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Holland , Clifford Donald (C D)

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Photo of Holland
Identity
Person No.
30736
Old ROH no.
593
Service No.
72268949BT
Last Name
Holland 12
First Name
Clifford Donald
Initials
C D
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1957 (±1 yr) 432
Age at Death
19
Death Record
Date of Death
16 June 1976 114
Cause code
SHOT 546
Shot
Cause of Death
Died in Shooting Incident 289
Died in Shooting Incident, at Ruacana, struck by a bullet from an accidental discharge of a fellow soldier's rifle
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Rifleman
Regiment
Durban Light Infantry 30
Later renamed 1st Infantry (Durban Light Infantry) (1912)
Corps
South African Infantry Corps 10,347
Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SADF 3,830
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,873
Locality
KwaZulu-Natal 1,589
Cemetery
DURBAN (STELLAWOOD) CEMETERY 408
Grave Reference
A4 1
Coordinates
-29.88587, 30.97733 OSM
Memorial
South West Africa/Angola 1976-1989 and Deployments 1994- Source: kznpr.co.za (KZN: A Photographic Historical Record)
Names on Border War / Deployments
Memorial
Durban Light Infantry Chapel (Chapel of St Michael & St George)
Location
Durban Light Infantry Headquarters, Durban
Address
5 DLI Avenue, Durban, South Africa
Coordinates
-29.84722, 31.01583 · OpenStreetMap
Panel
Border War / Deployments
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Unit History
Role at time of death
Infantry, later Mechanised Infantry
Status
Active Citizen Force / Army Conventional Reserve
Part of
84 Motorised Brigade
Became a mechanised infantry regiment at an undocumented date within this era — no source found dates the transition.
Notes

Attended Glenwood High School, Durban from 1970-73.

Research notes

Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 16 Jun 2026: 7226894BT Rifleman Clifford Donald Holland, Durban Light Infantry, killed at Ruacana when struck by a bullet from an accidental discharge of a fellow soldier's rifle, age 19. ROH ServiceNo is 72268949BT (Graham omitted a digit). Cause had Uwamboland.
John Dovey, 1 Sep 2026 (Durban Light Infantry Chapel memorial panel review): Regiment moved from Unit field (was incorrectly stored as this record's Unit) -- confirmed Durban Light Infantry, no Unit known.
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Army" was CLEARED as a duplicate. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word repeating what the Branch column already says. Secondary Unit is for sub-units -- a company, a squadron, a commando -- and this record's branch of service is unchanged at "Army".

Citations
Unknown
External References
Stories 1
on 30 May 2001 · via source
Clifford Donald Holland [ born 3/10/1956] attended Glenwood High School , Durban from 1970-73 .He was killed in a shooting accident in the operational area in June 1976 .He was 19 years of age .
Dedications 1
by Emil Long (via Johan Schoeman, War in Angola) on 29 March 2025 · via War in Angola
From Emil Long:
It has been a great concern to me that a friend and fellow trooper with me who was also a school friend,was not included in the roll of honour. We were both based at Ruacana in 1976, I with NMR and he, Clifford Holland with DLI. He was shot through the side while seated on the back if a Unimog when another trooper jumped down and the butt of his rifle hit the ground. A round was discharged and hit Clifford instantly killing him. It would give me great comfort to know that his sacrifice for our country has been recorded.With Sincere Thanks Trooper Emil Long Service Number 70500707