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Cele , Bheki Petros (B P)

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No photograph available — remembrance poppy
Identity
Person No.
29712
Service No.
Unknown
Last Name
Cele 13
First Name
Bheki Petros
Initials
B P
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1990 (±1 yr) 4
Age at Death
23
Death Record
Date of Death
30 March 2013 135
Cause code
AA 1,735
Aircraft accident
Cause of Death
Died in a helicopter accident 5
Died in a helicopter accident. Augusta A109 crashed after takeoff in the Kruger Park during anti-poaching operations (Op Rhino)
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Corporal
Regiment
5 Special Forces Regiment 20
Formerly 5 Reconnaissance Regiment (1995)
Corps
South African Infantry Corps 10,347
Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SANDF 1,041
South African National Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,879
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
Special Forces (Reconnaissance)
Status
Permanent Force (Regular)
Part of
Special Forces Brigade
5 Special Forces Regiment operates as one of the standing/permanent operational regiments of South African Special Forces, established from the same 1972 lineage as 1 Reconnaissance Commando. Special Forces are their own branch within the SANDF, not part of the Army.
Notes

No additional information known at this time

Research notes

SN CORRECTION 25 Aug 2026 (year-prefix method): ServiceNo 76905249SP cleared -- per the documented SA force-number convention (data/SA_SERVICE_NUMBER_NOTES.md), the prefix '76' implies registration circa 1976 (usually age 16), i.e. birth circa 1960. This record's own Age/DateDeath implies birth circa 1990, a mismatch; PersonNumber 29711 (Catumbele, implied birth circa 1959) fits instead. Original value: "76905249SP". 26 Aug 2026: Unit was leftover "201 Battalion". SAWGP Regiment 5 Special Forces Regiment with no separate unit.
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
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