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Prins , Rionell (R)

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No photograph available — remembrance poppy
Identity
Person No.
32584
Old ROH no.
1178
Service No.
87066502CK
Last Name
Prins 17
First Name
Rionell
Initials
R
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1964 (±1 yr) 296
Age at Death
24
Death Record
Date of Death
28 September 1988 100
Cause code
SHOT 548
Shot
Cause of Death
Died in Shooting Incident 290
Died in Shooting Incident, in Ops 001
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Rifleman
Regiment
53 Battalion 7
Corps
South African Infantry Corps 10,347
Unit
53 Battalion 4
Defence Force
SADF 3,874
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,879
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
Part of
Other listed units (not nested under a brigade above) › Modular Infantry Battalions under South West Africa Command
Notes

Son of Mr. and Mrs. M. Collins

Research notes


Mike Sandham's research log ("List 1"), imported 16 Sep 2026, credited to The South Africa War Graves Project unless his entry says otherwise: gives Age 20 against this record's 24. This record has no date of birth, so there is nothing to adjudicate with. Flagged, not changed.
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Air Force" was CLEARED. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word, and it CONTRADICTED this record's own Branch, "Army". 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 28 Sep 2026: "87066502CK Rifleman Rionell Prins from 53 Battalion was accidentally killed after being struck by a bullet resulting from an accidental discharge of a fellow soldier's rifle during operations in Southern Angola. He was 20." Bushwar Books Lest We Forget 28 September (bushwar-books) republishes this entry verbatim (also giving age 20), no discrepancy between the two sources -- both disagree with this record.
- AGE CONFLICT, NOT CHANGED: this record holds 24; Graham and Bushwar Books both give 20.
- UNIT FILLED IN: this record carried no Unit; set to 53 Battalion, consistent with the stored South African Infantry Corps.

Citations
Unknown
External References
Stories 1
by Graham Du Toit on 28 September 2014 · via source
28 Sep 1988: 87066502CK Rifleman Rionell Prins from 53 Battalion SWATF was shot dead due to the accidental discharge of a fellow soldiers rifle during operations in Southern Angola. He was 20.
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.