Black South Africans who died in WWI recognised

BLACK South Africans who lost their lives while working in the military labour units during World War I (19141918) are set to be honoured for the first time.

This as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) plans to redress this historic omission by building a memorial in their honour at the Cape Town Company’s Garden.

In the early part of the war, 35 000 black South Africans provided labour services to the South African forces in German South-West Africa (now Namibia). They fulfilled a wide range of auxiliary roles including stevedores, wagon drivers, railway builders and repairers. More than a century later not all the names of those lost from the ranks of the labour units have been recorded in remembrance.

The CWGC had identified the causes of death for more than 1 600 members of the South African labour units who will be named on the new memorial.

These men were recruited for service in Africa, serving in labour units including the Cape Coloured Labour Regiment, Cape Auxiliary Horse Transport, the Military Labour Bureau and the Military Labour Corps.

It was found that the majority died of malaria while some suffered from dysentery, pneumonia and tuberculosis. Many lost their lives in the field, others died at sea or in hospitals after returning home. Through the process of developing the memorial, the CWGC hopes to trace the families of these men.

“We take a tangible step in honouring 1 600 South Africans who served in the military labour units and for far too long have been overlooked.

“They were casualties, not just because of the conflict of World War I, but because of of indifference to their service, suffering, and sacrifice,” said CWGC director of external relations, Liz Woodfield.

“In bringing their names home, I sincerely hope that current and future generations of South Africans will visit the memorial once it is built and will through their education and remembrance activities, add detail to the rich story of South Africa’s history, and depart the better for the experience of coming to know these men and honouring them.”

Yesterday the CWGC launched their architectural design competition for the memorial. Registration closes on June 2 and is open to all professional architects and professional architectural technologists who are registered with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession.

To enter visit: https://cwgcmemorialcompetition.co.za/