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SINKING OF THE SS MENDI 1917 – 2017 CENTENARY RETROSPECTIVE
SINKING OF THE SS MENDI 1917 – 2017
CENTENARY RETROSPECTIVE
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SINKING OF THE SS MENDI 1917 – 2017
CENTENARY RETROSPECTIVE
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When World War I broke out in 1914, the new Union of South Africa as a nation was just four years old.
Only twelve years had passed since the end of the Anglo-Boer War in 1902. Nevertheless, members of the Union Defence Force (UDF) were committed first to the invasion of German South West Africa and subsequently to the war in Europe.
It is estimated that 235 000 South Africans of all races served in World War I. Of these, some 13 700 lost their lives on the various fronts.
An event that had a seminal effect on the consciousness of the new Union of South Africa, and one that is still remembered, is the tragic loss of 628 members of the South African Native Labour Corps in the sinking of the troopship SS Mendi on 21 February, 1917. The bravery displayed by the troops as the ship sunk has become the stuff of legend. The heroism on that day 100 years ago is remembered in the publication of this Commemorative Retrospective.
The sinking of the SS Mendi has a place in my heart, as my Grandfather was one of those who perished on that day, going down with the ship.
It has been a privilege for the South African Delville Wood Commemorative Museum Trust to prepare this tribute. This Centenary Retrospective of the Sinking of the SS Mendi, is also a tribute to the South African men and women of all races who lost their lives in the Great War.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM!
FOREWORD
FOREWORD BY BRIG GEN (REV) MA JAMANGILE ensp, psc(j),CHAIRMAN, DELVILLE WOOD COMMEMORATIVE MUSEUM TRUST
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The following photographs have not been provided with captions. Please follow the list below for ease of reference:
Cover
Front Cover: SS Mendi Memorial in Atteridgeville SS Mendi Memorial in Cape Town
Inside Front Cover: Memorial Stone at Arques-la-Bataille Memorial Cross at Arques-la-Bataille Cemetery Arques-la-Bataille Cemetery
Inside Back Cover: SS Mendi Memorial in Cape Town Cape Corps Roll of Honour 1st Bn Cape Corps
Back Cover: SS Mendi Memorial at Atteridgeville in Tshwane SS Mendi Memorial on the Campus of the University of Cape Town
Inside pages
Page 5: The Delville Wood Memorial with Museum behindPage 7: Bronze Fresco in Delville Wood MuseumPage 11: SS Mendi Memorial on the Campus of the University of Cape TownPage 15: Castle, Mendi Fort WynyardPage 16: Arques-la-Bataille CemeteryPage 17: Mendi Memorial at the New Brighton in Port ElizabethPage 19: SS Mendi Memorial on the Campus of the University of Cape TownPage 21: Arques-la-Bataille CemeteryPage 36: Salvaged SS Mendi Porthole
LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS
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Foreword 1
South Africa in World War I 5
Black South Africans and the First World War 7
South African Native Labour Corps (SANLC) 9
The Cape Corps 10
The Sinking of the SS Mendi 11
The South African Parliament pays Tribute 15
Arques-la-Bataille Cemetery 16
The SS Mendi Today 17
Mendi Day, the Mendi Memorial Committee and the Scholarship Fund 19
A Grave of an SS Mendi Victim in the Netherlands 21
Armed Forces Day Parade 22
Roll of Honour SS Mendi 23
Roll of Honour Arques-la-Bataille 31
Produced by: the South African Delville Wood Commemorative Museum Trust 35
Acknowledgements 37
CONTENTS
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The Union of South Africa came into being on the 31st May 1910 as a dominion of the British Empire, consisting of the former British colonies of the Cape of Good Hope and Natal, and the two Boer republics, the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek and the Oranje Vrijstaat.
The Treaty of Vereeniging brought the Anglo-Boer War to an end, but gave rise to a political situation fraught with difficulty. Residual animosity existed between the Dutch and English-speaking former combatants and also in the fact that the Black population had been ignored in the settlement. The political exclusion of Black people led to the establishment in 1912 of what is today the African National Congress, the current ruling political party. The animosity felt by the Boer and Black populations of South Africa was understandable. The British strategy to hasten the end of the Anglo-Boer War resulted in the deaths from illness and starvation of approximately 28 000 Boer women, children and elderly and 22 000 Black people in concentration camps. Their farms, livestock, homesteads and livelihoods were laid waste.
The majority of the South African population therefore had little reason to assist Great Britain when the Great War broke out. Despite that, General Louis Botha, Prime Minister of the Union and former Commandant General of the Transvaal Boer forces, committed the UDF to the defence of the Union and undertook to invade German South West Africa on behalf of Great Britain.
At the outbreak of the War, the fledgling Union Defence Forces were mobilized. The forces consisted of a small Permanent Force element, supplemented by the Coast Garrison and Citizen Force, the Rifle Associations (essentially former Boer Commandos) and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
The South Africa Defence Act of 1912 provided that white South African males would be liable for service in defence of the country. The Act permitted the UDF to be used in action in German South West Africa (now Namibia), as the territory lay immediately on the border of South Africa. It did not allow such troops to be used beyond the immediate region of South Africa.
At the conclusion of the German South West African campaign in July 1915, it became necessary to find another means to continue the war effort. Political circumstances also made it unwise to change the provisions of the Act. The solution was to raise new formations which would be titled Imperial Service Contingents. These would technically be British units paid for by the Imperial Government in Great Britain.
SOUTH AFRICA IN WORLD WAR 1
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German South West Africa
THE BATTLEFIELD OF SANDFONTEIN
The UDF embarked on the German South West African campaign on the 18th September 1914 with a landing at Luderitz Bay. The first major engagement was the Battle of Sandfontein. Before operations against the Germans could proceed, General Botha had to contend with a rebellion when certain elements in the UDF and the Afrikaner population chose not to support the Government’s decision. After the Rebellion was suppressed, the campaign continued and was brought to conclusion in July 1915 when the governor of German South West Africa surrendered to General Botha. South African losses amounted to 241 killed and 263 wounded, which included Black and Coloured soldiers.
German East Africa
At the end of 1915, the British position in East Africa seemed critical. South Africa raised an Imperial Service Contingent consisting of 10 mounted regiments, 12 infantry battalions, one motorcycle battalion, six artillery batteries and two scout (reconnaissance) units. The first units arrived in Kenya and Nyasaland (now Malawi) in January 1916 and were engaged in the battles around Mount Kilimanjaro in February and March 1916. Under the command of General JC Smuts and then Lieutenant General JL Van Deventer, the South Africans had as their adversary the wily German General Paul Von Lettow-Vorbeck, who continued to fight until the end of the War.
During the advance from Mount Kilimanjaro to the Central Railway, the South Africans undertook the longest forced march of the First World War. After pausing to reorganize, they drove the Germans across the Rufiji river. In all, they marched 800 kilometers through some of the worst terrain in the world.
While the South African forces in German East Africa suffered relatively few casualties from enemy action, they were ravaged by tropical diseases. South Africa sent 43 477 men to German East Africa, and 75% of the force were evacuated, suffering malaria, dysentery and the more virulent forms of tick fever.
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BLACK SOUTH AFRICANS AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR
The years following the Treaty of Vereeniging (31 May 1902) brought the Anglo Boer (South African) War to an end but also gave rise to a political situation fraught with difficulty. Residual animosity existed between the Dutch and English speaking former combatants as well as in the fact that the black population had been ignored in the settlement. The political exclusion of black people in the new Union led to the establishment in 1912 of the South African Native National Congress which later became known as the African National Congress (ANC). Black animosity was also aggravated by the fact 22 000 black people had also lost their lives in the concentration camps established by the British to hasten the end of the war.
