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McIntosh , William Robert (W R)

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No photograph available — remembrance poppy
Identity
Person No.
31821
Old ROH no.
932
Service No.
80000987PP
Last Name
McIntosh 1
First Name
William Robert
Initials
W R
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1952 (±1 yr) 288
Age at Death
30
Death Record
Date of Death
08 October 1982 204
Cause code
ACC 1,584
Accident
Cause of Death
Died in a parachute training accident 1
Died in a parachute training accident. Parachute failed to open during a practice jump at Langebaan
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Captain
Regiment
4 Reconnaissance Regiment 10
Later renamed 4 Special Forces Regiment (1995)
Corps
South African Infantry Corps 10,347
Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SADF 3,832
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,874
Locality
Gauteng 9,374
Cemetery
SADF WALL OF REMEMBRANCE, VOORTREKKER MONUMENT, PRETORIA 1,926
Grave Reference
Alternative Commemoration until grave found 1,612
Memorial
Memorial
SADF Wall of Remembrance
Location
On a koppie at the Voortrekker Monument, overlooking Pretoria
Address
Voortrekker Monument, Eeufees Road, Groenkloof, Pretoria, 0181, South Africa
Coordinates
-25.77639, 28.17583 · OpenStreetMap
Panel
Not listed against a numbered panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Unit History
Role at time of death
Special Forces (reconnaissance)
Status
Regular Force
Each numbered Reconnaissance unit was renamed over time: "X Reconnaissance Commando" -> "X Reconnaissance Regiment" (1981) -> briefly a Parachute Battalion designation (1992/93, under "45 Parachute Brigade", a Special-Forces-only designation distinct from the real 44 Parachute Brigade) -> "X Special Forces Regiment" (1995). The parent formation itself changed name several times before 1995 (Special Forces Headquarters, then Directorate Reconnaissance(Forces)) with disputed exact dates between sources -- 1995 is the one date sources agree on. Corps classified as SAIC (South African Infantry Corps) per this site's own records; no independent source found confirms that for Special Forces units specifically -- treat as owner-asserted pending a better citation.
Notes

Husband of IG McIntosh of Howick

Research notes

SASFA In Memoriam (operators killed in training): confirmed operator; died in training (SASFA: Operators killed in Training). SASFA: McIntosh WR 1982. https://www.recce.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/4.1.-Memoriam.pdf 26 Aug 2026: Unit was leftover "42 Squadron". SAWGP Regiment 4 Reconnaissance Regiment with no separate unit.
Jack Greeff, "A Greater Share of Honour: The Memoirs of a 'Recce' Officer" (3rd edition, September 2023, ISBN 978-1-920702-37-3), p. 103: identified as a Rhodesian SAS officer who briefed Recce teams before their first Mozambique deployment -- "One of the SAS officers, Lieutenant Macintosh... 'Mac', as he was known, later joined 4 Recce after Rhodesia became Zimbabwe. Mac was an aggressive soldier... he was the only SAS Operator to [give input] at that early stage of the operation. Sadly Mac died some years later in a parachute accident during a training jump at 4 Recce." This record holds the parachute training accident at 4 Reconnaissance Regiment, 8 October 1982, matching exactly. Greeff spells the name Macintosh; the roll has McIntosh. His Rhodesian SAS service before joining 4 Recce is not currently on this record.
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 09 February 2011 · via source
van Kraaijenburg Andries Nicolaas gebore: 30/05/1869 geboorte plaas: Uitkomst, Distrik Carolina sterf: 24/01/1900 sterfte ouderdom: 30jr 7mde 25dae (te slag van Spioenkop) Boedel: TAB MHG O/19144 Erika Retief
Dedications

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