After more than a century of obscurity, 1,772 Black South African servicemen who died during World War I in non-combat support roles have finally received a public tribute. Their names—absent from historical records for decades—are now inscribed on African hardwood pillars at a newly unveiled memorial in Cape Town’s oldest public garden.
Deprived of the right to bear arms because of discriminatory policies, these men served in the Cape Town Labor Corps, providing essential logistical support such as transporting supplies and constructing infrastructure. They fought in fringe battles across Africa, primarily in regions then known as German South West Africa and German East Africa. Despite making the same ultimate sacrifice as millions of other WWI casualties, they remained unacknowledged due to entrenched racial policies under British colonialism and later apartheid.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission spearheaded the effort to rectify this historical oversight, concluding years of archival research that uncovered the stories of these neglected heroes. Four families of the fallen, identified through painstaking record tracing, attended the memorial’s dedication ceremony. Britain’s Princess Anne, serving as the commission’s president, presided over the event, emphasizing the importance of finally honoring those who had been overlooked. A lone bugler concluded the ceremony with “The Last Post,” symbolically acknowledging them as recognized war dead 106 years after the Armistice.
By etching their names into history, the memorial sends a powerful reminder of the long-delayed justice these men deserve. Family members expressed relief, gratitude, and closure, appreciative that their ancestors’ service and sacrifice have at last been publicly affirmed.