The South African Defence Act of 1912 provided that only white South African males would be liable for service in defence of the country. The campaign in German South West Africa during the first two years of the war was one of movement where the South African formations traversed an area of some 515 000 square kilometres and forced the surrender of its German defenders at a cost of only 266 casualties. Despite the terms of the Defence Act, some 35 000 black South Africans also served in the German South West African Campaign as drivers and general labourers. At the conclusion of the campaign in July 1915, it became necessary to find another means to continue the war effort. Political circumstances made it unwise to change the provisions of the Act. The solution was to raise new formations which would be titled Imperial Service Contingents. These would technically be British units paid for by the Imperial Government and would serve on the various other fronts of the war from 1916.
The contingent sent to East Africa included the 2nd and 3rd South African Infantry Brigades, the 1st Bn Cape Corps, ten regiments of South African Horse, a motor cycle corps, a squadron of aircraft, five batteries of field artillery and a South African Native Labour Contingent.
The contingent sent to Europe included in time the 1st South African Infantry Brigade, six batteries of heavy artillery, the Cape Coloured Labour Regiments, six companies of the Cape Auxiliary Horse Transport, a signals company, a miscellaneous trades company, two railways companies and 43 battalions of the South African Native Labour Contingent.
In German East Africa, the major enemy was the difficult terrain coupled with the ravages of tropical diseases. As a result of these extreme conditions, a need arose for a well-developed logistical system. The South African Native Labour Contingent featured predominantly in this regard and eventually a total of 15 000 black soldiers would serve in this theatre of operations.
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The majority of men of the South African Native Labour Contingent were employed as drivers and leaders of animal drawn vehicles and teams of pack animals. Some were stationed in the main centres and the intermediate depots while others were continuously on the move with the main forces where they shared the full hardships of their white counterparts in the field. The remount group was in charge of the disembarkation of animals, their care at the depots and the transportation of the animals to the advance bases.
Those employed as artillery drivers had to control a team of six mules drawing a gun while riding ‘position’ on the near mule. They were also required to see to it that the mules were well looked after in camp at night.
During the early stages of the campaign in East Africa, the support of the South African Native Labour Contingent was virtually indispensable in particular with regard to the handling of animals. Likewise their work on the construction, repair and maintenance of railways was quick and efficient. However, as the campaign continued and the South Africans became more and more involved in the interior and low-lying regions, their health also began to deteriorate as they succumbed to the consequences of tropical disease.
For those who served in Europe, the Western Front must have presented an awesome and forbidding contrast to their own land. It was a war of indescribable horror where the fighting was intense and the casualty lists soon outstripped those of any previous war. The experiences of the Somme Offensive of 1916 would be repeated again and again as more such battles of attrition were fought before the war eventually came to an end in 1918.
While the Somme Offensive was still in progress the British Government sent a request to the South African Government to recruit 10 000 black troops to serve in labour battalions in France under British command. Their labour was initially required in the great French ports of Le Harve, Rouen, Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk to offload the millions of tons of supplies necessary for the war effort. On 7 September 1916, Gen Botha agreed to the British request and the first battalions were raised, trained, equipped and ready for embarkation for Europe by the end of October. Eventually as the war dragged on over 25 090 men would be enlisted in the 43 battalions of the South African Native Labour Contingent and a further 3 482 in the Cape Auxiliary Horse Transport Companies. Many would also serve in the forward areas where they were exposed to the dismal scenes of the battlefield.
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SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE LABOUR CORPS (SANLC)
Africans had served as part of a labour contingent in German South West Africa as drivers and general labourers. A further 18 000 went to serve in German East Africa.
MEMBERS OF SANLC PREPARING WOOD FOR THE TRENCHES
In Europe, as the campaign dragged on, the battlefields of the Somme and those in Flanders became an insatiable maw, demanding ever more men to replace those who had been killed and wounded. The men at the front had to be supported by those in the lines of communication.
90 000 black and coloured South Africans were recruited in South Africa for rear echelon and support duties. From those, more than 25 000 volunteers served in France in the South African Native Labour Corps (SANLC) to provide that support. Many of them were exposed to the dismal scenes of the battlefield. Most, however, served at the great French ports of Le Havre, Rouen, Boulogne, Dieppe, Calais and Dunkirk, where they were engaged in offloading the millions of tons of munitions and supplies necessary for continuing the War on the Western Front. Many of these men lost their lives due to awful working and unsanitary conditions and enemy fire.
On the 16th January 1917, the SS Mendi troopship sailed from Cape Town en route to Le Havre in France carrying a contingent of the SANLC, comprising 802 black soldiers, 5 white officers and 17 NCOs as well as 89 crew members. On the morning of 21st February 1917, in heavy fog, another ship, the SS Darro, travelling at full speed and emitting no warning signals, rammed the SS Mendi, which sank in 25 minutes. 626 men of the SANLC perished in this wreck. Most of them are commemorated on Hollybrook Memorial, Southampton.
The total losses of the SANLC in Europe amounted to 1120 men. 260 of them rest in Arques-la-Bataille Cemetery, near Dieppe, where the N°1 General Labour Hospital was established. Members of the SANLC did not receive medals.
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THE CAPE CORPS
In December 1915 the Cape Corps was formed, a unit comprising only Coloured troops.
Despite the fact that government policy at the time stipulated that only white males could be used in a combatant capacity, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Cape Corps were formed as combat units. The decision was made easier by the fact that all the units being raised for service following the German South West Africa campaign would be Imperial Service units paid for by the British Government. The 1st Battalion Cape Corps served in German East Africa from February 1916 to December 1917 and suffered 163 men killed in action. Eleven Distinguished Conduct Medals (DCM), seven Military Medals (MM) and two Belgian decorations for bravery were awarded to personnel of the Battalion during this period. Following on the success of recruiting for the 1st Battalion, 2nd Battalion Cape Corps was formed in June 1917. This battalion continued to serve in German East Africa until July 1918.
After returning to South Africa, news was received that the British Army Council wished to reorganize the 1st Battalion Cape Corps for service in Palestine. The Battle of Square Hill (19 – 21 September 1918) was the climax of the involvement of the 1st Battalion Cape Corps in the First World War. During this battle it suffered 51 killed, 101 wounded and one taken prisoner. For its actions carried out at Square Hill and Kh Jebeit, members of the Battalion were awarded one Distinguished Conduct Medal, one Military Cross, and five Mentioned in Despatches (MID). Those who lost their lives lie buried in the Jerusalem War Cemetery north of the city, while the gun captured at Square Hill was brought back to South Africa where it became the focal point of the Square Hill Memorial in Kimberley in the Northern Cape. The total losses of the two battalions during the war amounted to 545 men.
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THE SINKING OF THE SS MENDI
The SS Mendi disaster was one of South Africa’s worst tragedies of the Great War.
The Journey
The steamer SS Mendi, 4230 tons, had seen service with the Liverpool – West Africa route and was named after the Mendi community of Sierra Leone. Following the outbreak of war in 1914 she was chartered by the British Government as a troopship. Prior to the ill-fated voyage of 1917, she had transported Nigerian troops from Lagos to Mombasa for service in German East Africa.
THE SS MENDI
On 16 January 1917, the SS Mendi, under the command of Captain Henry Arthur Yardley, sailed from Cape Town en route to Europe carrying the 5th Battalion South African Native Labour Contingent comprising 802 black soldiers, five white officers and 17 white non-commissioned officers, as well as a crew of 89 and 56 other military passengers. The ship formed part of a convoy of four ships carrying both South African and Australian troops and a consignment of gold to France and was escorted by the British cruiser HMS Cornwall.
