Daniel Pieter 'Neil' Knobel (29 November 1936 - 22 July 2021) was a
South African military commander. A medical doctor, he was Surgeon-General, in command of the
South African Medical Service
The South African Medical Service (SAMS) was a branch of the South African Defence Force (SADF). In 1994 when the SADF was merged with various other military and armed resistance forces as part of the post-apartheid reforms the SAMS became the Sou ...
, from 1988 to 1997.
Medical career
Knobel was born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland in 1936. Educated at the
Afrikaans Boys High School in
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
, South Africa, he graduated with an MD and as specialist anatomist at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
in Scotland in 1966. After being involved in academic medicine as a teacher of anatomy to approximately 20,000 students of all health professions in both Scotland and South Africa, he retired as Professor and Head of the Anatomy Department at the
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
in 1979.
Having served for 13 years (from 1966 to 1979) as a Medical Officer, in various staff and operational positions in the part-time forces of the South African Defence Force, he joined the Permanent Force as Chief of Staff Medical Operations, with the rank of Brigadier in 1980. During the period 1980 to 1988, he obtained the Command and Staff and Joint Staff qualifications of the SADF, and served in various capacities in numerous operations in the RSA, South West Africa, Angola and Mozambique. In 1988 he was appointed Surgeon General of the SADF with the rank of lieutenant general.
During his term of office he was responsible for the medical care of four successive State Presidents of the RSA, all foreign dignitaries, as well as providing a specialized supporting service to all the security services and the Department of Health in South Africa. He also commanded the secretive South African chemical and biological weapons program, known as
Project Coast
Project Coast was a 1980s top-secret chemical and biological weapons (CBW) program instituted by the apartheid-era government of South Africa. Project Coast was the successor to a limited postwar CBW program, which mainly produced the lethal agen ...
from 1988 to 1998.
Honours and awards
He officially visited 160 military and scientific installations in 14 countries, received 21 honours and awards and was decorated on seven occasions. In particular the
Order of the Star of South Africa
The Order of the Star of South Africa is a South African National Order that consisted of seven decorations in two military and five non-military classes. The order was discontinued on 2 December 2002.
Institution
The Order of the Star of South ...
(Silver) was conferred on him by the State President of the RSA in 1992 and in 1994,
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
sanctioned his promotion to
Knight of the Order of St John
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
.
Medal List
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Professional recognition
He is the author/co-author of 72 academic, military and/or scientific publications and is associated with 45 professional societies/organizations. With a special devotion to the needs of the disabled, he established the Curamus Association and Curamus Monument, for serving and ex-serving members of the Security Services of the RSA in 1989 and was awarded the World Veterans Fund Rehabilitation Prize for his work in this regard in 2000.
See also
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List of South African military chiefs
This article lists the South African military chiefs. From 1958 until the first democratic general election in 1994, the present-day South African National Defence Force was known as the South African Defence Force. From 1912 to 1958, the mili ...
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South African Medical Service
The South African Medical Service (SAMS) was a branch of the South African Defence Force (SADF). In 1994 when the SADF was merged with various other military and armed resistance forces as part of the post-apartheid reforms the SAMS became the Sou ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knobel, Daniel
1936 births
2021 deaths
Military personnel from Edinburgh
South African military doctors
White South African people
South African military personnel of the Border War
Knights of the Order of St John
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh