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Van Schalkwyk , Helena Suzanna Maria (H S M)

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Photo of Van Schalkwyk
Identity
Person No.
33595
Service No.
81689721PE
Last Name
Van Schalkwyk 30
First Name
Helena Suzanna Maria
Initials
H S M
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1962 (±1 yr) 360
Age at Death
19
Death Record
Date of Death
18 August 1981 116
Cause code
ACC 1,586
Accident
Cause of Death
Died of injuries 578
Died of injuries, at 1 Military Hospital, from complications arising out of an accidental shooting with a private firearm. Accidentally shot herself in the chest
Military Service
Branch
Medical Health
Rank
Candidate Officer
Regiment
South African Medical Health Service 8
Corps
South African Medical Health Service
Unit
1 Mil Hospital 12
Defence Force
SADF 3,856
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,872
Locality
Gauteng 9,374
Cemetery
MEYERTON CEMETERY 6
Grave Reference
Alternative Commemoration until grave found 3
Unit History
Role at time of death
Medical
Status
Mixed: Permanent Force (majority) + Reserve medical battalion groups
Predecessor South African Medical Service (SAMS) formally established 1 July 1979 (became SAMHS 1994). 2022-era structure shows most of the Mobile Military Health Formation as active/Permanent Force, with specific battalion groups (1, 3, 6 Medical Bn Gp) designated Reserve. Which component applied to a given Border War-era record is not determined by this source alone.
Notes

Daughter of Mr. G. H. van Schalkwyk, of Meyerton.

Research notes

Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 18 Aug 2026: 81689721PE Candidate Officer (Miss) Helena Suzanna Maria van Schalkwyk, 1 Military Hospital, SAMC, critically wounded by an accidentally self-inflicted gunshot to the chest with her private firearm; emergency surgery; Died of Wounds when complications set in, age 19. Graham notes grave headstone 17.8.1981; ROH DateDeath 1981-08-18 left. Service number suffix PE added. Cause already matched.
Mike Sandham's research log ("List 1"), imported 16 Sep 2026, credited to The South Africa War Graves Project unless his entry says otherwise: filled Corps -- each of these was EMPTY on this record and no existing value was changed. Derived fields recomputed inline where applicable.
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Army" was CLEARED. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word, and it CONTRADICTED this record's own Branch, "Medical Health". 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.

Citations
Unknown
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