The convoy proceeded at a leisurely pace and the men fell into the routine of life on the troopship. The long, slow voyage was notably calm and marked by few incidents, the most striking being the death of one of the assistant
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stewards who was buried at sea. The SS Mendi called at Lagos in Nigeria and Freetown in Sierra Leone where coal and stores were loaded. From Sierra Leone the convoy steamed on unescorted although the last part of the journey was the most dangerous because of the U-boat threat. At that time the German U-boats had orders to attack without warning which made the waters around the United Kingdom especially dangerous.
As the ship neared the English Channel, the weather turned cold and the sea rougher. The black soldiers endured this with cheerful fortitude. The SS Mendi arrived safely at Plymouth 34 days after the departure from Cape Town.
The Sinking
The SS Mendi sailed from Plymouth on the afternoon of 20 February 1917 and steamed for Le Havre in France escorted by the destroyer HMS Brisk. The weather was overcast with threatening mist, light winds and a smooth sea. At nightfall the weather became foggy and the ship’s siren was sounded at one-minute intervals as required by regulations. Thereafter the fog became thicker and the speed was reduced.
The SS Darro, 11 484 tons, and under the command of Captain H W Stump, was a much larger vessel than the SS Mendi. She sailed in the late afternoon from Le Havre and was steaming full speed to Falmouth with a cargo of frozen meat. In the foggy night its lights were shown and the lookouts were reinforced. The siren however was never sounded and neither was the speed reduced.
At 04:57 on 21 February, at about 11 miles south south-west of St Catherine’s point on the Isle of Wight, the lookouts on the SS Mendi heard a vessel approaching and sounded the siren. As the SS Darro was travelling at full speed and making no sound signals, the second officer and the lookouts heard the SS Mendi’s siren and saw a green light. Orders were given at once to put the engines at full speed astern and the SS Darro’s siren was sounded.
All of this was too late. The bow of the SS Darro crashed into the starboard side of the smaller ship almost at right angles with tremendous force and cut her from keel to deck to a depth of 20 feet. Men standing on the deck of
the SS Mendi were hurled to the deck by the force of the impact and the men who were asleep were abruptly woken up. The SS Darro had struck near the watertight bulkhead between No 1 and No 2 holds and opened both of them to the sea. The engines on the SS Darro were stopped and the two ships drifted apart leaving a huge hole in the side of the SS Mendi through which the sea poured. Captain Yardley quickly went to the fore part of the bridge and ordered the engines to be stopped. He sent a crewman to tell the carpenter to sound the depth of the water in the breached holds of the ship and gave the order to lower the boats to the rail. No SOS went out as the wireless operator could not be found.
Men shaken by the shock and sound of the collision began to struggle out of their blankets after which they picked up their lifebelts and made their way in the dark through the rising freezing water to the exits. But at least one of these exits may have been damaged by the bow of the SS Darro which meant that some of the men were trapped. A large number, one estimate being 140, never made it to the deck and drowned in the blackness of the hold as the water quickly rose. For most of those who survived, approximately 750 THE SS MENDI MEMORIAL IN ATTERIDGEVILLE
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men, it became a struggle to lower the lifeboats in the darkness. The number of lifeboats available could only take a total of 298 men. As the SS Mendi sank lower into the water, she listed heavily to starboard and it became difficult to lower the portside boats.
It is said that, because of their training received during exercises held at sea, the troops were quiet and orderly at their stations. Officers and crewmen lowered the lifeboats on the portside. No 1 and No 3 boats were lowered safely and were quickly filled with men. No 2 boat capsized while being lowered with the men on board owing to a sailor’s blunder. No 5 boat was lowered safely to the water with two crewmen and four soldiers, but then a number of men jumped into it on one side and capsized it. Everyone was thrown into the water and it was not possible to right the boat again. No 6 boat was smashed against the side of the ship while the fate of No 7 boat was never determined.
The men proceeded to get out the 46 rafts, each of which was capable of supporting 20 men, and worked methodically under the direction of their officers. At that same time, other soldiers were emerging from No 1 hold.
It would have been around this time that the best known legend of the story of the SS Mendi occurred. No survivor or official account has confirmed this legend, but it has been preserved by oral tradition and the press. The Reverend Isaac Wauchope Dyobha is said to have cried out to the men:
“Be quiet and calm my countrymen, for what is taking place is exactly what you came to do. You are going to die... But that is what you came to do… Brothers, we are drilling the death drill. I a Xhosa say you are my brothers, Swazis, Pondos, Basutos, we die like brothers. We are the sons of Africa. Raise your war cries, brothers, for though they made us leave our assegais in the kraal, our voices are left with our bodies.”
And they took off their boots and stamped the death dance on the deck of the sinking ship.
Captain Yardley, realising that the ship would not last much longer, ordered everyone to abandon ship and get as far away as possible before it sank. Many men threw themselves into the sea while singing, praying and crying. There was a big explosion which shook the ship, putting out the lights and causing panic and confusion. Many soldiers, however, remained aboard as they were too afraid to jump into the icy water. Many of them had no previous experience of the sea, many had probably never seen it before they embarked aboard the SS Mendi, and very few could swim. Despite the call from their non-commissioned officers and comrades in the water to jump, most were still aboard the ship when she started to sink.
During these agonising 25 minutes, no help came from the SS Darro which was not so far away. HMS Brisk had lost visual contact with the SS Mendi in the fog. About 120 men were in the lifeboats while over 100 more were in the freezing water clinging to rafts or wreckage or only supported by their lifebelts.
At 05.00 the SS Darro sent off a SOS message to which HMS Brisk replied. The crew inspected the ship, lowered the boats to the rail and prepared for a potential evacuation. However, the damages to the SS Darro were relatively minor. No attempt was made to hail the SS Mendi or to lower boats into the water to assist.
REV WAUCHOPE DYOBHA
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Not far away, the tragedy carried on in the icy water. Many frozen men clung to the rafts and several climbed up the keel of No 5 boat. Those without lifebelts drowned while others succumbed to the freezing water or perished from exhaustion. The water temperature in the English Channel at the time of the year is only about 7 degrees.
Captain Yardley floated about for an hour and a half and later recalled, “I had a lifebelt on. There were hundreds of boys [sic] around me after the wreck. They died from exposure. They all had lifebelts on… it was a very dark, cold, damp, miserable night…”
About 400 men drowned or died of exposure in the water or on the rafts.
No 1 boat was the first to reach the SS Darro about 50 minutes after the collision. The shipwrecked troops were so exhausted that they had to be helped up the gangway by the crew. No 3 boat came alongside the SS Darro about ten minutes later. Some members of the crew heard the shouting of the men on the rafts. Captain Stump, however, took no measures to rescue the men. At the same time, the boats of HMS Brisk, which had arrived rapidly on site after the wreck, carried on searching with great difficulty due to the darkness and the fog. Another ship, the SS Sandsend, managed to pick up 23 survivors.
The tally of survivors was 267. Of these, 107 had made it to the SS Darro, 137 to the HMS Brisk (Captain Yardley being one of them) and 23 to the SS Sandsend.
The final toll of this tragedy is terrible. The total losses numbered as follows:
33 members of the SS Mendi’s crew
Two officers, seven non-commissioned officers and 618 Black soldiers of the 5th Battalion SANLC
Among the dead were prominent figures: Pondoland Chiefs Henry Bokleni, Dokoda Richard Ndamese, Mxonywa Bangani and the Reverand Wauchope Dyobha.
The commander of the SS Darro, Captain Stump was later disciplined, but the sanction appears to have been minor compared to the loss of life during the tragedy – a ship command suspension for a period of twelve months.
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THE SOUTH AFRICAN PARLIAMENT PAYS TRIBUTE
On 9 March 1917, the South African Prime Minister, General Louis Botha, addressed members of Parliament:
“It is with deep regret that I have to announce….the sad news that the transport SS Mendi carrying the last batch of the South African Native Labour Contingent (the rest having been safely landed in France), collided with another vessel during the passage from the United Kingdom to Le Havre, and sank within 25 minutes. The collision took place 12 miles from the Isle of Wight on Wednesday, 21 February at 4.57am. Owing to thick fog the escort’s searchlight was ineffective, but the survivors were picked up by various vessels. The toll, I am sorry to say, is a heavy one. Two European officers, ten European NCOs and 191 native soldiers have been saved. One European NCO and eight native soldiers, though apparently rescued, are reported to have died as a result of the accident: and three European officers, six European NCOs and 607 native soldiers, who until yesterday were unaccounted for, must be presumed to have drowned. The total loss thus being 625 lives in all.
The difficulty under the circumstances of obtaining authentic information has been the cause of the delay in publishing the doleful tidings, but, as the Army Council is making a simultaneous announcement of the details I have given to the House…these being all that are available…and, as delay might tend to arouse unworthy suspicion that the Government is wilfully concealing facts, I have deemed it right to take the earliest opportunity of informing the House. I wish to say that I communicated at once with the High Commissioner, asking him to see that everything was done for the comfort and care and well-being of the survivors, and that, we are assured, is being done”.
Botha then outlined the arrangements being made to advise the bereaved relatives of the black soldiers who must be presumed drowned. He went on to say:
“Ever since the war broke out the natives have done everything possible in the struggle without doing anything which was in conflict with their loyalty to the flag and the King. It has never happened in the history of South Africa, Mr Speaker, that in one moment, by one fowl swoop, such a lot of people have perished, and, Mr Speaker, I think that where people have died in the way they have done, it is our duty to remember that where people have come forward of their own accord, of their own free will…and what they have done will redound to their everlasting credit.
I will, therefore, move as an unopposed motion: That this House has learned with deep regret of the sad loss of life of members of the South African Native Labour Contingent, caused by the collision and sinking of the transport SS Mendi on 21 February 1917, and resolves to record an expression of its sincere sympathy with the relatives of the deceased officers, NCOs and men of the bereavement”.
After other speakers had addressed the House in similar vein, the unopposed motion was carried and the members rose in their seats as a mark of respect.
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ARQUES-LA-BATAILLE CEMETERY
No 1 General Labour Hospital was established at Arques-La-Bataille near Dieppe in early 1917. Many members of the South African Native Labour Contingent who died in France lie in the cemetery designed by J R Truelove. Of the 381 burials in the cemetery, 260 are graves of men of the Contingent including a few who were exhumed from St Marie Cemetery near Le Havre.
All these graves are grouped around a Great War Stone on the face of which is a concave bronze plaque with the head of a springbok in high relief. Inscribed on the stone in English, Sesotho and IsiXhosa are the words:
“To the memory of those Natives of the South African Native Labour Corps who crossed the seas in
response to the call of the great Chief, King George V, and who laid down their lives in France for the British Empire during the Great War 1914 –
1918, this Memorial is erected by their comrades.”
Each year a memorial service equivalent to the one in Delville Wood is held at Arques-La-Bataille with the full support of the people of Dieppe.
Source: www.delvillewood.com
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THE SS MENDI TODAY
The event is commemorated through a number of memorials in South Africa, the United Kingdom and France. The Hollybrook Memorial in Southampton bears the names of the men of the SS Mendi who have no known graves. 13 men lie in cemeteries in the United Kingdom, one in France and five more in the Netherlands.
In South Africa, the Mendi Memorial at New Brighton in Port Elizabeth was erected in memory of the disaster and the Gamothaga Resort in Atteridgeville commemorates those who have no grave but the sea. The Mendi Memorial in Cape Town is located on an embankment in the Mowbray campus of the University of Cape Town. The site is significant as it was there that the troops of the South African Native Labour Contingent were billeted before embarking on their ill-fated voyage to France. A fourth memorial is located in the Avalon Cemetery in Soweto and was unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 23 March 1995.
The SS Mendi disaster is also commemorated at the Delville Wood Commemorative Museum on the Somme in France.
The bridge telegraph from the SS Mendi can be seen at the Maritime Museum at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight.Although some historians have disputed exactly what happened on the deck of the sinking ship, these stories have contributed to the work of the imagination. The story of the SS Mendi is part of a long history of black poetry
ARTEFACTS FROM SS MENDI IN DELVILLE WOOD MUSEUM
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in South Africa. S E K Mqhayi, the great imbongi yesizwe, wrote the recruitment poem for the South African Native Labour Contingent entitled, Umkosi wemi-daka (The Black Army). After the SS Mendi tragedy, he also wrote the poem, Ukutshona kukaMendi (The Sinking of the Mendi), which portrays redemption in tragedy.
A number of works of art and films, including a play entitled, Ukutshona kukaMendi: Did we Dance? have also emerged. A painting entitled The Loss of the Mendi by Hilary Graham is housed at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Museum of Art in Port Elizabeth. Curiously, the artist depicted the tragedy in heavy seas. Personnel accounts portray the sea as relatively calm, almost like glass.
The SS Mendi has also given its name to South Africa’s highest award for courage, the Order of the Mendi Decoration for Bravery which is bestowed by the President on South African citizens who have performed extraordinary acts of bravery.
The SS Mendi is also honoured by the South African Navy which has among its fleet the Warrior Class Fast Attack Craft, SAS Isaac Dyobha, and the Valour Class Frigate, SAS Mendi. On 23 August 2004, the SAS Mendi rendezvoused with the Royal Navy Destroyer, HMS Nottingham, at the site of the tragedy where a wreath laying ceremony was held.
In 2006 the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the History Channel released a 20 minute documentary entitled Let Us Die Like Brothers which explored the Mendi disaster and the involvement of black South Africans in the First World War in Europe.
On 21 July 2007, the 90th Anniversary of the tragedy was commemorated at a ceremony at the Hollybrook Memorial in Southampton. This was followed by a wreath-laying event at the site of the sinking. This ceremony will be replicated on the 21st February 2017.
EXHIBIT ON SS MENDI
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MENDI DAY, THE MENDI MEMORIAL COMMITTEE
AND THE SCHOLARSHIP FUND
In 1928, the International African Ministers Association, after hearing a proposal by the Reverend Robert N Mashaba of the Methodist Church, resolved:
“To observe the Mendi Day of 21 February on which day all members assembled in solemn and reverent remembrance of the deeds of valour and sacrifice of the men of their race who went to serve their King and Country, hoping and believing that in the distribution of the spoils of war their compatriots and relatives may share in the blessing of peace and the opportunities guaranteed by the successful arms of the Allies.”
The Mendi Memorial Committee was also formed to create sufficient interest in the annual commemorations of the sinking. A pamphlet called the “Mendi Memorial Herald” was published and distributed throughout the Union to send the message of the SS Mendi around the country and the adjoining territories. On 21 February 1933 every town, settlement and territory joined in the solemn commemoration of the dead, not only of those who perished in the SS Mendi, but all those who made the supreme sacrifice in all theatres of the First World War. Mendi Day was observed every year until the National Party came into power in 1948.
In 1931 the International African Ministers Association once again took the initiative and, after assembling a national committee, established the Mendi Memorial Scholarship Fund with the primary aim being, “To assist African children to obtain higher education within the Union of South Africa and abroad by means of scholarships and bursaries”.
The Mayor of Johannesburg, Mr D F Corlett, in opening the Commemoration of the Mendi Anniversary on 21 February 1932 stated the following in reference to the intention of establishing a scholarship and a school of crafts for the general enlightenment and uplifting of the African peoples:
Continuing his speech the Mayor commented, “If you are tempted to dwell on your grievances and wish you had greater facilities for more things than you have, I say you can do yourselves no better service than doing all you can to help yourselves”.
“In this way the life of the mind and spiritWhich was the highest life, was made to springOut of the death of men’s bodies brought about
By hate of war”
20
In the words of the Mendi Memorial Committee: “We can find nothing more fitting to perpetuate their memory than by the establishment of a scholarship wherewith to assist African young men and young women to obtain the best and highest education the world can give them that they may throw the light over and indicate the way of progress to our backward masses. If one would but allow himself to visualise or to be in spiritual communion with those African sons who found their graves in the depths of the sea, in the deserts of West Africa, in the marshes and under the coconut trees of East Africa and in France, we feel sure that the message he would receive from them would be that they laid down their lives that we may enjoy the blessings of peace if only we would be willing to help ourselves. They certainly never dreamt nor imagined that in order to find this enjoyment we were willing to be spoon-fed for their sake. That would have been suicide; for a race cannot thrive on doles. We have the example around us. We see members of the white race who have been accustomed to spoon-feeding sinking daily in spite of numerous protective laws against what has popularly gone out as a degraded civilisation. They perished (these African men), we feel sure, that we may find inspiration and a fresh determination to help ourselves, and, of our efforts, climb the ladder until we reach the highest pinnacle of self-development.”
Difficulties in raising funds and ensuring that committees did not use the money for local projects, resulted in the Fund ceasing to function in 1950. In 1973 the Soweto and Johannesburg branches of the South African Legion co-operated in persuading the Department to reconstitute the fund and the new committee decided to use the funds for bursaries to approved applicants studying for matriculation. The fund today still grants bursaries to approved Grade 11 and Grade 12 applicants who have obtained 60% and over at school.
THE MENDI MEMORIAL ANTHEM
We all wept when news cameFrom beyond the seas,
Announcing the sinking of young men,
When the ship Mendi went down,
Oh the sea, the merciless river,
Swallowed them alive.
Down went the mighty Bantu offspring.
Down, down, went they to the land of the dead.
21
A GRAVE OF AN SS MENDI VICTIM IN THE NETHERLANDS
As the centenary of the First World War approached, the Ditsong National Museum of Military History received an interesting enquiry by way of the South African Military History Society.
The enquiry was originally sent by Mr Mark Sijlmans, a resident of Noordwijk in the Netherlands, who has been undertaking research on First World War graves found in the local cemetery. He noted that five of the identified graves were those of South African Native Labour Corps men who perished when the SS Mendi sank in February 1917. The bodies of these five men eventually washed up on the Dutch coast. Interestingly, Mr Sijlmans had come into possession of a document which had been found on one of the men, Sikaniso Mtolo (Service No 9999) whose body had been washed up on the beach near Zandvoort in the Netherlands 67 days after the SS Mendi had sunk. Mr Sijlmans wished to know about it and its contents. He was also keen to find out if there was any means of locating any relatives who could provide more details of the life of Mtolo.
The document was an identification pass dated 16 October 1916. It provided information that Mr Motlo, aged 30 and who stood five foot seven inches tall, had been a resident of the Richmond District in the Province of Natal, today KwaZulu-Natal. His father’s name was Ngenangani, the head of the clan to which he belonged was Mafohla and the head of the kraal where he came from was Gane. The document also stated that Mtolo, at that time, resided and probably worked on the private lands of Mr W R Rayne, a landowner in the Richmond District.
The Museum made contact with Ms Khanyi Ngcobo of the Department of Arts and Culture who was excited to read Mr Sijlmans’ enquiry as the Department was looking at a possible oral history project as part of the Centenary Commemorations. Ms Ngcobo provided the details of KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Archivist, Mr Sibusiso Ngcoya whose office eventually made contact with Mr Mhlobo Mtolo, a truck driver who hails from the Richmond District and who is, apparently, a member of the family in question.
Mr Mtolo’s details were sent to Mr Sijlmans in Noordwijk and they have since been able to make contact with each other. The Museum is, therefore, waiting with interest to hear if there has been any positive outcome as a result of their correspondence.
22
ARMED FORCES DAY PARADE
Each year on 21 February, the South African National Defence Force holds an Armed Forces Day Parade at which the salute is taken by the President of the Republic of South Africa in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief. The date has been chosen to coincide with the annual commemoration of the sinking of the SS Mendi. The 2017 parade will be held in Durban and a commemorative plaque will be unveiled to recognise the centenary of the sinking of the SS Mendi.
MENDI MEMORIAL AT AVALON CEMETERY IN SOWETO
23
ROLL OF HONOURSS MENDI
MEN BURIED IN PORTSMOUTH (MILTON) CEMETERY, HAMPSHIRE, U.K.
Rank / Name Rank / Name Rank / Name
Private Stephen FULE Private Willie Pampiri HOMELANE Private Captain KOZAMULA
Private Karel Kgokong LETAU Colour Sergeant R.A. MacTAVISH Private John MKONI
Private Elias MONYELE Private Thomas PLAATJE
MEN BURIED IN LITTLEHAMPTON CEMETERY, SUSSEX, U.K.
Rank / Name Rank / Name Rank / Name
Private Simon LINGANISO Private Jim MBOMBIYA Private Smith SEGULE
MAN BURIED IN HASTINGS CEMETERY, SUSSEX, U.K.
Rank / Name
Lance Corporal Jabez NGUZA
24
MAN BURIED IN EAST DEAN (SS SIMON AND JUNE) CHURCHYARD, SUSSEX, U.K.
Rank / Name
Private Willie TSHABANA
MAN BURIED IN WIMEREUX COMMUNAL CEMETERY, PAS-DE-CALAIS, FRANCE
Rank / Name
Private T. MONAMATYA
MEN COMMEMORATED BY SPECIAL MEMORIALS IN NOORDWIJK GENERAL CEMETERY, ZUID, HOLLAND
Rank / Name Rank / Name Rank / Name
Private Natal KAZIMULA Private Abram LEBOCHE Private Sitebe MOLIFE
Private Sikaniso MTOLO Private Arosi ZENZILE
MEN COMMEMORATED ON THE HOLLYBROOK MEMORIAL, SOUTHAMPTON, U.K.
Rank / Name Rank / Name Rank / Name
Private Andries ABRAHAM Private Fred ABRAHAMS Private Jackson ABRAMS
Private Jim ALIVENI Private Abraham ANDRIES Private Amandus Pasoane AUPA
Private George BADE Private Joel BADLANA Private Langeni BALWENI
Lance Corporal Mxonywa BANGANI Private Isaac BASILIE Private James BAY
Private Henry BEKO Corporal Jack BETA Private Windvogel BEYULA
Private Jim BHAY Lance Corporal Dokoda BOKLENI Sergeant Henry BOKLENI
Private John BOOI Staff Sergeant A.B. BOTES Colour Sergeant CH BOTHA
Private Freddy BUNGANE Private Joseph BUTITJE Private CHARLES
25
Rank / Name Rank / Name Rank / Name
Private Elijah CHESA Interpreter Legwale Stephen Lucas CHOLOFELO Staff Sergeant A. COCKRELL
Private Jim DABANI Private Piet DAMPI Private Thomas DANKI
Private William DANO Private Annaniya DEALIAHA Private Aldum DENGESE
Private Geelbooi DINOKA Private William DITSEPU Private John DYUSHANE
Chaplain Wauchope DYOBHA Private Piet Glasin ELAND Lieutenant S. EMSLIE
Private Piet ETEA Private John FIDYOLI Colour Sergeant T.A. FORD
Private Williams FREDDIE Private William GABAZA Private Lucas GABUTLOELOE
Private Manie GCINA Private John GIGIMA Private Jim Tom GILWENI
Private Willie GOBIZITWANA Lance Corporal Henry GQWETA Private John GUMEDE
Private Charlie GUNENI Private Jack GWABU Private Jacob GWATYUZA
Private James HENDRICKS Private Willem HENDRICKS Private Fishi HLATSHWAYO
Private Mandwane HLATSHWAYO Private Mangaliso HLONGWANA Private Mgudulwana HLONGWANA
Lance Corporal Sigidi HLONGWANA Private Kula HLONGWANE Private Magaju HLONGWANE
Private Magwegwana HLONGWANE Private Mlando HLONGWANE Private Totwana HLONGWANE
Private Tshotsha HLONGWANE Private Zambezi HLONGWANE Private Francis HOLOANE
Private Jacobo ISAAC Private Jim JAMANGILE Private Joseph JANTOLE
Private Willie JOHNSON Private Jim JONAS Private Saluseni JONAS
Private Pansi JONGILANGA Private Lawrence JUBILE Private Simeon KABI
Private Mac KAKELA Lance Corporal Karl KALE Private Hamilton KALI
Private Simon KALOTO Private Change KARISHI Private Jan KASHANE
Private John KATAZA Private Tshabalala KAYISA Private Moskien KAZAMULA
Private Willie KAZAMULA Private Natal KAZIMULA Private Johnson KEPASIYE
Lance Corporal Jack KEPISA Private Helon KETSBAI Private Kleinbooi KGADILE
Private Jan KGAHANE Private Johannes KGANA Private Lucas KGATGANE
Private Kleinbooi KGOBOSEKANG Private Isaac KGOSI Lance Corporal Longone KGUPA
Private Robinson KHAILE Private Mapipe KHOANAMUTSI Private Dovey KHOLOPANE
Clerk Interpreter Henry James KHUTSAYO Private John KLADI Private Jack KLEINBOOI
Cook/Sergeant R. KNAGGS Private Walter Josiah KOALANE Private Jonas KOKOTO
Private Simon KOLONG Private Sam KOLUBA Lance Corporal Jan KOOPMAN
Private Jan KOPANE Private Zondo KUFAKABI Private Magwala KUMALO
Private John KUSE Private Jack KWIKWANYE Private Charlie LEBEKO
Private Ishmael LEFI Private Stephen LEGOABE Private Alfred LEKAU
26
Rank / Name Rank / Name Rank / Name
Private John LEKAU Private Solomon LEKGOLI Clerk John LEKHOTO
Private Geelbooi LEPERO Private David Job LEPHETHE Private Corporal LESELE
Private Jan LESETJA Private William LESHAGE Private Daniel LESIBA
Private Jan LESIBA Private Joseph LESIBA Private Simon LESIBA
Private Jim LESIBANA Private Martinus LESITJA Private Charlie LESITYA
Private Johannes LESOALA Private Namatshan LETEBELE Private Pond LETEBELE
Private Mothlakana LETSIE Lance Corporal Lucas LETWATWA Private John LIFA
Private David LIKGOLI Private Sebolai LIKGOLI Private Michele LITHABA
Private Ncotele LITYE Private Frans LIWELA Private Piet LOUW
Chaplain Koni LUHLONGWANA Private Jacobus LUPITINI Private Songca Paul LUVUKUVU
Private Jim MAAIXANE Private Joseph MAAKE Private Saucepan MAAKE
Private Mpini MABANE Private Abraham MABARURU Private Tula MABASO
Private Charlie MABILA Private John Pupuma MADELA Private Tatani MADIKIZELA
Private Jacob MADIMETJA Lance Corporal Robert MADOSI Private Jack MADUBANYA
Private Botha MADUME Private Frans MADUME Private Jack MADUME
Private Jack MADUME Private Jim MADUME Private Kleinbooi MADUME
Private Mackson MADUME Private Frans MADZIBANA Private Daniel MAFIKA
Private Mntuyedwa MAFILIBA Private Daniel MAGADI Private Alison MAGAGAMELA
Private Jan MAGALELE Private Klaas MAGALOBUTHA Private Sitini MAGGISI
Private Zondo MAGIDA Lance Corporal Isaac MAGOBA Private Windvogel Makhatali MAHALADI
Corporal Stephen MAHARO Private Whisky MAHLABA Private Richard MAHLENTLE
Private Klaas MAHLOAPITSENG Private Isaac MAHLUDI Private Klass MAHOHOZA
Private Canteen MAHUTU Private Ehphraim MAIFADI Private Makoba MAJUTA
Private Nokwelo MAKALI Private Robert MAKALIMA Private Bloro MAKAMBA
Private Kleinbooi MAKATU Private Ndabana MAKAYE Lance Corporal Kimberley MAKELENI
Private Jan MAKHOBE Private Frank MAKHOPANE Private Paraffin MAKILITSHI
Private Jack Jantje MAKOE Private Benjamin MAKOLE Private Johannes MAKUDU
Private Jacob MAKWANE Private Mack MAKWATEDI Private Josias MAKWENA
Private Titi MALAGWANA Private Jack MALEBOGO Private Charlie MALEMUTLE
Private Jan MALESELA Private Hlanga MALGAS Private Kana MALI
Private Mac MALI Private Charlie MALUSE Private Franz MALUSE
Private Lucas MALUSE Private Johannes MAMABULO Private Bernard MANUNYANE
Private Sam MANDCAS Lance Corporal Dick MANDUBULEM Private Jack MANEKA
27
Rank / Name Rank / Name Rank / Name
Private Piet MANGAPELO Corporal William MANGE Private John MANGISE
Private Jacob MANGOLOANE Private Timothy MANGQE Private Jan MANGWANA
Private Jack MANTSUPI Private Ben MANZANE Private Keve MAPALALA
Private Charlie MAPARANA Private William MAPHESA Private Hosiah MAPHETO
Private Harry MAPHOTO Private Samson MAPULANE Private Marthinus MARCH
Private Macambi MAREYANA Private Jacob MAROFULA Private Willem MAROLE
Private Johannes MARTHINS Private Elbert MASADE Private Jeremiah MASALENI
Private Windvogel Captain MASEKO Private Jameson MASHALIE Private Dick MASIA
Private Williams MASIKELA Private Transvaal MASILO Private Taweni MASINA
Private Jonas MASINDE Private George MASINDI Private Julius MASOLING
Private Piet MATEBULA Private Aaron MATHLANA Private Richard MATJALA
