Pieter Grobbelaar
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Pieter Hendrik Grobbelaar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 16 September 1908 Porterville, Cape Colony[1] |
| Died | 22 June 1988 (aged 79) |
| Allegiance | South Africa |
| Service | South African Army |
| Years of service | 1933–1965 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | |
| Wars | Second World War |
| Awards |           |
General Pieter Grobbelaar, SSA DSO (16 September 1908 – 22 June 1988)[2] was a South African military commander. He served as Army Chief of Staff from 1953 to 1958, and Commandant General of the South African Defence Force from 1961 to 1965.
Military career
[edit]Grobbelaar joined the South African Army as a part-time Citizen Force soldier in 1929 and became a full-time Permanent Force member in 1933.[3]: 92
During the Second World War, Grobbelaar commanded the 7th Reconnaissance Battalion as a lieutenant colonel, and was second-in-command of the 12th Motorised Brigade, 6th Armoured Division during the Italy.[1]
After the war, Grobbelaar served as Officer Commanding Orange Free State Command, Northern Transvaal Command and the South African Military College.[3]: 93
Grobbelaar served as Army Chief of Staff from 1953 to 1958, as Inspector-General from 1958 to 1959, as Deputy Commandant-General from 1959 to 1960, and as Commandant General of the South African Defence Force from 1961 to 1965.[4]
Awards and decorations
[edit]
Star of South Africa (1952) (SSA)
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
Union Medal
Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
1939–45 Star
Africa Star
Italy Star
War Medal 1939 – 1945 (Mentioned in Dispatches) (MID)
Defence Medal (United Kingdom)
Africa Service Medal (WWII)
References
[edit]- ^ a b Who's Who of Southern Africa 1964. Wootton & Gibson (Pty) Ltd. 1964. p. 367.
- ^ "GROBBELAAR Pieter Hendrik 1908–1988". eggsa.org.
- ^ a b Nöthling, C.J.; Meyers, E.M. (1982). "Leiers Deur die Jare (1912-1982)" (Online). Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies (in Afrikaans). 12 (2): 89–98. doi:10.5787/12-2-631. ISSN 2224-0020. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ Leon Engelbrecht. "Fact file: Chiefs of the SANDF, past and present". defenceweb.co.za.
Chiefs of the South African military | |
|---|---|
| Chief of the UDF 1912 – 1957  | |
| Commandant General of the SADF 1958 – 1973  | |
| Chief of the SADF 1973 – 1994 | |
| Chief of the SANDF 1994 – present  | |
Chiefs of the South African Army | ||
|---|---|---|
| Director-General of Land Forces |  | |
| Army Chief of Staff | ||
| Chief of the Army | ||
- Recipients of the Order of the Star of South Africa
- Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
- 1908 births
- 1988 deaths
- Afrikaner people
- South African people of Danish descent
- South African people of Dutch descent
- South African people of German descent
- South African military personnel of World War II
- Chiefs of the South African Army
- Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley