City to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Square Hill

By Mandisi Tyulu
19 September 2008


The City of Cape Town together with the South African National defence force will tomorrow hold a reframing ceremony with the intention of remembering the Battle of Square Hill.

The Battle of Square Hill was fought during World War I when Turkey decided to side with Germany. The battle, on 19 September 1918, saw the first battalion of the Cape Corps capturing 181 Turkish prisoners, eight officers, about 160 soldiers of lower rank, as well as an enemy field gun. Only one Cape Corps member was killed and another wounded.

The 12 452 South African servicemen who died in the First World War, 3 901 were Black, Indian or Coloured.

City of Cape Towns Robert McDonald says the ceremony is very important in the history of the country because the man who died they died for cause.