The impact of World War I on South Africa: A forgotten home front

IOL News

18-07-2025

A church service was held on the beachfront for Imperial troops shortly before they sailed to the front, April 1917. Many would never see their homes again.
Image: Supplied
The first World War wrought significant destruction to towns and infrastructure in many European countries.
South Africa was spared such damage, where it was not spared was the loss of life, injuries and illness unleashed on its soldiers, the overwhelming majority of whom were volunteers.
The Union Defence Force's first campaign was in German South West Africa (Namibia) in 1914-15. Despite the hardship, only 266 men died by the time the Germans surrendered their colony on July 8, 1915. Enthusiastic crowds greeted the returning troops as they disembarked from troop ships at Durban's docks.
What followed in the next three years of the war darkened the mood as the death toll rose. The number of soldiers who were wounded or suffering from disease and shell shock overwhelmed the health facilities in Durban.
The carnage in France, particularly the nightmare of Delville Wood in July 1916, and the horrors of the East African campaigns were among the most arduous ever undertaken by South African soldiers.
In Natal, citizens had from the earliest days of the war began fundraising for their troops on active service, but from 1916 this was considerably stepped up. The most important was the Governor-General's War Fund, which had been established by the new Governor-General, Viscount Buxton, in 1914. It was a national fund to which any soldier or his dependents could apply for assistance while on active service.
The Durban Turf Club gifted a fully equipped Sunbeam ambulance for the SA Brigade in France, July 1917.
Image: Supplied
As the war progressed, it incorporated some of the local relief funds, including the Mayoral funds in Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The aim was to raise £1 million. The rationalisation of fundraising reduced inefficiency, but not the increasing workload. All sorts of local groups devised ways to garner support and donations, from businesses and sporting bodies to churches, boy scouts and schools.
Other national bodies which contributed to the war effort were the Red Cross and the Gifts and Comforts Organisation which collected monthly supplies of cigarettes, socks, woollen clothes, matches, dried fruit, sweets and books for servicemen. The Red Cross supported the medical profession, the sick and wounded as well as the provision of stores and equipment for military hospitals.
The lack of hospitals and convalescent homes worsened as the war dragged on. In Durban, No.3 General Hospital had two bases, one in Addington and the other at the Drill Hall of Durban Light Infantry. Convalescent hospitals were created at Ocean Beach for whites and at Jacobs for black Africans, especially those returning from East Africa.
Boy Scouts rally at Ocean Beach. They were presented with a flag in appreciation for services given to the war effort, June 1917.
Image: Supplied
Nurses and patients at Caister House, the Greenacre home in Musgrave Road, February 1918.
Image: Supplied
Private homes were also turned over to the military for the duration of the war. These included Caister House which belonged to the Greenacre family and Grasmere, the Musgrave home of the Smith family.
The shortage of nurses enabled the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) to come into their own. These were untrained civilian nurses, often from middle or upper class families, who provided continuity of care for recovering soldiers. Some also did cooking in a convalescent home, others drove ambulances. They increased their skills during the war, winning the respect and gratitude of trained nurses and patients alike.
Voluntary Aid Detachment ladies at the Durban docks with wounded soldiers being loaded into an awaiting ambulance, April 1917.
Image: Supplied
Being a major port, troop ships docked in Durban. Many wounded were treated in the town before going home or returning to the front. This included thousands of soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. Their long voyage to or from Europe was broken by a stopover in Durban.
A columnist wrote in September 1917 that 'Durban has been a panorama of Khaki during the week… giving townspeople an idea of the magnitude of the war. Soldiers come and go; some on their way to battle fronts, others bearing on their scarred and mutilated bodies grim evidence of the fiery furnace through which they have passed in the service of king and empire. Outings and entertainment were arranged for the 'khaki visitors', who were 'enthusiastically appreciative of the people of Durban and the kindness of the women workers of the huts.'
The huts were established by the YMCA at Congella, in West Street and at Ocean Beach. The Army and Navy Institute as well as other institutions provided reading and writing rooms and facilities for sports like billiards. Other activities were at Albert Park or in the grounds of homes belonging to prominent citizens. Outings were arranged to Mitchell Park and as far as Mount Edgecombe. Many photos survive of soldiers on crutches or in wheelchairs enjoying the efforts made for them.
The war finally ended on 11 November 1918, but troops continued to return home in 1919. Many faced hardship and struggled to adapt to their old lives.
There was also the Spanish flu which started spreading during the last months of the war and into 1919, despite attempts to contain it by quarantining returning soldiers on Salisbury Island. It was to little avail. As early as 8 November 1918, a columnist wrote of the dreadful progress of the epidemic, noting that South Africa had already lost more lives through this scourge than during the whole period of the war. And so the hospitals and convalescent homes faced an increased workload.
The home front in World War 1 has received little attention, but the contribution made at home - whether in the large towns or small villages - was significant. Those civilians at home certainly did their bit.
In July 1917, the first anniversary of the slaughter at Delville Wood was commemorated with a solemn service in Durban.
This commemoration endures to this day with the SA Legion organising a service and wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph.
It will take place on Sunday, July 20, at 10.15am.
Sadly, the Defence Force and even the regiments which sacrificed so many men, have become increasingly indifferent to this long-ago battle.
One school, Glenwood High, continues to honour its World War 1 dead, with a service set to take place in its school hall on July 24.
We should honour those who gave their lives in war and be grateful it was not us.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE