CENTENARY RETROSPECTIVE SINKING OF THE SS MENDI 1917 – 2017 CENTENARY RETROSPECTIVE SINKING OF THE SS MENDI 1917 – 2017 i ii FOREWORD FOREWORD BY BRIG GEN (REV) MA JAMANGILE ensp, psc(j), CHAIRMAN, DELVILLE WOOD COMMEMORATIVE MUSEUM TRUST 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! 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: 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 behind Page 7: Bronze Fresco in Delville Wood Museum Page 11: SS Mendi Memorial on the Campus of the University of Cape Town Page 15: Castle, Mendi Fort Wynyard Page 16: Arques-la-Bataille Cemetery Page 17: Mendi Memorial at the New Brighton in Port Elizabeth Page 19: SS Mendi Memorial on the Campus of the University of Cape Town Page 21: Arques-la-Bataille Cemetery Page 36: Salvaged SS Mendi Porthole 2 CONTENTS 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 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. 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. 6 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.