Vusi Gumbi and Thembelihle Radebe
At the Annual SS Mendi Commemoration Memorial on February 17, 2024, Margaret Arnolds, the Speaker of Joburg Council, paid tribute to over 600 men lost at sea on February 21 1917. In a solemn ceremony at Avalon Cemetery, representatives from various South African military affiliations, veterans’ associations, and bereaved families gathered to honour the fallen. Wreaths were laid around a memorial bearing the names of those lost in the tragedy. Arnolds reflected on the sacrifice made by these men, acknowledging their role in shaping South Africa’s journey to democracy and the freedoms enjoyed today.
She emphasised the significance of remembering the SS Mendi disaster, which marked the largest loss of life for non-combatants in the South African Native Labour Corps during World War I.
The sinking of the SS Mendi, just 16km south off St Catherine’s Point on the Isle of Wight, remains a poignant reminder of the human cost of war.
Communities worldwide commemorate this event annually on or around February 21.
The SS Mendi, originally a passenger steamship built in 1905, was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1916 as a troopship.
Departing from Cape Town on January 16, 823 men of the 5th Battalion of the South African Native Labour Contingent were aboard, representing diverse communities from across Southern Africa.
SOURCED FROM THE JOBURG WEBSITE.
