Brigadier Helm Roos (19301992) was a senior officer in the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...

from the

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...

. He was a qualified who served as OC 7 Division and Western Province Command before his retirement in the seventies.

Early life

He was born in 1930 and grew up in the East Rand and matriculated from

Potchefstroom High School for Boys Potchefstroom High School for Boys is a public English medium high school for boys situated in Potchefstroom in the North West province of South Africa. It is one of the oldest schools in South Africa. Historical perspective School history ...

in 1947.

Army career

He joined the Defence Force in 1948 and served as an artilleryman in 4 Field Training Regiment and 14 Field Regiment. As a major, he completed the British Army Command and Staff course in 1960. Chief Instructor at the School of Artillery and Armour. Officer Commanding 14 Field Regiment at Bethlehem until 1967. Col Roos was appointed as the

Military Attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Oppo ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

during 1969 to 1971. Second in Command and Commander Divisional Artillery at Headquarters 7 Division. He was in command of the management team in Angola during the "Bridge 14" operation circa 1974 during the cold-war era power vacuum left by the Portuguese evacuation. OC Western Province Command. He was retained on Reserve List of Officers and served as officer in charge of National Key-points for the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

over period 1977-1992. He was appointed as an Honorary Colonel of The

Cape Town Rifles The Chief Langalibalele Rifles (formerly known as the Cape Town Rifles and Duke of Edinburgh's Own Rifles) is a reserve infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origin The Regiment was founded on 28 November 1855, as the Cape Rifle ...

(Dukes) between 1991 and 1992.

Awards and decorations

* * * * * PRT Military Order of Aviz - Officer BAR

Portuguese Knight of the Order of Aviz

Post Army career

He was recruited by the Royal Dutch Shell Oil company at retirement from the Army to the position of , where he served the remainder of his life espousing the principle of "being the harder nut to crack". He succumbed to prostate cancer in 2 Military hospital in 1992.

Notes

References

South African generals 1930 births 1992 deaths Military attachés Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent South African military personnel of the Border War Recipients of the Pro Patria Medal (South Africa) {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub