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Venter , Abraham Jacobus (A J)

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Identity
Person No.
27236
Service No.
344
Last Name
First Name
Abraham Jacobus
Initials
A J
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Unknown
Age at Death
Unknown
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,778
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, explosion of concealed mine during advance up Swakop River
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Burgher
Defence Force
UDF 24,809
Union Defence Force
Operation
Operation
Dates
1914-09 to 1915-07-09
About
Union Defence Force campaign under General Louis Botha that conquered German South-West Africa (today Namibia), ending with the German surrender at Khorab / Otaviefontein area in July 1915. Whittall served with the R.N. Armoured Car Division attached to Union forces.
Notes

Next of kin, J. Venter, of Sevenfontein, P.O. Arnett, Middelburg, Transvaal
Whittall, With Botha and Smuts in Africa, records three Middelburg Commando scouts killed by a German observation mine during the Swakop valley advance — matching this ROH CauseDeath (concealed mine, 30 Apr 1915).

Research notes

Whittall, W. With Botha and Smuts in Africa. Cassell, 1917; Just Done Productions / Lulu reprint, 2009 (ISBN 978-1-920315-47-4).

Citations
Unknown
Stories 1
by W. Whittall (With Botha and Smuts in Africa) on 26 August 2026
Abraham Jacobus Venter, Middelburg Commando, was killed when a German observation mine exploded during the Union advance up the Swakop River in German South-West Africa (30 April 1915).

W. Whittall (With Botha and Smuts in Africa) describes this as one of the few successful German mine operations of the campaign, killing three scouts of the Middelburg Commando.
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.