Delville Wood South African National Memorial The Delville Wood South African National Memorial is a World War I memorial , located in Delville Wood , near the commune of Longueval , in the Somme département of France . It is opposite the Delville Wood Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery , on the other side of the Longueval - Ginchy road . Memorial development and inauguration . Land acquisition . Following the war , Delville Wood was purchased by the author and politician Sir Percy Fitzpatrick , and presented to South Africa . This was followed by the standard French policy of repurchasing the land for one franc and granting South Africa the land in perpetuity for memorial purposes . The memorial was funded by public subscription . Among those involved in organising the memorial was General Henry Lukin , who was appointed Deputy Chair of the Delville Wood Memorial Committee in July 1921 . Description . The memorial , which was designed by Sir Herbert Baker , with sculpture by Alfred Turner , consists of a flint and stone screen either side of an archway , with a shelter at each end of the screen . On top of the arch is Turner ' s bronze statue of two men and a war horse . The two male figures , symbolising Castor and Pollux , represent the two white races of South Africa ( British and Afrikaans ) . The main inscriptions are in both English and Afrikaans . Other inscriptions include the location of the South African campaigns ( France , Flanders , West Africa , Central Africa , East Africa , Egypt , Palestine , the Sea ) . On the archway are the following shorter inscriptions , again in English and Afrikaans : The Afrikaans - equivalent inscription reads : " Vir ons is hul ideaal ' n erfenis , hul offer ' n besieling " . Above these inscriptions , on the very top part of the archway , is carved the French phrase " AUX MORTS " , signifying that this is a monument to the dead . Unveiling . The memorial was unveiled on 10 October 1926 , by the widow of General Louis Botha . Also present were General J . B . M . Hertzog , the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa ; Sir Percy Fitzpatrick ; Field - Marshal Earl Haig ; and Lukin ' s widow . The former Governor - General of South Africa , and member of the British Royal Family , Prince Arthur of Connaught was present , and representing the British Army was Brigadier General W . E . C . Tanner . The religious ceremony , which included the consecration of the nearby cemetery , was jointly conducted by the Right Reverend Dr Furse , Bishop of St Albans , and the Reverend Dr . Van de Merwe , Moderator of the Dutch Reformed Church . Representing the French Army ' s Marshal Joffre was General Barbier . Others present were the Marquess of Crewe ( British Ambassador to France ) , Leo Amery ( Secretary of State for the Dominions ) , and the Prefect of the Département of the Somme . Also present were troops , veterans , and representatives of the British Legion and other veteran associations . Over 1 , 200 people paid their respects at the unveiling ceremony , and Sir Percy Fitz - Patrick read out a message from Edward , Prince of Wales . Speeches were also made by Earl Haig , General Barbier , and General Hertzog . Commemoration . To all South African forces of World War I . This memorial also serves as the national memorial to all those of the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force who died during World War I . A total of some 229 , 000 officers and men served in the forces of South Africa in the war . Of these , some 10 , 000 died in action or through injury and sickness , and their names are written in a memorial register that was kept at this memorial , and is now kept at the nearby museum . The campaigns commemorated here include the East African Campaign and other campaigns outside the Western Front , but the location of the memorial marks the role played by South African forces in the Battle of Delville Wood ( part of the Somme Offensive ) , the first action seen by the forces of South Africa in Flanders and France . Other battles commemorated here , include the participation of South African forces at the Battle of Arras and the Battle of Passchendaele . Later in the war , South African forces fought a rearguard action at Gauche Wood and Marrieres Wood during the Spring Offensive , and held their position at Messines Ridge . During the Advance to Victory , they fought at the Battle of Beaurevoir and at Le Cateau , and were " furthest East of all the British troops in France " when the Armistice was declared . No inscribed names . Unlike the other national memorials to the missing raised to commemorate the part played by Dominion forces on the Western Front in World War I , this memorial has no names inscribed on it . Instead , the names of the missing dead of South Africa were inscribed on the battlefield memorials to the missing , along with those of the dead of the United Kingdom . Replicas . Two replicas of the memorial were made , both in South Africa ; one in the Union Buildings in Pretoria , and one in Cape Town . A Stone of Remembrance was unveiled in front of the archway in 1952 to commemorate the South African dead of World War II . This unveiling was performed by the mother of Major Edwin Swales , recipient of the Victoria Cross . In 1986 , the South African Commemorative Museum , a five - pointed star - shaped building located behind the memorial , was unveiled by P . W . Botha , the President of the Republic of South Africa .