City salutes SS Mendi heroes
27 February 2017
There was a sombre and solemn atmosphere at Avalon Cemetery in Soweto on Saturday as the City of Johannesburg and the South African military veterans commemorated the centenary of the sinking of the SS Mendi in the English Channel on 21 February 1917, claiming 646 lives.
Of the dead, 616 were South African soldiers, mostly black, and 30 crew members.
Representatives of more than 20 embassies and South African military attachments, veterans associations as well as the next of kin of those who perished in the sea on that fateful day 100 years ago observed a moment of silence before laying wreaths around a monument inscribed with the names of all the fallen heroes.
Represented at the ceremony were the embassies of the US, Australia, Canada, France, Britain and the Central African Republic, as well as the South African National Defence Force and the South African Defence Force Association, Department of Military Veterans, World Veterans Organisation, South African Legion, South African Air Force Association, Naval Force of Southern Africa, South African Service of Jewish League, South African Careers War Association, Royal Navy Association and the Military Association of Gauteng.
Owned by the British and African Steam Navigation Company, the SS Mendi was a passenger steamship built in 1905 and requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1916 as a troopship. It had set sail from Cape Town on January 16, carrying 823 men of the 5th Battalion of the South African Native Labour Contingent.
The men came from all over Southern Africa, with most of them from South Africa.
After calling at Plymouth in Devon, the Mendi sailed into the English Channel headed for Le Havre in northern France, where the men were to serve in World War 1. In the dark and thick fog in the early morning of February 21, the Mendi was accidentally rammed by the Darro, a much larger cargo ship setting out for Argentina.
The Mendi sank 25 minutes later, just 16km south of St Catherine’s Point on the Isle of Wight.
The Speaker of the City of Johannesburg Council, Cllr Vasco da Gama, who had earlier in the day unveiled the plague and awarded certificates of re-dedication and medals to members of the South African Legion at the SA Legion Memorial chapel in Soweto, said it was an honour for him to pay tribute to the men on SS Mendi who paid the ultimate price for peace in the world during World War 1.
Cllr Da Gama said very little had been written, spoken or remembered about “our soldiers of the South African Native Labour Contingent, who volunteered during both world wars”. He said the City wished to remember more than 300 men from this area who went down the icy sea 100 years ago.
“Let us also think of so many others that have served our country in many wars, battles and liberation struggles to ensure that we can live in peace and harmony in South Africa today. We need to give our thanks to those who perished during those struggles, remember those that have suffered from injuries, hardships, the lack of education and jobs due to them serving their country.
“Let us not forget their families, spouses and dependents who have also suffered due to their service. We heralded them as heroes at the time, but later we tend to forget them when they really need us. Many thanks to those who are looking after this monument [here] at Avalon Cemetery. It’s important for us to ensure monuments like these are well kept to show our respect to those who are commemorated here,” Cllr Da Gama concluded.