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Son of Robert C. Stevens and Jane E. Stevens; husband of Christina S. Stevens, of Sonop, Transvaal, South Africa. Born on 31/12/07 at Lydenburg in the eastern Transvaal and was living in the small town of Sabie when he enlisted in 1940; he was previously a foreman. He joined 'B' Coy. of the 2nd Regt. Botha, the local infantry battalion, and went with it to East Africa on 27/11/40; he served in the operations along the Kenya-Abyssinia border until the unit was moved to North Africa. On 23/11/41, during the 'Crusader' offensive, the 2nd R.B. was part of the 5th S.A. Brigade which was deployed in a 'box' formation in open terrain. During the afternoon the Brigade was attacked heavily by German tanks and mechanized infantry. The South Africans lacked armoured support but their infantry and artillery put up a fierce defence causing heavy casualties among the two German infantry battalions that followed the tanks. However the tanks broke through and after further fighting the South Africans were forced to surrender after losing 224 killed, 379 wounded and 2,800 taken prisoner. The destruction of the Brigade meant that the fate of many soldiers was uncertain for a time; Pte. Stevens was posted as wounded, then as missing, and finally on 11/1/42 he was confirmed as having been killed in action. |
