Italian incursions.
The regiment fought to liberate Ethiopia from the Italian Occupation during the Abyssinia Campaign of 1940-41.
Following the liberation of the Horn of Africa, the Ghana Regiment reformed under the 81st West Africa division and fought Japanese forces in the Burma Campaign of 1943-45
Today, His Royal Highness retains the mantle of "Tufohene" or "warlord". He continues the heroes' tradition by waging war on illiteracy, poverty, disease and unemployment to promote development in the Kingdom and beyond.
Additional information about the royal house can be found here.
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