Identity
Person No.
33163
Old ROH no.
2096
Service No.
80013444PP
Last Name
First Name
Ian
Initials
I
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
32
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,778
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action, during a Special Forces Raid on the African National Congress Headquarters in Maputo, Mozambique during Operation Beanbag
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Sergeant
Regiment
5 Reconnaissance Regiment 72
Later renamed
5 Special Forces Regiment
(1995)
Defence Force
SADF 3,839
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Grave Reference
Memorial
Memorial
Location
On a koppie at the Voortrekker Monument, overlooking Pretoria
Address
Coordinates
Panel
Not listed against a numbered panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Unit History
Home Unit
Attached To
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.
Awards
Mentioned in Despatches (MID)
United Kingdom
tolen DFC/MID LG 1946 (Ian Suttill est. birth 1949; award belongs to Murman PN 18081). SASFA In Memoriam (operators): confirmed Special Forc
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
Husband of Mrs. J. Suttill, of Durban.
Research notes
Cleared stolen DFC/MID LG 1946 (Ian Suttill est. birth 1949; award belongs to Murman PN 18081).
SASFA In Memoriam (operators): confirmed Special Forces operator. SASFA: Suttill Ian KIA 1981. https://www.recce.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/4.1.-Memoriam.pdf 26 Aug 2026: Unit was leftover "101 Battalion". SAWGP Regiment 5 Reconnaissance Regiment, Unit 6 Reconnaissance Commando.
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
-
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 42-45 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
-
Unit veterans association
open source ↗
SASFA In Memoriam: Suttill Ian KIA 1981 — confirmed Special Forces operator
Related Deaths
View all
These people are not on the Roll of Honour. They are recorded here because of a family, service, or civilian connection.
-
Ramos, José
— Same raid
Civilian · 30 January 1981Portuguese civilian killed at a roadblock during the SADF Special Forces raid on Matola, Maputo (Operation Beanbag).
Stories 1
On 29 January 1981, 1 and 6 Reconnaissance Regiments provided the strike force for Operation Beanbag, a strike against MK - Umkhonto We Sizwe (ANC) command centres in Matola, Mozambique.
Alpha Group, provided by 6 Reconnaissance Regiment, consisted of 17 men in two vehicles, and they were tasked with attacking target "Alpha", a Umkhonto We Sizwe transit facility housed in a double storey house which had once belonged to a Portuguese industrialist.
Shortly after midnight, Alpha Group reached their target and split into their assigned sections. The assault section consisted of nine men, split up in two groups.
The first group under Lieutenant Richard Stannard and two men approached the front. The second group, consisting of Sergeants Robert Hutchinson and Ian Suttill, and Corporals Ross Smith and James Park, moved to the rear of the house.
All of these men were experienced soldiers, who had seen extensive action during the Rhodesian war, before joining the SADF.
As the attack started some ANC terrorists bolted out of the front door and attempted to surrender to Stannard's group. However, there was evidently fight in some attempting to escape from the rear of the house, as grenades started exploding at the rear.
The prisoners in front then decided to make a break for it, most of them being killed in the ensuing melee.
Eventually only two of the terrorists who surrendered were recaptured alive.
While this was going on all hell was breaking loose at the back of the house, but just who was shooting at who was anybody's guess as the South Africans were also armed with Soviet Bloc AK 47's.
Ian Suttill came staggering around the corner of the house, heading towards Richard Stannard's group while trying desperately to dislodge a white phosphorus grenade that was burning furiously in his webbing.
Stannard and his men rushed towards Suttill and with no thought for their own safety tried to strip off his webbing, unfortunately they were too late and a HE grenade next to the burning white phosphorus grenade exploded, killing Sgt Suttill instantly.
Next to appear was Corporal Ross Smith seriously wounded with multiple shrapnel wounds and white phosphorus burns. He was followed by Corporal Jim Park who was in a similar state, but despite multiple fractures of both legs and serious shrapnel wounds and extensive white phosphorus burns to his head and body, he made his way back to his HQ group without any assistance.
Unfortunately he was later to succumb to his wounds. The wounded and dead were loaded on the vehicles while Captain Mackenzie and Lieutenant Pete Cole rushed to the rear of the house.
