HRH The Princess Royal to inaugurate the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s new memorial in South Africa

President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, HRH The Princess Royal, will participate in a ceremony alongside national dignitaries and families for the inauguration of the Commission’s new memorial in South Africa.

The Cape Town Labour Corps Memorial honours the contribution of South African military labourers who served in campaigns during the First World War in East Africa, and who were previously unrecognised, with no known grave or commemoration. 

During the war, military labourers undertook dangerous and gruelling non-combatant roles such as porters, stevedores, wagon drivers, and railway workers, and made essential contributions to the war effort. This new memorial to the missing commemorates by name over 1,700 South Africans who died during the First World War. 

Completing this new memorial is the culmination of years of work, starting with the research which led to the identification of these casualties, through to the collaborative design and creation of the memorial in Cape Town. 

The inauguration of the memorial will take place on January 22nd, 2025, in Cape Town.