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Ross , Brian Alan (B A)

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No photograph available — remembrance poppy
Identity
Person No.
32733
Old ROH no.
1229
Service No.
72480858BT
Last Name
Ross 53
First Name
Brian Alan
Initials
B A
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1952 (±1 yr) 288
Age at Death
25
Death Record
Date of Death
05 October 1977 85
Cause code
KIA 14,778
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action 14,654
Killed in action, at Etale - Sector 10, mine explosion at a waterhole
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Rifleman
Regiment
Rand Light Infantry 111
Unit
Negev 2
Defence Force
SADF 3,838
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,873
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
Infantry
Status
Active Citizen Force (Reserve)
Part of
Infantry Formation (SAAIF) — Light Infantry — Reserve
Originated 1905 as the Transvaal Cycle Corps; became 11th Infantry (Rand Light Infantry) and transferred to the Active Citizen Force in 1913; renamed Rand Light Infantry 1932. Merged with Duke of Edinburgh's Own Rifles 1942-45 (WWII), re-established as a reserve unit post-war, serving in the Border War.
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

Born in Danzig moved to South Africa at age 14, till age 22 made Aliyah to Israel. Son of Bella and Zalman

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 21 against this record's 25. This record has no date of birth, so there is nothing to adjudicate with. Flagged, not changed.
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 ServiceNo 724080858BT against this record's 72480858BT. The two numbers differ by only 1 digit(s), so one is a transcription slip -- but nothing here says which, and this record is not part of any shared-number run. Not resolved. Flagged, not changed.
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 2
on 22 September 2007 · via source
I went to South Africa from England in 1974. I met Brian and we became firm friends. We did everything together until he had to do his National Service. He was 19 I think when he was killed. He was killed by a landmine. Rest in peace buddy ray g
by Bill Skelton on 21 July 2009 · via source
I was with Brian when he died. We were members of a patrol (10 guys) in charge of a few kilometers of the Yati. Days were spent laying claymores and burying animals that had walked into them. In our area of responsibility was a watering hole, a miserable little hole with brackish brown water. But we were given only one fresh water bottle a day so we were very happy with our watering hole. Some days we swam, whilst one or two of the guys kept watch. One day Gary and Brian were on watch. We were swimming and very close to us there was a huge explosion and dust. We flew out of the water and found Gary going in circles on all fours and Brian lying unconscious. They had wandered off for some reason and, I believe, walked into one of our own claymores, one that we had laid. We soon saw that Gary was not fatally hurt but that Brian was in trouble. He was unconscious. I do not believe that he was in pain or had any awareness of his situation. His wounds were not such that we could do anything, by that I mean he had small puncture wounds that were not bleeding profusely. We did mouth-to-mouth until the chopper arrived. I am sorry this all happened, so wasteful. Brian was a quiet, modest guy. We liked him.
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.