Identity
Person No.
30540
Old ROH no.
528
Service No.
65395287N
Last Name
First Name
John
Initials
J
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
20
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
MVA 2,625
Motor vehicle accident
Cause of Death
Died in Military Vehicle Accident, while being transported in a Gladiator Troop Carrier back to Ladysmith Army Camp. Their vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a Newspaper Delivery Van between Colesburg and Philippolis and the vehicle immediately burst into flames with the men still trapped inside and unable to escape
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Rifleman
Unit
Unknown
Secondary Unit
Air Force
Defence Force
SADF 3,817
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Coordinates
Unit History
Notes
Son of Mr. E. C. Grinyer, of Durban.
Research notes
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 13 Sep 2026 / Bushwar Books Lest We Forget 13 September (https://www.warbooks.co.za/posts/lest-we-forget-13-september/ 65395287N Rifleman John Grinyer, 5 SAI, same Gladiator MVA as Coker, age 20. Exact match.
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
Bushwar Books - Lest We Forget
open source ↗
Lest We Forget 13 September
-
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
Graham Last Post 13 Sep 2026
-
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 85-87 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 3
Died in a Military Vehicle Accident, involving his section being transported in a Gladiator. There was a bad crash and fire, with the troops trapped in the rear. The army vehicle he was in collided head-on with a newspaper delivery van between Colesberg and Philippolis, on their way back to Ladysmith army camp.
65395287N Rifleman John Grinyer (5 SAI). He was 20.
13 Sep 1970: Six members from 5 SAI and one member from 3 SAI were killed while being transported in a Gladiator Troop Carrier back to Ladysmith Army Camp. Their vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a Newspaper Delivery Van between Colesburg and Philippolis and the vehicle immediately burst into flames with the men still trapped inside. The casualties were:
Dedications 1
I was with them when they died. They were the Anti-tank section and John ,"Tich" Marriott and Kevin Mack were all Natal boys we tended to spend time together. The last time I spoke to them was an hour or so before the accident when we stopped for a pee break and I asked if they had space. The PF Training Staff were in a hurry to get back from Battle Trials and had decided that we would drive through the night, all the vehicles had a layer of Jerrycans full of petrol in the bed of the trucks and we slept on top of them. I was looking out the back when our truck (think it was also a Gladiator or a Landie,) swerved and a huge truck went roaring past in the opposite direction, Hit the Bedford behind us at an angle as he was trying to get out of the way and launched into the Air . John Grinyer was driving, he didn't have a chance. John was definitely killed instantly,the truck then ploughed through the back and the petrol cans ignited and blew, when we got there it was impossible to rescue anyone, if anyone was alive,as the fire was so intense . Marriott was thrown out of the vehicle and was on the ground next to it , but I think he went instantly as well as the explosion took out all the oxygen. I went to four of the Funerals. I understand it was the Sunday Times Cape Town delivery truck and the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel.