Identity
Person No.
8070
Service No.
195554
Last Name
First Name
Marthinus Wessel Pretorius
Initials
M W P
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
40
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,779
Killed in action
Military Service
Rank
Private
Regiment
Unknown
Unit
Secondary Unit
South African Police
Defence Force
SAP 3,731
South African Police
Location
Country
Locality
Unknown
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Coordinates
Memorial
Memorial
Location
Proposed / National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
Panel
Not listed against a numbered panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Operation
Operation
Dates
1941-12 to 1942-01
About
Operations against Bardia and Sollum by 2nd South African Division including the South African Police Brigade, culminating in the early-January 1942 assaults. George Stegmann describes a mass funeral of fourteen men from his battalion after heavy fighting.
Notes
Son of Johan J. C. and Marthina W. J. P. Geyer; husband of Engela F. Geyer, of Maitland, Cape Town, South Africa.
Named “Porkey” Geyer in George Stegmann, The Lights of Freedom: one of nine B Company men killed when Free French aircraft mistook South African Police Brigade positions for the enemy and bombed/strafed them (Western Desert, mid-January 1942). ROH DateDeath 15 Jan 1942.
Research notes
Stegmann, George. The Lights of Freedom. Just Done Productions / Lulu, 2007 (ISBN 978-1-920169-48-0).
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
South African Police Memorial
open source ↗
South African Police Memorial, Union Buildings, Pretoria (1984).
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
-
Stegmann — The Lights of Freedom
open source ↗
Free French friendly fire / B Coy, c.15 Jan 1942
Stories 1
Private Marthinus Wessel Pretorius Geyer, 1st Battalion South African Police, was killed in action on 15 January 1942 in the Western Desert.
George Stegmann (The Lights of Freedom) remembers him as “Porkey” Geyer of B Company. Stegmann describes Free French aircraft approaching without the troops taking cover; the aircraft then machine-gunned and bombed South African positions by mistake, killing nine B Company men including Geyer. Free French flights over the sector were afterwards forbidden.
George Stegmann (The Lights of Freedom) remembers him as “Porkey” Geyer of B Company. Stegmann describes Free French aircraft approaching without the troops taking cover; the aircraft then machine-gunned and bombed South African positions by mistake, killing nine B Company men including Geyer. Free French flights over the sector were afterwards forbidden.
Dedications
No dedications have been added yet.