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Kemp , Christo (C)

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Photo of Kemp
Identity
Person No.
31032
Old ROH no.
685
Service No.
70317078BT
Last Name
Kemp 25
First Name
Christo
Initials
C
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1954 (±1 yr) 318
Age at Death
23
Death Record
Date of Death
17 March 1977 93
Cause code
KIA 14,779
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action 14,653
Killed in action, mine clearing team missed a landmine and it was detonated by the Spook as Kemp moved forward to relieve the sweep team. Traumatic amputation of leg
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Sapper
Regiment
14 Field Regiment 14
Corps
South African Artillery 719
Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SADF 3,830
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,873
Locality
Eastern Cape 971
Cemetery
QUEENSTOWN CEMETERY (EASTERN CAPE) 29
Grave Reference
Reportedly 1
Awards
Pro Patria Medal
Pro Patria Medal
South Africa
Pro Patria Medal warrant, Government Gazette No. 5171 (25 Jun 1976), Rule 5, as amended by GG No. 5575 (3 Jun 1977); discontinued by GG No. 25213 (25 Jul 2003, Schedule corrected by GG No. 26778, 17 Sep 2004) for service on/after 27 Apr 2003. Gazette extracts: https://rohsa.co.za/award.php?id=24
Notes

Husband of Mrs. M. E. V. Kemp

Research notes

Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 17 Mar 2024: 70317078BT Sapper Christo Kemp, 14 Field Regiment, Died of Wounds during mine clearing operations. The sweep team missed a landmine and it was detonated by the Spook just as Sapper Kemp moved forward to relieve the sweep team. His legs were blown off in the explosion and he died within minutes. He was 23. ROH already has the Spook/sweep-team account as KIA with traumatic amputation of (one) leg — KIA vs Graham DOW and one vs both legs not overwritten. Unit2 was generic Air Force; set to Army to match other 14 Field Regiment rows. | Also Last Post 17 Mar 2020: 70317078BT Sapper Christo Kemp, 14 Field Regiment, Killed in Action during mine clearing operations (Spook detonated a missed landmine as he moved forward to relieve the sweep team; legs blown off; died within minutes), age 23. This 2020 Last Post says KIA (matches ROH); 17 Mar 2024 said Died of Wounds. One vs both legs already noted (not overwritten).
4 Sep 2026: Unit leftover "14 Field Regiment" (a named regiment, not a sub-unit) moved to Regiment. Corps unchanged.
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
  • Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
    Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 17 Mar 2024: 70317078BT Sapper Christo Kemp, 14 Field Regiment, Died of Wounds during mine clearing operations. The sweep team missed a landmine and it was detonated by the Spook just as Sapper Kemp moved forward to relieve the sweep team. His legs were blown off in the explosion and he died within minutes. He was 23. ROH already has the Spook/sweep-team account as KIA with traumatic amputation of (one) leg — KIA vs Graham DOW and one vs both legs not overwritten. Unit2 was generic Air Force; set to Army to match other 14 Field Regiment rows.
  • Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
    Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 17 Mar 2020: 70317078BT Sapper Christo Kemp from 14 Field Regiment was Killed in Action during mine clearing operations. The sweep team missed a landmine and it was detonated by the Spook just as Sapper Kemp moved forward to relieve the sweep team. His legs were blown off in the explosion and he died within minutes. He was 23. This 2020 Last Post says KIA (matches ROH); 17 Mar 2024 said Died of Wounds. Traumatic amputation of (one) vs both legs not overwritten.
  • 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 29-32 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 1
by Johan Pistor on 12 July 2007 · via source
Chris Kemp was a member of 14 Field Squadron -Engineer Corps (part of Northern Transvaal Commandment). He died in a landmine explosion in January 1977 on the Golden Highway near the old Eenhana camp in Owamboland (not the new Eenhana base where the mass graves were found). We were on our way to Nkongo (?) camp on a routine patrol and the vehicle hit the landmine whilst he was walking in the bushes next to it. Those of us who were there will always remember him - R.I.P.
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.