Johannesburg's junior mayor Thandeka Shongwe and junior speaker Palesa Nombula observing Remembrance Sunday

The mayor speaks FOR a speech by the mayor on the occasion of the Annual Remembrance Day Commemoration of the Fallen Heroes, click here. RELATED LINKS: SS Mendi heroes to be remembered THIS year the hundreds of troops who died when the SS Mendi sank on the way to France will be honoured on Remembrance Sunday. Read more Remembrance day for fallen heroes FALLEN soldiers from a number of campaigns, including World War 1, will be remembered in Johannesburg on Sunday during what promises to be a moving ceremony at the Cenotaph. Read more Thomas Pakenham, the Boer War and the Old Fort IN the Slovo Courtyard at the Old Fort in Johannesburg, little altered in decades, writer Thomas Pakenham, dressed casually in open-neck shirt and slightly crumpled trousers, introduced his Boer War talk this week with: "My wife went to see Michael Cain in the movie Zulu - that rubbish - and came back with shining eyes and said: 'Why don't you write a book about the Boer War?' And I did." Read more

Veterans remember: Solomon Masilela and Phillip Bochele

Military precision: soldiers parade down Harrison Street in downtown Johannesburg in honour of South Africa's fallen heroes (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)

Solemn tribute paid to SA's fallen A sombre ceremony marked Remembrance Sunday, during which the soldiers who died on the SS Mendi were honoured. November 12, 2007 By George Matlala WITH military precision, hundreds of soldiers paraded down Harrison Street in downtown Johannesburg in honour of South Africa's fallen heroes. Participating in the parade on Sunday, 11 November - Remembrance Sunday - at exactly 2.30pm were members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), military bands, Freedom Regiments of the City of Johannesburg, military veterans and officers from the South African Police Service (SAPS). They were joined by the Johannesburg Student Council. Paying tribute to South Africa's fallen heroes: Zanele Mbeki, the first lady; Johannesburg's executive mayor Amos Masondo; Nkele Ntingane, the City's Speaker and Solly Shoke, South African Army chief Lieutenant General (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg) Following the parade, an interfaith religious service was held at the Cenotaph; government officials, military veterans, soldiers and learners were among those who paid their respects to all the South Africans who have died in wars and conflicts, including the struggle for democracy. This year, a special tribute was paid to the soldiers who died in one of South Africa's worst military disasters, the sinking of the SS Mendi during World War I. In all, 616 men from the South African Native Labour Contingent died when the steamship SS Mendi sank in the English Channel on the way to France in 1917, along with 33 crew members. Among the dignitaries present at the service were Executive Mayor Amos Masondo; Zanele Mbeki, the first lady; Mavela Dlamini, the City manager; Nkele Ntingane, the City Speaker; Solly Shoke, the SANDF chief lieutenant-general; and Thandeka Shongwe, junior mayor of Joburg. Senior Chaplain in the SANDF, Mantsi Mohapi, assisted by Abbas Hlatswayo, Rabbi Ron Handler and Pandit Sharma, led the service. A two-minute silence was observed in honour of those who died in the line of duty with special emphasis on those who died on the SS Mendi. Masondo noted that Remembrance Sunday was set aside to honour those South Africans who made the supreme sacrifice in wars and conflicts, including the struggle democracy. However, the day could also be used to address the challenges facing the country. The government had taken steps to commemorate those who have died in the line of duty; in 1996, the City rededicated the Cenotaph memorial to all those who died in all wars and armed conflicts, including the struggle for democracy in South Africa, he said. Masondo noted that the men of the SS Mendi had also been honoured by the South African Navy, which had among its fleet the SAS Isaac Dyobha, a warrior-class fast attack craft, and the SAS Mendi, a valour-class frigate. The ship had also lent its name to South Africa's highest award for courage, the Order of Mendi, which was bestowed by the president on South African citizens who had performed extraordinary acts of bravery, he added. Masondo quoted Reverend Isaac Wauchope Dyobha, one of the heroes of the Mendi, who calmed the dying men by saying: "Be quiet and calm my countrymen, for what is taking place now is what you came here to do. We are all going to die, and that is what we came for. "Brothers we are drilling the death drill. I say here and now that you are all my brothers. Xhosas, Swazis, Pondos, Basotho and all others, let us die like warriors. We are the sons of Africa. Raise your war cries my brothers, for though they made us leave our assegais in our kraals, our voices are left with our bodies.” The honours concluded with a solemn wreath-laying ceremony; Mbeki laid the first wreath, followed by Masondo and then representatives of foreign countries, the SANDF, SAPS, South African Navy, other military bodies and members of the public. Remembrance Sunday was first held 85 years ago and is held annually on the Sunday closest to 11 November, or Poppy Day, the date in 1918 on which the armistice was signed that ended World War I, the Great War. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za