Identity
Person No.
32351
Old ROH no.
1075
Service No.
71463350BA
Last Name
First Name
Gideon M F
Initials
G M F
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
20
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,778
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, during a contact with MPLA forces at a bridge 40 kms North-East of Novo Redondo in Angola. Two armoured cars were ordered forward but were met by a hail of bullets and shells. One Eland broke down and when the machine gun was hit and rendered unusable, Obbes jumped out of the turret and was mortally wounded
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Trooper
Regiment
Unknown
Secondary Unit
"D" Squadron
Defence Force
SADF 3,839
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Unit History
Role at time of death
Armour (Armoured Car)
Status
Permanent Force (Regular)
Part of
Re-established 1 October 1973 out of C Squadron 1 SSB, itself formed as C Squadron of 2 Armoured Car Regiment in February 1962 and renamed 22 December 1966. Regimental HQ and C Squadron at Zeerust; D Squadron detached to 2 SAI at Walvis Bay. Squadrons served in Namibia and Angola from 1974: B, C and D Squadrons on Operation Savannah, 8 October 1975 to 31 January 1976, and later Operations Protea, Daisy, Hooper and Modular. On 25 January 1988 it became the first unit in South Africa granted the Right of Free Admission to a coloured community, Henryville. Most of the men on this roll who point at 2 SSB belong to this period. Also took part in Operation Adding on 10 February 1988, the intervention restoring the Bophuthatswana government after the coup attempt against President Mangope. Equipped with the Ratel IFV and, from May 1990, the Rooikat; received national colours 30 June 1990.
Awards
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
Son of Mr. W. Obbes, of Bellville.
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
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 26-28 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 2
Gideon Obbes died on the 24 November 1975 during a contact with MPLA forces at a bridge 40 kms North-East of Novo Redondo in Angola. Unit was D Squadron attached to 2 SAI BN GP Sam van den Berg (svdb3@iafrica.com) Sam van den Berg
On 24 November 1975 two Eland armoured cars and a Unimog full of paratroopers approached a half-destroyed bridge 40 kilometres north-east of Redondo. The second armoured car came under fire when 150 metres from the bridge and was hit, mortally wounding the commander and bringing the Eland to a halt. Tpr Obbes abandoned the Eland and took cover in some nearby bushes but attempted to return to the Eland soon afterwards, where the other two surviving members of the crew were continuing to engage the enemy. Whilst he was climbing back onto the Eland, an enemy mortar bomb exploded close by, killing him instantly. Information extracted from "Cross of Honour" by Ian Uys. Uys Publishing 1992.
Dedications
No dedications have been added yet.