Kriel , Johannes David (J D)

25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Army" was CLEARED. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word, and it CONTRADICTED this record's own Branch, "Air Force". Across the roll 787 records carried such a contradiction; judged against Corps and Regiment -- independent of both columns -- the evidence backed Branch 744 times and Unit2 not once. Branch is therefore kept and the contradicting word removed. Nothing is guessed: this man's branch of service is already recorded, and his sub-unit, if any, is simply not known.
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 25 Sep 2026: "P/18727 Corporal Johannes David Kriel, an Air Photographer attached to 22 Flight (Later 22 Squadron) was Reported Missing when the Westland Wasp Helicopter, Serial No. 86 that was operating from SAS Simon van der Stel, suffered engine failure and crashed into Table Bay, 7 miles West of Dassen Island while en-route to deliver photographs of the SAS President Pretorius to Air Force Base Ysterplaat for processing. The SAS President Pretorius was anchored in Saldanha Bay at the time of the incident and was scheduled to sail for Cape Town on 26 September 1964 as part of 'Operation Flaminkdans'... He has no known grave and remains unaccounted for. He was 25." Confirms the stored record and adds three details it did not carry: the helicopter was operating from SAS Simon van der Stel, he was flying the photographs to AFB Ysterplaat for processing, and the ship was anchored in Saldanha Bay due to sail for Cape Town the next day. Service number, rank, date and age all agree.
- DUPLICATE HELD FOR JOHN: PersonNumber 48958 is the same man -- same name, rank, date and service number (P18727 against P/18727), added 25 Aug 2026 from the pantser.cmvo.org.za SADF deaths list. It carries a DateBirth this record lacks, 13 October 1938, which agrees with age 25 at death. Its cause text also reads 'D. KRIEL BROTHER', suggesting a brother. Not merged: that is John's decision.
25 Sep 2026: MERGED duplicate PersonNumber 48958 into this record on John's instruction, after Graham du Toit's Last Post of 25 Sep 2026 confirmed the pair as one man. 48958 was created on 25 Aug 2026 from Mike Sandham's transcription of pantser.cmvo.org.za's "Lys van Weermaglede wat aan diens gesterf het", and gave the same name, rank and date of death under the service number "P18727" against this record's "P/18727".
- DATE OF BIRTH GAINED: 13 October 1938, which this record did not hold. It agrees with his recorded age of 25 -- he would have turned 26 eighteen days after he died. EstBirthYear is corrected from 1939 to 1938 accordingly; 1939 was only ever 1964 minus 25.
- NEXT OF KIN GAINED: his brother, D. Kriel. In the source the place, cause, detail and next-of-kin columns run together as "DASSEN ISLAND FREAK ACCIDENT DROWNED AFTER HELICOPTER FELL INTO D. KRIEL BROTHER", with "SEA" wrapping onto the next line. The trailing words are the next-of-kin column, not part of the account: a brother who survived him, not a second casualty. No D. Kriel appears anywhere on this roll, which is consistent with that reading. This record already named his father, P. G. Kriel of Ashton, Cape.
- DISCARDED, not merged: 48958 gave Branch "Army" and CauseCode "ACC" against this record's "Air Force" and "AA". He was an Air Force photographer killed in an aircraft accident, so this record's values stand.
- The SADF deaths list is carried across as a source, so this record now cites SAWGP, the War In Angola Roll of Honour, Graham du Toit and the SADF deaths list.
Mike Sandham OMISSIONS: 25 SEPTEMBER (25 Sep 2026), quoting the South African War Graves Project also asks, under the heading "Duplication- Same person?", about "Person # 31154 / 48958 Kriel, Johannes David". INDEPENDENT CONFIRMATION of the merge carried out earlier today: 48958 was merged into this record on John's instruction, bringing across the date of birth of 13 October 1938 and his brother D. Kriel as next of kin. Mike reached the same conclusion from the South African War Graves Project without seeing that decision.