In the annals of South Africa’s military history, 21 February 1917 is a dark day. It marks the sinking of the troopship SS Mendi after it was rammed off the Isle of Wight, with the loss of 616 South African servicemen, 607 of them members of the South African Native Labour Corps: Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana; the names on the SS Mendi Roll of Honour reflect every corner of Southern African society, then or since.
Today, the anniversary of the SS Mendi disaster is aptly the day on which South Africa remembers her fallen soldiers. Across the country, parades and ceremonies will be held to commemorate those South Africans who paid the ultimate price in wars across the globe.
Only a fraction of the bodies of the SS Mendi casualties were ever found. Of those, 13 lie in the UK. One, Private Beleza Myengwa, was originally buried near Le Havre in France, but in July 2014, was ceremoniously re-interred at the South African National War Memorial at Delville Wood, in the presence of South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
He was carried to his grave by serving South African soldiers, sailors, medics and airmen, past an honour guard of South African and French military veterans.
But another five SS Mendi casualties, Private A. Leboche, Private Arosi Zendile, Private Sitebe Molide, Private Natal Kazimula and Private Sikaniso Mtolo, lie in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission section of the General Cemetery of Noordwijk, just north of The Hague in the Netherlands.
Though neutral during the First World War, the Netherlands was not spared from hosting the casualties of a war that was fought within earshot.
It is our fervent hope that you (or your representative) will be able to join us in this unique tribute.
The sinking of the SS Mendi was one of South Africa's worst tragedies of the First World War, second perhaps only to the Battle of Delville Wood (Image: South African Navy)One of South Africa's worst military disasters is to be taught in British schools to highlight the role of black soldiers in World War I, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission announced on Monday.
A total of 616 South Africans, including 607 black troops serving in the South African Native Labour Contingent, died when the steamship SS Mendi sank in the English Channel on the way to France on 21 February 1917.
More about the s.s. Mendi
remembrance in Cape town 2020
A service has also taken place at Milton Cemetery in Portsmouth to remember the South African troops who lost their lives in the sinking of SS Mendi in February 1917.
And also on Armed Forces Day | Commemorating 1917 sinking of SS Mendi: Simphiwe Dlamini
Most had never seen the sea, many couldn’t swim, few returned.
January 1917, 823 South African men board the SS Mendi in Cape Town, volunteers for the British Army bound for the Western Front.
Heavy pre-dawn fog shrouds the impending disaster. The collision comes with such force that the SS Mendi sinks in minutes. By the time rescue arrives, it is too late for most.
Dubbed the ‘Black Titanic’, the sinking of SS Mendi was one of the worst maritime disasters in the 20th Century in Southampton waters. Yet, a startling story of hope and courage emerges. Brought to life with live music by the critically acclaimed Cape Town based Isango Ensemble and part of 14-18 NOW, the UK’s Arts Programme for the First World War Centenary.
SS Mendi is a powerful and moving celebration of life at the moment of death. A group of men who start out on their journey as individuals, small groups from different tribes, with conflicting cultures and worldviews, become united into a group of brothers who dance the death drill as the boat goes down
“Poignantly beautiful”
The Guardian
★★★★★
“Knocks the breath from your body”
The Times
★★★★★
"Like nothing I have seen before”
Broadway World
★★★★
“a powerful emotional story… a show and a story that deserves greater exposure”
Pocket Sized Theatre
★★★★
“An otherworldly requiem”
The Stage
No comments:
Post a Comment