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and streets were empty. “Cape Town was a veritable city of the dead”, stated Dr. J. P.
Duminy. (Phillips, 1984: 92).

The Armistice

As quickly as Europe had rushed to war in 1914 so events seemed to rush to peace towards
the end of 1918. The arrival of fresh American troops at the rate of 250,000 per month, and

the use of tanks in massed attacks on the trench lines tipped the balance in favour of the
Allies. The first outbreak of Spanish Influenza in June laid low hundreds of thousands of

Allied troops and half a million German troops, and aggravated the problems on their side.
Ludendorf, the German commander, lost his nerve, and German losses and demoralization

precipitated moves among the officer corps for an armistice based on President Wilson’s 14

points. Elsewhere, Bulgaria sued for peace and the collapses of Austro-Hungarian and
Turkish forces on other fronts compounded the general situation of war weariness and a

desire for peace at last. The Armistice was signed at 11 a.m. on 11 November, 1918.

Back in the Cape Fortress Arthur Godsiff, then a young apprentice in the Naval Dockyard

at Simon’s Town, described the day thus:

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“On Monday 11 November 1918, whilst we were at work, we heard that an Armistice
would be signed at 11 a.m. At 11 a.m. we were told that a gun would be fired signifying the

signing of the Armistice. 12 o’clock came and no gun. At 1.30 p.m. the men were just

milling around. When the Duty Steam Boat returned from the East Yard they said that the
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Navy were putting a field gun on the Bull Nose. Punctually at 2 p.m. on Monday 11
November, the gun was fired. Hostilities had ended on the Western Front.

“In the West Yard men were cheering any Naval officers who passed in front of the factory,
especially when Commodore Marcus Rowley Hill passed through to pay his respects to the

Admiral. Everybody wanted to shake hands with him. When the workmen noticed everyone