Liz Woodfield, CWGC’s Director of External Relations said, “Today, we take a tangible step in honouring 1,600 South Africans who served in the military labour units and for far too long, have been overlooked. They were casualties, not just because of the conflict of the First World War, but of indifference to their service, suffering, and sacrifice."

This new memorial, which will be homed in the Cape Town Company’s Garden and will be funded and maintained in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, will deliver a measure of redress.

This memorial acknowledges the important role the servicemen played and memorialises their names, sacrifice and their memory at the heart of the Cape Town community.

Tiaan Meyer, Director at Meyer and Associates Architects and Urban Designers, the lead CWGC project advisor says, “We are honoured to be launching the architectural design competition of the memorial. This next step in the project will commence and set the tone to write the next important chapter of our history.”

The competition registration officially opens today (05 May 2022) and closes on the 2nd of June 2022 and is open to all Professional Architects and Professional Architectural Technologists who are registered with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP).

All contestants will be notified of their successful registration and details of the brief will be ready for download by the 9th of June 2022. The winning design is being announced on the 31st of August 2022.

Woodfield adds, “In bringing their names home, I sincerely hope that current and future generations of South Africans will visit the memorial once it is built and will through their education and remembrance activities, add detail to the rich story of South Africa’s history, and depart the better for the experience of coming to know these men and honouring them.”

This project forms part of the findings released last year by a Special Committee, whose mandate – agreed by the Commission’s six-member Governments – was to produce a report on identifying gaps in commemoration of all servicemen who died during service and propose how any such gaps could be rectified.

She ends by saying that the CWGC continues in its mission to live up to a promise made more than a century ago and inscribed in stone at CWGC sites around the globe: “THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE.”

To register – link to enter the competition visit https://cwgcmemorialcompetition.co.za/