The Sinking of the Mendi

The Sinking of the Mendi

On 21 February 1917, the 4,000-ton SS Mendi, carrying the last contingent of the South African Native Labour Corps, was struck by the much larger SS Darro, in thick fog off the Isle of Wight. The Mendi sank within 25 minutes and the vast majority of those on board drowned. The disaster claimed 646 lives in total. Most have no grave but the sea and are remembered at the Hollybrook Memorial in Southampton. Memorials to the tragedy have also been built in South Africa – most notably at Avalon Cemetery in Soweto, New Brighton in Port Elizabeth, and the University of Cape Town – and at the South African National Memorial at Delville Wood in France, where bronze reliefs depict the tragedy.

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  • Profile picture for Ndukwana Mhlanga

    Died 1917

    South African Services 11118 Private South African Native Labour Corps 5th Bn.