SA Navy to honour dead of SS Mendi
ON MONDAY, the SA Navy’s SAS Amatola will be sailing to the English Channel to commemorate the centenary of the sinking of the SS Mendi.
The ship will also participate in British Operational Sea Training while in England, even though the commemoration is the main reason it will be going to England, the SANDF said.
Different activities will take place during the commemoration, but the main activity will see relatives of the men who died lay a wreath where the SS Mendi sank.
On completion of the training and the commemoration, the ship will proceed to Germany for an exercise with the German armed forces, the exercise Good Hope VII.
The exercise usually takes place every two years in South Africa. However, Germany has asked to host it this year.
According to the SANDF, the ship will also conduct borderline protection patrols while in South African waters and switch over to anti-piracy patrol on the west coast of Africa.
It will also undertake visits to Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Namibia.
The SS Mendi troopship sailed from Cape Town on its way to France carrying the last contingent of the SA Native Labour Corps, comprising 805 black privates, five white officers and 17 NCOs, as well as 33 crew members. – Staff Reporter