Lying beneath the waves to the south of the Isle of Wight is the wreck of the Mendi , a Liverpool steamship which sank in 1917 with the loss of over 600 lives.
Most of the dead were men of the South African Native Labour Corps on their way to France to support Allied troops on the Western Front.
The loss was quickly forgotten in war weary Britain and suppressed in South Africa during white rule. Nearly 100 years later, the sacrifice made by the men on board has emerged to become a South African icon of equality, hope and reconciliation.
On Wednesday 10 December 2014, Coastal & Marine’s Graham Scott will be telling the story of the Mendi, and explaining how the archaeology of the wreck is now being used by the South African National War Memorial to honour and tell the story of the men on board.
The talk starts at 17.30 at the Centre for Maritime Archaeology, Building 65 B, Avenue Campus, Southampton University (SO17 1BF), and all are welcome.