Survivors, rescuers and families of the dead and missing say they have been abandoned — branded as criminals for trying to survive, then left to starve.

More than 1,700 Black South African servicemen who died in non-combat roles on the Allied side during World War I and have no known grave have been recognized with a memorial more than a century later.

Hundreds of South African servicemen, mostly black, who died during World War One have been honoured with a new memorial in Cape Town after going unrecognised for more than a century. The 1,772 men worked in dangerous and gruelling non-combatant roles in East Africa but until now, they had no known grave or commemoration.

More than 1,700 Black South African servicemen who died in non-combat roles on the Allied side during World War I and have no known grave have been recognized with a memorial more than 100 years later

While South Africa has several memorials dedicated to white soldiers who died in the world wars, Black servicemen's contributions were ignored for decades.