The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and the Royal Society of literature have announced that they are contributing to the CWGC Cape Town Labour Corps Memorial, set to open in January 2025.

The memorial pays tribute to the predominantly Black South African individuals who served in the military during the First World War but had not been previously recognized. Many of these servicemen held non-combatant roles that had been overlooked. Quite a few of these people lost their lives in Africa without ever having a grave to memorialize them.

In the heart of Cape Town’s Company’s Garden, the CWGC site will commemorate over 100,000 African and Indian soldiers who were previously overlooked and not given their proper recognition.

The memorial is the first permanent tribute to honor the South African Military Labourers, commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The “Your legacies are preserved here” poem, commissioned by the Royal Society of Literature, will be etched on the new memorial.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission commemorates those who have died in service globally. The CWGC’s memorials are in more than 150 countries and territories across 23,000 locations. The hope of these memorials is that the “human cost of war is remembered forever.”

Here’s what the Director General of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Claire Horton, has to say about the memorial:

Since our founding in 1917, the CWGC has drawn from architectural, literary and horticultural expertise and influences to design our global commemorative estate. With the South African designed Cape Town Labour Corps Memorial, we wanted to create a fitting literary tribute which speaks to the present and resonates with the communities commemorated. For the future it is vital this memorial connects with today – allowing us to understand and honour the contributions of those not previously commemorated. I am delighted with the new poem and all the opportunities it brings.

The Royal Society of Literature, based in the U.K., serves as a prominent advocate for the importance and advancement of literature. Through their prestigious awards and programs, they support and nurture emerging writers, helping to propel their careers. The society is committed to making literature accessible to all, fostering a love for reading and writing that can inspire future generations.

The Royal Society of Literature commissioned a poem and epitaph for the CWGC Cape Town Labour Corps Memorial. Two poets, Koleka Putuma and Daljit Nagra, worked together to create pieces that express the loss and recognition of these soliders as well as tying in modern South Africa.

Here’s what the Chair of the Royal Society of Literature and one of the poets in this project, Daljit Nagra, has to say about the memorial project:

Writing this poem has been an incredible learning experience for me and a truly great honour that I shall always treasure. We have offered some words that might function as a starting point, we have lit a path and direction for some types of conversations that might follow our poem. The poet gives the words that speak like a dream and the reader must make reality of them; for this alone, I hope we have offered a helping hand. 

South African poet, Koleka Putuma, was chosen by the Royal Society of Literature to write this poem in collaboration with Daljit Nagra. She commented on the memorial project as well:

The lives of the men commemorated by this memorial are part of our collective history. Their contributions, though forgotten by many, helped shape the world we live in today. By visiting the memorial, by sitting with the poem, by contemplating their stories, we will honour them. We give them the tribute they were denied over one hundred years ago, and in doing so, we write ourselves into the future they helped to create.

The poem, “Your Legacies are Preserved Here” was also translated to Afrikaans by Jolyn Phillips and IsiXhosa by Athambile Masola. All three of the languages of the poem will be engraved into the centerpiece of the Cape Town Labour Corps Memorial. 

The memorial “stands as a testament to whose legacies had been overlooked – as the World Wars fade from living memory, this partnership ensures the contribution all South African servicemen will continue to be honoured, highlighting their integral contribution to global history.”

This memorial will be a great testament to all those who served in the military, and we are excited to see its result!