Pieter Grobbelaar

General

Pieter Hendrik Grobbelaar

SSA DSO
General; Pieter Hendrik Grobbelaar; SSA DSO
	File:Pieter Grobbelaar.jpg
Born	16 September 1908; Porterville, Cape Colony
Died	22 June 1988 (aged 79)
Allegiance	South Africa
Service / branch	South African Army
Years of service	1933–1965
Rank	General
Commands	Commandant General of the South African Defence Force; Army Chief of Staff; South African Military College; Northern Transvaal Command; Orange Free State Command; 7th Reconnaissance Battalion;
Wars	Second World War
Awards	Star of South Africa SSA Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal ' Union Medal ' Distinguished Service Order DSO 1939–45 Star ' Africa Star ' Italy Star ' War Medal 1939 – 1945 MID Defence Medal (United Kingdom) ' Africa Service Medal (WWII) '

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

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]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Who's Who of Southern Africa 1964. Wootton & Gibson (Pty) Ltd. 1964. p. 367.
↑ "GROBBELAAR Pieter Hendrik 1908–1988". eggsa.org.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 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.

Military offices
Preceded by Stephen Melville	Commandant General of the South African Defence Force 1961–1965	Succeeded by Rudolph Hiemstra
Preceded by Hendrik Klopper	Army Chief of Staff 1953–1958	Succeeded by Nick Bierman
Preceded by Harry Cilliers	Commandant South African Military College 1950–1952	Succeeded by Petrus Jacobs

v t e Chiefs of the South African military
List of South African military chiefs
Chief of the UDF 1912 – 1957 File:Ensign of the South African Defence Force (1947–1981).svg	Andries Brink Pierre van Ryneveld Leonard Beyers Christiaan du Toit Hendrik Klopper Stephen Melville
Commandant General of the SADF 1958 – 1973 File:Ensign of the South African Defence Force (1981–1994).svg	Stephen Melville Pieter Grobbelaar Rudolph Hiemstra Hugo Biermann
Chief of the SADF 1973 – 1994 File:Ensign of the South African Defence Force (1981–1994).svg	Hugo Biermann Magnus Malan Constand Viljoen Johannes Geldenhuys Andreas Liebenberg Georg Lodewyk Meiring
Chief of the SANDF 1994 – present File:Flag of the South African National Defence Force.svg	Georg Lodewyk Meiring Siphiwe Nyanda Godfrey Ngwenya Solly Shoke Rudzani Maphwanya

v t e Chiefs of the South African Army
List of South African military chiefs
Director-General of Land Forces	Christiaan du Toit Hendrik Klopper	File:Flag of South Africa.svg
Army Chief of Staff	Hendrik Klopper Pieter Grobbelaar Nick Bierman W. R. Van der Riet (acting) Sybrand Engelbrecht Petrus Jacobs Charles 'Pop' Fraser
Chief of the Army	Charles 'Pop' Fraser Willem Louw Magnus Malan Constand Viljoen Johannes Geldenhuys Andreas Liebenberg Georg Meiring Hattingh Pretorius Reginald Otto Gilbert Ramano Solly Shoke Vusumuzi Masondo Lindile Yam Thabiso Mokhosi Lawrence Mbatha

General Pieter Hendrik Grobbelaar SSA DSO
File:Pieter Grobbelaar.jpg
Born	(1908-09-16)16 September 1908 Porterville, Cape Colony^[1]
Died	22 June 1988(1988-06-22) (aged 79)
Allegiance	South Africa
Service / branch	South African Army
Years of service	1933–1965
Rank	General
Commands	Commandant General of the South African Defence Force Army Chief of Staff South African Military College Northern Transvaal Command Orange Free State Command 7th Reconnaissance Battalion
Wars	Second World War
Awards	Star of South Africa SSA Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal ' Union Medal ' Distinguished Service Order DSO 1939–45 Star ' Africa Star ' Italy Star ' War Medal 1939 – 1945 MID Defence Medal (United Kingdom) ' Africa Service Medal (WWII) '