CENTENARY RETROSPECTIVE DELVILLE WOOD 1916 – 2016 SINKING OF THE SS MENDI 1917 – 2017 i ii FOREWORD FOREWORD BY BRIG GEN (REV) MA PRÉFACE PAR LE BRIGADIER GÉNÉRAL JAMANGILE ensp, psc(j), (révérend) MA JAMANGILE, CHAIRMAN, DELVILLE WOOD PRÉSIDENT DE DELVILLE WOOD COMMEMORATIVE MUSEUM TRUST COMMEMORATIVE MUSEUM TRUST When World War I broke out in 1914, Lorsque la Première Guerre Mondiale the new Union of South Africa as a a éclaté en 1914, l’Union d’Afrique du nation was just four years old. Sud comme nation était tout juste âgée Only twelve years had passed since de quatre ans et onze ans seulement la the end of the Anglo-Boer War in séparaient de la fin de la guerre Anglo- 1902. Nevertheless, members of the Boer de 1902. Néanmoins, les membres Union Defence Force (UDF) were de l’Union des Forces de Défense (UDF) committed first to the invasion of ont été envoyés dans un premier temps German South West Africa and en Afrique du sud-ouest pour combattre subsequently to the war in Europe. l’invasion allemande, puis sur le théâtre de crise européen. It is estimated that 235 000 South Africans of all races served in World War I. Of these, some On estime la participation sud-africaine à l’effort de guerre 13 700 lost their lives on the various fronts. de la Premier Guerre Mondiale à 235 000 combattants, parmi eux, 13 700 ont perdu la vie sur les différents Two particular events had a seminal effect on the champs de bataille. consciousness of the new Union of South Africa. Au cours de cette guerre, deux événements marquants The first, the Battle of Delville Wood in July ont eu un impact précurseur sur la conscience de l’Union 1916, resulted in the tragic loss of 763 South d’Afrique du Sud. African lives, a large proportion of the total of 2 375 fatalities in France in that war. This battle Le premier à retenir est la bataille de Delville Wood, en juillet was however also a reason for national pride, 1916. Ce combat entraina la disparition tragique de 2 375 following the stoic defence of the Wood by the combattants au total, dont 763 sud-africains. Il reste de 1st South African Infantry Brigade over six days cette bataille une fierté nationale découlant d’une résistance and five nights. inébranlable, durant six jours et cinq nuits, de la 1ère brigade d’infanterie sud-africaine, qui a défendu avec courage la forêt No less tragic was the loss of 628 members of the de Delville. South African Native Labour Corps in the sinking of the troopship SS Mendi on 21 February, 1917. Le second évènement n’est pas moins tragique, puisque 628 The bravery displayed by the troops as the ship membres du South African Native Labour Corps ont péri dans sunk has become the stuff of legend. le naufrage du bâtiment de transport de troupes SS Mendi, le 21 février 1917. La bravoure dont ont témoigné les troupes It has been a privilege for the South African ayant péri dans le naufrage fait aujourd’hui figure de légende. Delville Wood Commemorative Museum Trust to prepare this Centenary Retrospective of the Cela a été un privilège pour le South African Delville Battle of Delville Wood and the Sinking of the Wood Commemorative Museum Trust de préparer la SS Mendi, as a tribute to the South African men commémoration du centenaire de la bataille de Delville Wood and women of all races who lost their lives in the et du naufrage du SS Mendi. Cette commémoration est un Great War. hommage à tous les hommes et femmes sud-africains, de toutes races, qui ont perdu la vie dans la Grande Guerre. WE WILL REMEMBER THEM! NOUS NOUS SOUVIENDRONS D’EUX! 1 LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS The following photographs have not been provided with captions. Please follow the list below for ease of reference: Cover Front Cover: Delville Wood Memorial SS Mendi Front Cover Extension: Delville Wood in Longueval The Cemetery at Delville Wood Inside Front Cover Extension: The SS Mendi Memorial In Atteridgeville SS Mendi Memorial on the Campus of the University of 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: Cape Corps Memorial Kimberley Cape Corps Roll of Honour 1st Bn Cape Corps Inside Back Cover Extension: The Two Minutes’ Silence Back Cover Extension: Delville Wood Map of Longueval and Delville Wood Back Cover: Aerial photograph of Delville Memorial and Museum The Last Tree at Delville Wood The Wood Delville Wood Museum Inside pages Page 5: The Delville Wood Memorial with Museum behind Page 15: The statue of Castor and Pollux on top of the Delville Wood Memorial Page 29: Delville Wood Memorial Page 37: SS Mendi Memorial on the Campus of the University of Cape Town Page 41: Cape Corps Memorial in Kimberley Page 65: Delville Wood Cemetery and Memorial Page 66: Delville Wood Memorial in Cape Town Page 69: Delville Wood 2 CONTENTS Foreword 1 South Africa in World War I 5 The Battle of Delville Wood 15 The Memorial at Delville Wood 19 Delville Wood Commemorative Museum 21 Delville Wood Cemetery 23 The Wood 25 The Delville Wood Crosses 29 Arques-la-Bataille Cemetery 36 The Sinking of SS Mendi 37 The Battle of Square Hill 41 Rolls of Honour 43 The Commonwealth War Graves Commission 65 The South African Delville Wood Commemorative Museum Trust 67 Acknowledgements 69 The Two Minutes’ Silence (inside back cover) 3 4 SOUTH AFRICA IN WORLD WAR 1 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. 5 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 enyaK 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.