Lance Corporal Jan MATJOLA Private Johannes MATLALA Private Picanin MATLALA
Corporal Jafta MATONSI Private Abel MATSANG Private Hezekiah MATSHANA
Private Marcus MATSHE Private Andries MATSHELANE Private Frans MATSUBANE
Private Jim MATSUBANE Private Frans MATUME Private Moses MATUME
Private Thousand MATUPU Private Gwavuma MAZAKU Private Mbele Jerele MAZALEVULA
Private Albert Nkomempunga MBATA Private Isaac MBEDLA Private Sam MBIKWA
Private Jim MBIYAZWE Private Mzingele MBUZI Private Russell Palmer MCANYANA
Private Solomon MDATA Lance Corporal Olifas MDINGI Private Edward MDUNA
Private July MDUNYELWA Private Mnyelizo MDYOGOLO Private Herman MEKGOE
Private John MENZA Private Billy MGIDI Private Petrus MGOBOYE
Private Solomon MGWENA Private Ndukwana MHLANGA Private Willie MIJANA
Private Bovi MKOKELI Private Konisars MKOMANDI Private Frans MKOMAZI
Private Jim MKOMAZI Private Jim MKUNGURI Private Jail MLAHLEKI
Private Robert MLONYENI Private Melville MNCEDANA Private Gama MNYELISO
Private Longone MNYIKINWA Lance Corporal Josiah MOATSE Lance Corporal William MOBITSELA
Private Theophilus MODEBA Private Goodman MODIKENG Private Jan MODISANE
Private David MODISE Private Petrus MOEATA Private Sampson MOENG
Private Koos MOFOKENG Private Klaas MOGALOBUTHA Private Jacob MOHALE
Private Willem MOHASE Private William MOHOWE Private Hendrik MOKATAKISA
Private Aaron Jili MOKGELELI Private Aaron MOKGOSI Private Samuel MOKGWERE
Private Simon MOKHALI Private Mac MOKHAPO Private Amos MOLABI
Private Philip MOLAI Private Titus MOLELEKOA Private Silika MOLELI
28
Rank / Name Rank / Name Rank / Name
Private Andries MOLIFE Private Linesa MOLIFE Private Mosimiti MOLIFE
Private Andries MOLISANYANE Private Kleinbooi MOLOI Private Mreki MOLOYI
Private Johannes MONAKE Private Edward MONEHELA Private Zentonga MONGAMELI
Private Joseph MONGOLOGA Private Michael MONTSO Lance Corporal Philip MONYAKE
Private Jim MORASHE Private Pinefas MORE Private Benjamin MOROGOSI
Private Walter MOROLONG Private Moses MOSHE Private Jack MOSHIMANE
Lance Corporal Amos MOSITSI Private Jacob MOTAUNG Private Eliah MOTEBANG
Private Jack MOTELA Private Jan MOTHEI Private Peter MOTOBI
Private Edmund MPAFULANE Private Motsoahai MPALAKELA Private Jan MPETE
Private Johannes MPIE Private John MPOA Private Mkeza MPOTYANA
Private Sitibe MQOBO Private Jan MSESENYANE Private John MSHOTI
Private Lubaro MSIMANGO Private Galimini Lemu MSIYA Private Hlangweni MTATI
Private Mswela MTEMBU Private Moloyi MTIKIMANA Private John MTIRARA
Private Abraham MTOMBENI Private Gabayi MTSHOTSHISA Private July MUDUNGAZI
Private Joe MUHLABA Private Change MUHLABE Private Andries MUKOPO
Private Charles MUKOSANA Private Fred MUKOTLE Private David MULAMU
Private Mukale MUNANI Private Jim MURAPE Private Jack MUROA
Private Daniel MUTINJWA Private Joniseni MVULA Private Jim MZAMANI
Private Alfred MZAYIFANI Private Johannes MZIMANE Private Jotama MZONO
Private David NAFUFA Private Jack NAKEDI Private Charlie NAPANE
Private George NAWANE Private Pikiti NDABA Corporal Richard NDAMASE
Private Baleni NDANISI Lance Corporal James NDEYA Lance Corporal Isaac NDHLOVU
Private Jim NDHLULI Private Samuel NDIKI Private Nzulu NDLANKUHLE
Private William NDUNA Private Tsusa NEPHTALE Private Ben Elias NGADE
Private Enos NGAKE Private Canteen NGATE Private Pikanini NGATE
Private Durward NGCENCE Private Pansi Vincent NGCOBO Private Pindela NGCOBO
Corporal Walter NGESI Private Koza NGINGANA Private Sitole NGQIKI
Private Zilandana NGQOTOZA Private Jan NGWAHEWA Private James NGWANE
Private Pikanini NIABANI Private George NINI Private Sly NKAKULENI
Private Banana NKENI Corporal Lukase NKHEREANYE Private Peter NKOANE
Private Joseph NKOHLA Private Daniel NKONYANA Private Jack NKUNWANA
Lance Corporal Charles NKWAMBENE Lance Corporal John NKWENKWE Private Squire NODOLO
29
Rank / Name Rank / Name Rank / Name
Private Pinyana NODYIWANA Corporal Charlie NOMVABA Private Makatini NONGQAYI
Private Simon NPATU Private Tshange NQAKAMATSHE Private Zondo NSULANSULA
Private Frans NTETE Private Charlie NTINDILE Private Piet NTOPI
Private Kleinbooi NTORO Private Honono NTOZAKE Private Dick Mquitshwa NTSHANGASE
Lance Corporal Mbalela NTSHETSHA Private Marthinus Bullar NTSIRENYI Private Thomas NTSUNTSWANA
Private Ben Sydney NUKULA Private Mlungu NXAZANKE Private Varandah NYAMANA
Private Konish NYAMBANA Private Samuel NYATI Private Ebenezer NYONANE
Private Clout John NZIBA Private Fanwell OLIBENG Private Piet OLIFANT
Private Pieter OLYN Lance Corporal Alexander PALA Private James PAMBILI
Private Johannes PAPETJI Private Quvalele PARAFFIN Corporal Radoma PASILE
Private William PASOANE Private Petrus PAUL Private Dolf PAULUS
Private Charlie PAYIPELI Private Ephraim PERIKE Private Kleinbooi PETELA
Private Stephen PETULA Private Bob PHALADI Private Tom PHITI
Private Thomas PHOHOPHEDI Private Simon PHULA Private Isaac PIETERS
Private Paulus PIETERSEN Private Stephen PIKASHILA Private Matthews PISANE
Private Andries PITSO Private Jan PITSO Private Malgas PLAATJES
Private Philip POKO Private Frans POKWANE Private Koos PONYOSE
Private Jacob POTO Corporal David PUGISO Private Philemon PULANA
Private Lazarus PULE Lance Corporal Edward QABA Lance Corporal Jan QAKALA
Private Charlie QUZULA Private Cawood QWEBE Private Jan RABATJE
Private James RADEBE Private Lucas RADZAKA Private Frans RAKAU
Private Johannes RAKGOKONG Private Ramose RALINTOE Private Charlie RAMAHO
Private Titus RAMAKALE Private Gerson RAMAKHUTLE Private Modise RAMAKOKO
Private Frederick RAMARUMO Private Job RAMASITA Private Joseph RAMATEA
Lance Corporal George RAMATHODI Private George RAMKOSI Private Lukas RAMOPO
Private Nicodimus RAMOSHIELA Private Abel RAMOSOLE Private Aaron RAMPOMANA
Private Jan RAMPUNYE Private Jan RASKANE Private Samuel RATILULI
Private Gilmore RATSHOGO Private Piccanin RESINALI Private Franci REUBEN
Lieutenant E.H. RICHARDSON Private Smith ROADWAY Private Jerry RWAIRWAI
Private Wolobile SAMELA Private Selepe SEATHLANE Private Samuel SEBADI
