The Jazz King (Part 7)

“Exposed to war Sebele observed and learnt. He saw men dying, heard commanders shouting orders and saw men fall asleep in trenches full of water. He witnessed filth and the gruesome sight of people living squeezed in small spaces for a long time. He saw men screaming for their mothers when bullets ripped them apart. All these things he saw and heard because they stayed in his mind to haunt him.” Translated from manuscript by M.O.M. Seboni

We left off in January 1918 when, with the First World War still moving toward its endgame along the Western Front, the South African Government decided to abruptly disband the South African Native Labour Contingent (SANLC). Those who had not yet left for France were demobilised, while those who had been deployed in the war zone were progressively recalled at the end of twelve month’s service.