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Bulterman , Robin Centlivre (R C)

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Identity
Person No.
29639
Old ROH no.
171
Service No.
65718058PE
Last Name
First Name
Robin Centlivre
Initials
R C
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
32
Death Record
Cause code
Unknown
Cause of Death
Killed in the collision between SAS President Kruger and SAS Tafelberg (Mess 12), 18 February 1982
Military Service
Branch
Navy
Rank
Petty Officer
Defence Force
SADF 3,815
South African Defence Force
Memorial
Memorial
Location
On a koppie at the Voortrekker Monument, overlooking Pretoria
Address
Coordinates
Panel
Not listed against a numbered panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Operation
Operation
Dates
1982-02-18
About
At about 03:50 on 18 February 1982, during night station-keeping / replenishment exercises, SAS President Kruger collided with the replenishment ship SAS Tafelberg and sank about two hours later. Fourteen men in Mess 12 were killed by the impact; Chief Petty Officer D. Webb and Able Seaman G.T. Benjamin died while abandoning ship (Webb’s body recovered by SAS Protea on 19 February). Source: Bennett, Three Frigates (2006).
Unit History
Home Unit
Attached To
Notes

Husband of Mrs. M. C. Bulterman
Listed by Chris Bennett, Three Frigates (2006), among the fourteen Mess 12 personnel killed by the impact when SAS President Kruger collided with SAS Tafelberg at about 03:50 on 18 February 1982; bodies went down with the ship.

Research notes

Bennett, Chris. Three Frigates: President Class Frigates bring the SA Navy to maturity. Just Done Productions / Lulu, 2006 (ISBN 978-1-920169-02-2).

Citations
Unknown
External References
Stories 2
on 17 August 2026 · via source
In the early hours of Thursday 18 February 1982, SAS President Kruger , oldest of the three Type 12 Frigates of the South African Navy, collided with the replenishment vessel, SAS Tafelberg . Both ships were severely damaged but TAFELBERG returned safely to Simon?s Town. President Kruger sank approximately two hours after the collision when efforts to keep her afloat failed. 14 men from Mess 12, Chief Petty Officers
by Chris Bennett (Three Frigates) on 26 August 2026
Petty Officer Robin Centlivre Bulterman of SAS President Kruger was among the fourteen men in Mess 12 killed when the frigate collided with SAS Tafelberg in the early hours of 18 February 1982 and sank south of Cape Point.

Bennett (Three Frigates) records that only two men in Mess 12 survived the impact (CPO Leonard Mack and PO Roodt); the remainder, including Robin Centlivre Bulterman, were lost with the ship.
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.