1.
the night of 21 February 1917, more than 600 men of the South African Native Labour Corps (SANLC) lost their lives in the sinking of the SS Mendi- the largest single loss of life for the non-combatants in the SANLC during the First World War.
2.
Mendi was carrying the SANLC to France, where they were due to serve as essential labour support to the ongoing fighting, when the SS Darro, a much larger mail ship, struck the troopship, in thick fog 19km south of St Catherine’s Point on the Isle of Wigh
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Darro survived the collision but the Mendi sank quickly. leaving 607 men dead. Some were killed on the point of impact, many others drowned. The Mendi has become the symbol for commemoration of their service.
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extent of the loss of life in the Mendi disaster established its status as a national tragedy in South Africa, which briefly overwhelmed racial divisions. The entire South African House of Assembly rose in silence on 9 March 1917 as a mark of respect. Pri
5.
quiet and calm, my countrymen. What is happening now is what you came to do…you are going to die, but that is what you came to do…so let us die like brothers”. These are the poignant words that Reverend Isaac Wauchope Dyobha reportedly spoke to calm the p
6.
SS Mendi left Cape Town for Plymouth, England, on 16 January 1917 with 823 members of the 5th Battalion of the South African Native Labour Contingent. The contingent consisted of a total of 805 black troops, five white officers, 17 white non-commissioned
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bronze statue commemorating the victims of the SS Mendi, Atteridgeville, Pretoria/Tshwane (Photo source: Wikipedia)
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of the tragedy captured the imagination of both black and white South Africans including the residents of Bloemfontein’s black townships. In fact, at that time a new township was being laid out for the “relocated” residents of the old Waaihoek location. T
