SS MENDI BECOMES A WAR GRAVE

The SS Mendi, a troopship on which 600 South African soldiers died during World War I, is going to be classified as war grave, making it a protected ship under the British Protection of Military Remains Act. Because the ship was not British-owned, it was never given the status of a war grave. The SS Mendi sank in 1917 in the English Channel while transporting the 5th Battalion of the South African Native Corps. The men were on their way to the Western Front, where they were to perform non-combat duties such as dock work and digging trenches. At 5am on 21 February 1917, the SS Mendi was rammed by another ship, the Darro. The troopship sank in less than half an hour. As the ship listed, Reverend Isaac DYOOBHA led the men in a death dance on the deck and told them to be quiet and calm. He was one of 649 men who died that day. Retired British Army Major Ned MIDDLETON was responsible for getting the ship designated as a war grave. The University of Wessex has over the past three years been surveying the wreck site. The study has also involved researching archive material and sourcing oral histories.