Once there they realised that Sergeant Robert Hutchinson was missing. Captain Mackenzie decided that to regain the initiative they would have to forgo attempts to capture the terrorists, and the two of them fixed explosive charges to the house, destroying it.
By this time the car at the rear was ablaze, and a hurried search was made to try and find the missing team member. Corporal Ross Smith had no idea where Rob Hutchinson was, but he was convinced that he must have been killed. A further quick search was made for the missing soldier, but when this proved fruitless Captain Mackenzie decided to return to Tac HQ as they had already overstayed their time.
The following day press photographs showed the body of Sgt Robert Hutchinson lying behind the burnt out car, wearing his steel helmet with a bullet hole in the front. It has been suggested that he was killed by this shot as he was about to throw a high explosive grenade, and he dropped it. As it detonated it wounded his other team members and detonated their white phosphorus grenades, clipped to their webbing.
Despite these losses, the SADF raid was a success, with many terrorists killed or captured, and the ANC dealt a significant blow to its operations in Mozambique.
Alpha Group, provided by 6 Reconnaissance Regiment, consisted of 17 men in two vehicles, and they were tasked with attacking target "Alpha", a Umkhonto We Sizwe transit facility housed in a double storey house which had once belonged to a Portuguese industrialist.
Shortly after midnight, Alpha Group reached their target and split into their assigned sections. The assault section consisted of nine men, split up in two groups.
The first group under Lieutenant Richard Stannard and two men approached the front. The second group, consisting of Sergeants Robert Hutchinson and Ian Suttill, and Corporals Ross Smith and James Park, moved to the rear of the house.
All of these men were experienced soldiers, who had seen extensive action during the Rhodesian war, before joining the SADF.
As the attack started some ANC terrorists bolted out of the front door and attempted to surrender to Stannard's group. However, there was evidently fight in some attempting to escape from the rear of the house, as grenades started exploding at the rear.
The prisoners in front then decided to make a break for it, most of them being killed in the ensuing melee.
Eventually only two of the terrorists who surrendered were recaptured alive.
While this was going on all hell was breaking loose at the back of the house, but just who was shooting at who was anybody's guess as the South Africans were also armed with Soviet Bloc AK 47's.
Ian Suttill came staggering around the corner of the house, heading towards Richard Stannard's group while trying desperately to dislodge a white phosphorus grenade that was burning furiously in his webbing.
Stannard and his men rushed towards Suttill and with no thought for their own safety tried to strip off his webbing, unfortunately they were too late and a HE grenade next to the burning white phosphorus grenade exploded, killing Sgt Suttill instantly.
Next to appear was Corporal Ross Smith seriously wounded with multiple shrapnel wounds and white phosphorus burns. He was followed by Corporal Jim Park who was in a similar state, but despite multiple fractures of both legs and serious shrapnel wounds and extensive white phosphorus burns to his head and body, he made his way back to his HQ group without any assistance.
Unfortunately he was later to succumb to his wounds. The wounded and dead were loaded on the vehicles while Captain Mackenzie and Lieutenant Pete Cole rushed to the rear of the house.
Once there they realised that Sergeant Robert Hutchinson was missing. Captain Mackenzie decided that to regain the initiative they would have to forgo attempts to capture the terrorists, and the two of them fixed explosive charges to the house, destroying it.
By this time the car at the rear was ablaze, and a hurried search was made to try and find the missing team member. Corporal Ross Smith had no idea where Rob Hutchinson was, but he was convinced that he must have been killed. A further quick search was made for the missing soldier, but when this proved fruitless Captain Mackenzie decided to return to Tac HQ as they had already overstayed their time.
The following day press photographs showed the body of Sgt Robert Hutchinson lying behind the burnt out car, wearing his steel helmet with a bullet hole in the front. It has been suggested that he was killed by this shot as he was about to throw a high explosive grenade, and he dropped it. As it detonated it wounded his other team members and detonated their white phosphorus grenades, clipped to their webbing.
Despite these losses, the SADF raid was a success, with many terrorists killed or captured, and the ANC dealt a significant blow to its operations in Mozambique.
Dedications 2
To a man dearly missed,till we meet again. may you rest in peace.
Even though its been a long while both you and i will know that when we do meet again there will be a stir in the heaven's and an eternity will be spent on catching up. Love always David