Early Life :

Education & Career :

He was schooled at Edinburgh University and was licensed with the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Surgeons in 1885. He became a Medical Practitioner in Durham from 1906, being the Regional Surgical Officer, from 1907, practicing at Waterloo House, Thornley.
Surgeon (1886)
Physician (1900)
Medical Practitioner (1912)

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

The Mendi was sailing from Cape Town bound for Le Havre. After leaving Plymouth in thick mist some 12 miles of St Catherines Point, Isle of Wight, she was in collision with the 11,000 ton liner SS Darro and sand with the loss of 607 Officers and men of the Native Battalion and 29 crew, almost one third of the names on the Memorial. Further details can be found in African Voices from Two World Wars - David Killingray"

At the beginning of the First World War tasks such as moving stores, repairing roads and building defences were carried out by the fighting soldier when he was withdrawn from the Front Line for rest. However, by early 1917 the need for labour on the Western Front had become particularly acute as a result of the unprecedented scale of death and injury. The South African Native Labour Corps came to France early in 1917, and established a base at Arques-la-Bataille. Respected warriors and tribal leaders, men of the South African Native Labour Corps found themselves relegated to supporting roles under the command of white Commissioned Officers. They were not permitted to carry weapons or mix with white communities.

The Loss of the Mendi: The SS Mendi sailed from South Africa on 19 January. She was carrying the last contingent of the South African Native Labour Corps on their way to the Western Front. Also on board were five white officers, 17 non-commissioned officers and 33 crewmen. After a brief stop at Plymouth, the Mendi set sail for Le Havre late on the 20 February. In the early hours of 21 February, the steamship Darro, travelling at full speed and emitting no warning signals despite heavy fog, rammed the SS Mendi. Within 20 minutes, the Mendi sank, taking her crew with her. 616 members of the SANLC died, some on impact, but life drained from most in the icy waters of the English Channel. Legend has it that when the Mendi sank, Reverend Isaac Dyoba rallied the men calling Be quiet and calm my countrymen, for what is taking place now is what you came here to do. We are going to die, and that is what we came for. Brothers, we are drilling the death drill. I, a Zulu, say here and now that you are all my brothers... Xhosas, Swazis, Pondos, Basotho and all others, let us die like warriors. We are the sons of Africa. Raise your war cries my brothers, for though they made us leave our assegais back in the kraals, our voices are left with our bodies.. Let us die like brothers. News of the loss of the Mendi did not reach the families and communities of the men for several weeks after the sinking. Members of the South African National Assembly stood in silence on hearing the news, to honour the men who had died in the disaster.

Commemorating the Dead the majority of the men who died on the Mendi have no known graves and are commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the Hollybrook Memorial in Southampton. Despite the inequality of their lives, in death they are commemorated equally and without distinction. The 17 panels of the Hollybrook Memorial which bear the names of the dead of the Mendi were replaced in early 2007 to correct some linguistic inaccuracies in spelling of names. Working with various records and an expert in South African languages, the Commission was able to correct the discrepancies which had been uncovered. At a time when black men and women throughout the world were struggling to get their voices heard, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission treated the dead with compassion and equality. In South Africa and beyond, the tragedy of the Mendi became legendary. However, the survivors returned home only to be denied recognition and to return to segregation and inequality. A plaque at the Delville Wood Museum in France, a little known memorial in Port Elizabeth and the new Mendi memorial in Avalon graveyard, Soweto, which was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II and Nelson Mandela in 1995, also commemorate the disaster. Two modern day vessels of the South African Navy also commemorate the disaster. On the 23 August 2004, en-route from the German shipyards where she had been built to South Africa, the SAS Mendi stopped where the SS Mendi sank and lay wreaths in remembrance of those who had died. The SAS Mendi has a sister ship called the SAS Isaac Dyoba, named in honour of the Reverend Isaac Dyoba who had rallied the men on the Mendi in 1917.

Detail :

Sheffield Independent 09 April 1917 - "TRAGEDY OF THE SEA. SEQUEL TO RECENT DISASTROUS COLLISION" At the inquest on Saturday on Arthur Robert Steele, who was found floating near some wreckage in the Channel, the Coroner said that the deceased was acting as medical officer on a ship when she was lost in a collision recently, and a large number of African natives were drowned. Previous to that he had been in practice in Durham, and in West Hartlepool, which he gave up on the death of his wife, and took up a voyage. Verdict, "Accidental death through collision".

Dover Express 13 April 1917 - SHIP'S DOCTOR's BODY FOUND AT SEA. An inquest was held at the Esplanade Hotel on Saturday afternoon by the Borough Coroner (Mr. Sydenham Payn) on the body of Dr. Arthur Robert Steele, lately of West Hartlepool, which was picked up at sea and brought to Dover. Mr. Hunt was chosen foreman of the jury. After the body had been viewed by the jury the following evidence was taken:- Gerald Utting, skipper of the vessel, said that he was in the Channel on Tuesday, when he saw some floating wreckage, amongst which he found the body of the deceased. He put a rope round it and pulled it aboard. His Commanding Officer told him to bring it to Dover. He found on the body a gold watch with an inscription "A.R.S." The matchbox had the same initials. He also found a purse, some money, and a case of instruments. The buttons on the clothes bore the initials of the steamship company. The deceased wore a cork belt, the tapes of which were loose. Police Inspector Mount said that he had visited the Mortuary with a Navel officer who failed to identify the deceased, but pointed out that by his clothing, that the deceased was in the mercantile marine. The deceased was about 50 years of age. Witness afterwards received the property found on the body, consisting of a gold watch, a silver matchbox, some money, a ring, a case of instruments, and a silver pencil case. The Coroner said that he had reason to believe that the body was that of Dr. Arthur Robert Steele, who was acting as a medical officer in a steamship when she was in collision on February 28th, and sank, and about 650 lives were lost, the ship having negroes on board. A letter from West Hartlepool solicitors said that Dr. Steele had a practice in that town and gave it up on the death of his wife to take a voyage in the ship. He had no family or relatives living. The jury were satisfied that the body was that of Dr. Steele, and they found that he lost his life as a result of the collision."

A note on the North East War Memorials Project states: "An obituary in the British Medical Journal records him as being the Medical Officer in the Admiralty Transport Service. Although the casualties from the SS Mendi are recorded on the Hollybrook Memorial, Southampton, his name does not appear."

Masonic :

The only STEEL to be found in the records of Marquis of Granby Lodge show "Arthur Robert Steel", a Medical Practitioner, who is reported to have "Died February 1917".It is assumed that this is the same "Robert Steel" as recorded in the 1921 Roll of Honour Book.

A.R.Steel joined Marquis of Granby Lodge No. 124 on 2nd July 1912 from his Mother Lodge - The Bedford Lodge - No.282 in Tavistock. He had previously joined Lodge of Unanimity No. 154, at Wakefield on 7th October 1889. He also had joined St. Davids Lodge No. 679 on the 11th April 1900 at Aberdare.

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley