By CLAUDIA CAVANAGH
Three men who died in one of South Africa’s greatest tragedies – the sinking of the
SS Mendi during WW1 - have been found in a single grave in England marked only
with the names Simon, Jim and ‘Segule served as Smith’.
The chance discovery was made in Littlehampton, West Sussex, by historian
Nick Ward and his team of researchers. He believes the men were treated differently
in death by the British authorities because they were black and is determined to help
set past wrongs right by finding relatives who may never have been told where their
fathers and grandfathers were buried.
The Mendi - carrying more than 800 members of the South African Native
Labour Corps to France - was rammed and almost cut in two in the English Channel
on 21 February 1917. Only 14 bodies were recovered and among them the three now
resting in Littlehampton.
The 616 South Africans who died in the icy waters off the Isle of Wight many leaders and warriors in their own right - are remembered amid tales of such
courage that our highest award for bravery is named after the ship that carried them to
their death.
But it seems as though they may not always have been treated with respect.
Ward explains: ‘I wondered why three men from South Africa were buried in
one grave here and thought initially that it may have been an African custom.’
It was established that the men, who were found floating in the water still
wearing their identity tags, had been aboard the ill-fated SS Mendi and were Private
Jim Mbombiya, Private Smith Segule and Private Simon Linganiso.
Ward approached the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)
which agreed to provide a new and accurate gravestone in the near future. But he says
more still needs to be done before ‘these men can finally be at peace’.
He then visited a Portsmouth cemetery where others who died on the Mendi
are buried. A Lieutenant R A MacTavish of the South African Postal Corps has his
own grave but eight black men are buried four to a grave. In this case, all but one –
marked only as Jonah – are named.
‘I can only think they were treated differently because they were black - even
though they were wearing the King’s livery and had been prepared to lay down their
lives for the Crown. In Littlehampton the full names were known but not put on the
gravestone. Why? Who issued that directive? Why put several people in one grave?
‘I would like the relatives of these men to know where their loved ones are
buried. Ideally I’d like to see these men taken home and buried with the honour they
deserve or have their relatives visit them here. Had they died on the killing fields of
France or Flanders I’d say leave them be - but they didn’t even get that far.
‘I am sure that they have been very lonely and that for 95 years, until we
stumbled along, not a soul visited. I think the families are owed an apology and that at
the very least a permanent marker should be placed here so people are aware of the
story and these men are not forgotten again.’
On the recent anniversary, Ward and his team placed a wreath made into a
South African flag, on the grave.
Captain Charles Ross of the South African Agency CWGC said that many war
casualties, particularly from WWI, were buried in public graves sometimes containing
up to a dozen burials.
‘Collective and joint burials are also fairly common in Commission cemeteries
and plots, and it is of course always possible to seek to interpret any specific decision
taken by a burial authority in the past,’ he said, adding that due to an agreement
between Commission members – including South Africa – the exhumation and
reparation of the bodies would not be possible.
‘The Commission’s policy is that the remains of Commonwealth war dead
should, as far as possible, be allowed to rest in peace. Regrettably the commission is
not in a position to pay for family members visiting Commonwealth war graves.’
Captain Ross said linguists had reviewed the names of all the men who died
on the Mendi. The Commission had amended its books accordingly and had the name
panels on the Hollybrook Memorial in Southampton re-engraved.
If you can take the story further, email Nick Ward:
ww1tommyresearch@yahoo.co.uk