In Memory Of

GINGLES, ALAN

Service Details
Age:
 29
Date of Birth:
 1952-08-08
Service No:
 80001589PP
Rank:
 Lieutenant
Regiment:
 5 Reconnaissance Regiment
Former Regiment:
 formerly Royal Irish Rangers and Selous Scouts
Date of Death:
 1981-10-15
Cause of Death:
 Killed in action, against terrorists in the operational area. Killed whilst leading a small Special Forces team carrying out an operation against the Harare-Beira railway near Doeroi, in Mozambique, some 300 miles from the South African border. It would appear there was a premature detonation whilst they were laying their demolition charges, and Alan and three of his comrades were killed. FRELIMO found their bodies and equipment, but as per SOPs, nothing was being carried which would enable them to identify the men.
Commemoration
Grave Reference:
 Body not recovered
Cemetery:
 SADF WALL OF REMEMBRANCE, VOORTREKKER MONUMENT, PRETORIA
Localitly:
 Gauteng
Country:
 South Africa
Additional Information
Husband of Mrs. Pauline Gingles, of Phalaborwa. From Larne, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. Having graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Royal Irish Rangers, and served with the Second Battalion in Hemer, West Germany. Thirsting for adventure, and an opportunity to fight terrorism, Alan left the British Army and went to Rhodesia, where he passed selection and became a member of the Selous Scouts. Following the demise of Rhodesia, he joined the SADF. At the time of his death, he was serving with the 5th Reconnaissance Regiment at Phalaborwa, in the Eastern Transvaal. Alan was not forgotten by his brother officers of 2 Royal Irish. They commissioned a portrait of him, which was hung in the Officers' Mess