Mendi Memorial, Soweto
Photo: Derek Walker
Location
Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa
In Avalon Cemetery, Tshabuse Street, Soweto
GPS: 26 deg 17 min 23.28 sec S, 27 deg 52 min 11.11 sec E
Photo: Derek Walker
Significance
The Memorial commemorates the members of the South African Native Labour Contingent who lost their lives when the SS Mendi sank off the Isle of Wight after a collision on 21 February 1917.
Photo: Derek Walker
Photo: Derek Walker
The unveiling stone is inscribed:
THIS STONE WAS UNVEILED
BY
HER MAJESTY
QUEEN ELIZABETH II
ON
THURSDAY 23rd MARCH 1995
TO MARK THE OPENING OF THE
GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE
AT
AVALON CEMETERY
TO HONOUR THE VICTIMS LOST
IN THE SINKING OF
SS MENDI IN 1917
Further reading
The sinking of the SS Mendi, 21 February 1917 by G Swinney
Clean-up of the SS Mendi Memorial Avalon Cemetery