Identity
Person No.
29839
Old ROH no.
253
Service No.
76484369BT
Last Name
First Name
James Eric
Initials
J E
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
26
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
MVA 2,627
Motor vehicle accident
Cause of Death
Died in Military Vehicle Accident, at Kwanobuhle, buffel accident
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Corporal
Regiment
Unit
Secondary Unit
Navy
Defence Force
SADF 3,823
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Grave Reference
Unit History
Part of
SADF Commando System
category
Notes
Son of Mrs. E. Cooper, of Port Elizabeth
Research notes
Roc W / Anthea Wilson, ROH story 16 Apr 2016: names his unit at time of death as "Regiment Algoa Bay" (a Uitenhage/PE-area Citizen Force unit, cf. Conway PN 29834, Craul PN 29867, Wiggell PN 33864) -- not merged into Regiment/Unit, which currently read "Group 46"/"Provost School" (likely his prior training posting); flagged as a probable operational-unit vs training-unit distinction, not a data error, pending further confirmation. Corroborates the existing cause (Buffel rollover after a collision at an intersection in KwaNobuhle) with the vehicle-dynamics detail (wedged between front and rear wheels).
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
SADF.info Border Roll of Honour
open source ↗
SADF.info Border RoH
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
-
The War in Angola
open source ↗
War In Angola Roll of Honour (warinangola.com, tabid=1175), pages 105-106 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 2
Not sure if I've got the right Cooper, but he could have been the one who fell asleep under the Samil and got reversed over... very sad!
Cpl James Cooper (Regiment Algoa Bay) was in command of a Buffel while on patrol in KwaNobuhle, Uitenhage during the "State of Emergency" 1986. On crossing an intersection, an oncoming vehicle drove into the Buffel, wedging between front and rear wheels. This caused it to flip head over. It is very unfortunate that Cpl Cooper died in this incident. He was a good man, in both military and civilian worlds.
Dedications
No dedications have been added yet.