Cape Town - The Commonwealth War Graves Commission held a ceremonial sod-turning ceremony in Cape Town for a memorial that will honour more than 1700 black South African servicemen who died during World War I.
The event, attended by mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, marked the start of the construction of the Cape Town Labour Corps Memorial at the Company’s Garden.
For the Maliwa family, it was the first time Magwayi Maliwa, one of the fallen servicemen, would be officially and ceremonially honoured.
A great-grandson of Maliwa, Samora Machel resident Sibongiseni Maliwa, was present at the event.
“He died there, and we never buried him. He died between 1914 and 1921, but we are not sure where.
“I’m not aware of what function he was performing in the army. All I know is that he was one of the servicemen.
“I do not know how to express myself, but I feel very honoured to be called to be part of this ceremony, and also very proud that my family will have a name that is recognised by the South African government.”
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission was founded in 1917 and is led by six partner countries: Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK. Representatives from Canada, India and the UK were also present at the ceremony.
The commission’s director of Commonwealth relations and global strategy, Charles Garrett, said: “It (the commission) exists today to commemorate all the fallen servicemen from World War I and World War
II who came from Commonwealth countries, and it also exists today to teach younger generations about the value of peace and the futility of war. This new memorial honouring more than 1700 black South Africans who fell while serving in the country’s labour corps in World War I is the first tangible step.”
Hill-Lewis said the servicemen who died across Africa were in labour units that included the Cape Coloured Labour Regiment, the Cape Auxiliary Horse Transport, the Military Labour Bureau, and the Military Labour Corps of South Africa.
The name, service number and date of death of each of the 1700 servicemen will be inscribed individually on a post of African hardwood set in a base of South African Rustenburg granite, creating rows of posts.
“While various memorials and grave sites exist in South Africa and indeed around the world to tell the stories and display the names of the enlisted white servicemen who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the Great War, there is as yet no such memorial for the 1700 black South Africans, some of them from Cape Town, who served in non-combatant roles in the war and who perished while protecting the world from tyranny.”
The memorial’s design was done by Durban-based Dean Jay Architects, while Cape Town-based firm DNL has been appointed to manage the construction of the monument.