Disbandment
The Union Defence Force had finalised a decision to convert 1 SA Infantry Division into an Armoured Division and the Axis withdrawal from El Alamein marked the end of fighting for the division in the Middle East. By 1 December, advance parties were already returning to South Africa to assist with the establishment of the intended armoured division and later in the month, Gen. Pienaar was recalled to South Africa to lead the formation of the new division. He and eleven other officers boarded a Lockheed Lodestar on 17 December to fly back to South Africa. The aircraft stopped to re-fuel at Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria and on takeoff on the 19th, it plunged into the lake, killing all on board.
On 1 January 1943, the 1 SA Infantry Division embarked for home, with troops returning to their parent units in South Africa. The Division had been dissolved and many of its former units were to be absorbed into the 6th South African Armoured Division. The designation 1st South African Infantry Division was also used briefly by a successor formation in 1948-49.
Read more about this topic: 1st Infantry Division (South Africa)