This is how Alberton remembers Freddie Zeelie

The reason being Lieutenant Freddie Zeelie was the first Alberton soldier to die at the border 41 year ago, back on June 23, 1974, at the age of 22 years and 4 months.

On Saturday February 14, Freddie will be remembered by his Alberton friends, co-soldiers and remaining family, as it was his birthday on that day when he was born in 1952. Alberton remembered him as the true soldier and military man. His school mates and playmates in the sixties still remember him as the little boy who preferred to play with army toys instead of dinky toys and little cars and this beautifully describe the memory of the legendary fallen Alberton soldier Freddie Zeelie, who was a pupil of Hoërskool Alberton, where he matriculated. He grew up in Second Avenue, Florentia in the house just across the swimming pool, where SOG-Security is located today.

To stretch that memories even further, another Florentia resident and also past pupil of Hoërskool Alberton became famous during the same time in the 1970s as a soldier but this time in movies. This man is Arnold Vosloo, the star “Boetie”of the legendary Afrikaaans movies Boetie Gaan Border Toe and Boetie on Manouvres. Arnold is today a Hollywood film star with The Mummy movies as his most notable role. His childhood friends and film maker Regardt van der Berg remember him as the boy who lived for movies and never missed a Saturday night with his parents in the local drive-ins of those days, and even started working as a runner on film sets in order to pursue his dream as a film star.

Any remaining family members of the late Freddie or Arnold are welcome to share their memories of these two notable Alberton residents of a bygone era with the RECORD or on the website www.albertonrecord.co.za