Private Geelbooi SEFAKO Private Jim SEFAKO Private Rice SEKAKAILA
Lance Corporal George SEKONYELA Private Josiah SEKORO Private Stephanus SEKOTI
30
Rank / Name Rank / Name Rank / Name
Private Jan SEKWIDI Private Jim SELANI Corporal Seth SELLO
Lance Corporal Green SEODI Private April SEPALELA Private Willie SEPOSO
Private Jackson SEREWE Private Philemon SETLOKO Private Jack SHEBESHEBE
Private Jack SHIKAMBA Private Bossboy SHILETANE Private Thimotheus SIBALABALA
Private Jim SIBALELA Private Jacobus SIBISI Private Edmund SIBIZO
Private Samson SIBOLAYI Private Kleinbooi SIFAKU Private Zachariah Kumalo SIGEDEDHLA
Private William SIKAWULEB Private Theodore George SIKOTA Private Ben SIKWAYI
Private Frans SILWANE Private Mehlomane SILWANYANA Private July SINQANA
Private Koos SITLAKO Private Charlie SITOLE Private Hermanus SKHABI
Private Jim SKIP Private Korporal Kopane SNELE Private Anderson SOKA
Private Meji SOLANI Private Tom SOMATSHUNGU Private William SOMGEDE
Private George STEPHANS Private James STUNGA Private Zwane SUKWANA
Private Abraham SUPING Private Johannes SUPING Private Jan SWARTS
Private Sam SWARTS Private Jacob TABUDI Lance Corporal Frank TAKISI
Private Johannes TAMASINYA Private Zachariah TANKABONG Private Phineas Gansini TANONI
Private July TANTATA Private Style TETANI Private Charlie THEBEAGOE
Private Billem TIMPANE Private Percy TIYA Private Elias TLABURE
Private Michael TLADIYAMOTSE Lance Corporal Jan TOKHAYE Private Jim TOM
Private Jacob TSAMAYA Private John TSASE Private Jack TSEHLANA
Private Klaas TSHEKOSI Private Charlie TSHENENE Private Paul TSHIKARE
Private Joseph TSHITE Private Paul TSHOMOLOKAE Private Solomon TSHULE
Private Abram TSHULO Private Jackson TUBE Private Jim TUMBERI
Regimental Sergeant Major T.K. TURNER Private John TYILO Private Jeremiah TYWALANA
Lance Corporal Frans UTUNI Private Jantshi UZYNINGO Private Collis VIMBA
Sergeant Phillip VOSS Private Joe VOVELA Private Charles VUTULA
Private Isaac WANCHOPE Private Freddie WILLIAMS Lance Corporal Henry WILLIAMS
Private Johannes YINGWANA Private Hlope ZANEMPI Private John ZATU
Private Arosi ZENZILE Private Mashaya ZIMUKE Private Edward ZINYUSILE
Private Solomon Vili ZONDI Private Pukwana ZONDO Private April ZULU
Private Sikonyana ZWANE
31
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D. MOYAKESANLC
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S. MOYEYASANLC
F. MOYISANLC
J. MPAHLELASANLC
J. MPAKETOANESANLC
L. MPAPASANLC
C. MPHOTOSANLC
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J.M. MUGOGODASANLC
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M. NENGWENANISANLC
C. NESHONGOLWESANLC
W. NETSHABANASANLC
P. NGOAKUSANLC
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G. NJOSESANLC
M. NKAPUSANLC
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J. NKARABILESANLC
V. NKOSANASANLC
A. NOMBULARASANLC
N. NONTSHIBONGSANLC
F. NTEKESANLC
N. NTLAWENISANLC
M. NTSHAKAZASANLC
G. NTUENGSANLC
E. NYANZASANLC
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J. PALOLOASANLC
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PAULUSSANLC
F.PEHEHASANLC
W.PHOKOOSANLC
L.PHULENGSANLC
T.POLMANSANLC
C. PRIGACape Aux. Horse Transport
F. RAMAKOALESANLC
J. RAMAKONESANLC
I. RAMENOLESANLC
K. RAMKONDOSANLC
H. RAMOTHLEBANESANLC
RANTANKIESANLC
G. RASHIDAUSANLC
F. RUITERSCape Aux. Horse Transport
M. SABUNISANLC
E. SAJENESANLC
SAMUELSANLC
J. SAPISANLC
S. SEBETLANESANLC
N. SEDIBUDIBUSANLC
P. SELLOSANLC
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SEPATALASANLC
G. SEPUTLALESANLC
I. SERAILOSANLC
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SETHASANLC
J. SHAHALESANLC
J. SHINABUSANLC
J. SHUMAYELESANLC
Z. SIDIGESANLC
SIFICISANLC
J. SILIELOSANLC
TATISANLC
T. THLIDISANLC
THOMASSANLC
F. THOMASSANLC
F. TIROSANLC
S. TITISISANLC
TOHLANGSANLC
K.M. TOTISANLC
J.Z. TSEGELESANLC
W. TUMUNUSANLC
S. TUSESANLC
WANGASANLC
S. WILLEMSANLC
WILLIAMSANLC
J. WILLIESANLC
H.C. WITBOOICape Aux. Horse Transport
B. YEKISOSANLC
J. YINGWANESANLC
S. ZACHARIAHSANLC
J. ZULANESANLC
A. ZWANESANLC
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PRODUCED BY: THE SOUTH AFRICAN DELVILLE
WOOD COMMEMORATIVE MUSEUM TRUST
Trustees
Past Chairmen include Justice MT Steyn, Mr C Cilliers and Major General RC Andersen
The current Trustees are:
Brig Gen (Rev) Monwabisi Jamangile ensp, psc(j) (Chairman)
Dr (Maj) Terence Milne (Ret) (Deputy Chairman)
Maj Gen Roy C Andersen CSSA, SD, SM, MMM, JCD
Maj Gen Lungile Dlulane MMM (Ret)
R Adm Alan Green MMM (Ret)
Maj John Keene PMM, JCD (Ret)
Brig Gen David Masters PS, MMM (Ret)
Mr Themba Ndebele-Monyela
Maj Gen Philip Pretorius CSSA, SD, SM, MMM (Ret)
Col Ivor W Rimmer MMM (Ret)
Lt Col Grant Stevens MMM (Ret)
37
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Gratitude is expressed to the following for the assistance with the preparation of this retrospective:
Editorial Committee
Mr Allan Sinclair (Author)
Dr (Maj) Terence Milne (Ret) (Chairman)
Maj Gen Roy Andersen CSSA, SD, SM, MMM, JCD
Maj Gen Lungile Dlulane MMM (Ret)
Mr Dominic Hoole
Source Material
Clothier, N Black Valour (University of Natal Press, Durban, 1987)
Gleeson, I The Unknown Force – Black, Indian and Coloured Soldiers through two world wars (Ashanti, Johannesburg, 1994)
Grundling, A Fighting Their Own War – South African Blacks and the First World War (Rava, Johannesburg, 1987)
Library File A.412 (68) SS Mendi (Archives of the Ditsong National Museum of Military History)
Correspondence, Mr Mark Sijlmans February 2014 and February 2016
38
Photographs
Ditsong National Museum of Military History
www.delvillewood.com
As disclosed under pictures
References
Clothier, N Black Valour (University of Natal Press, Durban, 1987)
Gleeson, I The Unknown Force – Black, Indian and Coloured Soldiers through two world wars (Ashanti, Johannesburg, 1994)
Grundling, A Fighting Their Own War – South African Blacks and the First World War (Rava, Johannesburg, 1987)
Library File A.412 (68) SS Mendi (Archives of the Ditsong National Museum of Military History)
Correspondence, Mr Mark Sijlmans February 2014 and February 2016
