Commemorating the contribution
made by BME soldiers during WW1
Introduction
People from all parts of the British Empire contributed to the needs of the
war, whether by serving in the armed forces or providing material and financial resources. Most of this contribution was of a voluntary nature. Indeed all those serving in the Indian Army were volunteers. People of colour and the regiments and branches of the services in which they played
their part could be found in all theatres of the war. Black Briton Second
Lieutenant Walter Tull saw action in France and Italy; African soldiers were
also on the western front; four Indians and at least one West Indian were
pilots in the Royal Flying Corps; sailors from India, China and Nigeria
served in the Royal Navy.
The demands of the war meant the forces personnel increasingly relied
upon the economies of the colonies to feed them and provide many of the
raw materials necessary to maintain and protect them, such as munitions,
timber, cotton, meat, fruit and vegetables.
As part of this year’s Black History Month celebrations, and to commemorate the centenary of the start of the First World War, this series of posters
examines the experiences of BME soldiers from all around the world, and
their contribution and sacrifice made during and after the war.
Black Britons.
Although little is known of Black Britons in the British
army. There is some evidence to show that Black
Britons served in WW1 in the Army and Navy.
One of the better known stories of Black Britons serving during WW1 is that of Walter Tull.
Walter was a keen footballer and played for a local
team in Clapton. In 1908 Walter's talents were discovered by a scout from Tottenham Hotspur and the
club decided to sign this promising young footballer.
He played for Tottenham until 1910, when he was
transferred for a large fee to Northampton Town. Walter was the first black outfield player to play professional football in Britain.
When the First World War broke out, Walter abandoned his football career to join the
17th (1st Football) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment.
During his military training Walter was promoted three times. In November 1914, as
Lance Sergeant he was sent to Les Ciseaux in France. In May, 1915 Walter was sent home
with post traumatic stress disorder.
Returning to France in September 1916 Walter fought in Battle of the Somme, between
October and November, 1916. His courage and abilities encouraged his superior officers
to recommend him as an officer. On 26 December, 1916, Walter went back to England on
Leave and to train as an officer.
There were military laws forbidding 'any negro or person of colour' being commissioned
as an officer, despite this, Walter was promoted to lieutenant in 1917.
Walter was the first ever Black officer in the British Army, and the first black officer to lead
white men into battle.
Walter was recommended for the Military Cross but never received it.
British Caribbean.
People in the British Caribbean had a great deal of loyalty to the “Mother Country”. When
WW1 began, West Indians donated monetary aid to the war effort and also volunteered
to fight, joining the British West Indies Regiment.
Following the outbreak of hostilities in 1914 many
West Indians left the colonies to enlist in the army in
the UK and were recruited into British regiments.
However, the War Office was concerned with the
number of black soldiers in the army and tried to prevent any people from the West Indies enlisting. Indeed, the War Office threatened to repatriate any who
arrived. Eventually, after much discussion between the
Colonial Office and the war Office, and the intervention of King George V, approval to
raise a West Indian contingent was given on 19 may 1915. On October 26 1915, the
British West Indies regiment was established.
A total of 397 officers and 15, 204 men, representing all Caribbean colonies, served in the
BWIR. Of the total, 10,280 (66%) came from Jamaica. By the end of the war West Indians
had joined BWIR and had experienced military service in England, Italy, Egypt, India,
France, Belgium, Palestine, Mesopotamia (Iraq) and East Africa.
Africans.
The First World War gave rise to a crucial change in the relationship between Europe and
Africa. Over two million people in Africa made huge sacrifices for the European Allies.
100,000 men died in East Africa and 65,000 men from French North Africa and French
West Africa lost their lives.
Not since the American War of Independence,
when 14,000 slaves and freemen fought as
black loyalists alongside the British, had such a
huge number of people of African descent
been involved in fighting for Europeans. Very
few were combatant, most of them were used
as porters. They were recruited to carry heavy weapons and supplies. They were badly
paid and given food which was either of poor quality or entirely foreign to them. While
travelling through new territories for them, they often fell sick and were affected by
different types of malaria.
Britain did not deploy any African troops on European battlefield. British African troops,
however, fought in the Middle East and in Africa itself.
55,000 men from Africa fought for the British during
World War 1 and hundreds of thousands of others carried out the vital roles of carriers or auxiliaries. Contributing African countries included Nigeria, the Gambia, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), South Africa, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Nyasaland (now Malawi), Kenya and the
Gold Coast (now Ghana). It is estimated that 10,000 Africans were killed. African troops were awarded 166
decorations for bravery.
Asian Troops.
India sent over 1 million men to aid the War effort. At
that time India included Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh &
Sri Lanka. Soldiers were from many ethnic backgrounds
such as Pathans, Sihks, Muslims & Hindu’s.
The Indian Army during World War I contributed a large
number of divisions and independent brigades to the
European, Mediterranean and the Middle East theatres
of war in World War I. Over one million Indian troops
served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another
67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian
soldiers died during the war.
In World War I the Indian Army fought against the German Empire in German East Africa
and on the Western Front. At the First Battle of Ypres, Khudadad Khan (pictured above)
became the first Indian to be awarded a Victoria Cross.
Indian divisions were also sent to Egypt, Gallipoli and nearly 700,000 served in Mesopotamia against the Ottoman Empire.[1] While some divisions were sent overseas others had
to remain in India guarding the North West Frontier and on internal security and training
duties. The Indian Corps won 13,000 medals for gallantry including 12 Victoria Crosses.
India’s part in the war is frequently overlooked as a result of the
horrors experienced in trench warfare and by Europe’s tendency
to home in on battles such as those fought at the Somme and
Verdun, which many assume only Europeans fought in.
For its endeavours, India expected to be rewarded with a major
move towards independence or at the least self-government.
When it became obvious that this was not going to happen, the
mood in India became more militant.
The photo opposite shows Ghurkas from Nepal.
African Americans.
The United States Government mobilised the
entire nation for war, and African Americans
were expected to do their part. The military
constituted a draft in order to create an army
capable of winning the war. The Government
demanded “100% Americanism” and used
the June 1917 Espionage Act and the May
1918 Sedition Act to crack down on dissent.
Large segments of the black population, however, remained hesitant to support a
cause they deemed hypocritical. A small but vocal number of African Americans
explicitly opposed black participation in the war. A. Philip Randolph and Chandler
Owen, editors of the radical socialist newspaper, the Messenger, were closely
monitored by federal intelligence agents. Many other African Americans viewed
the war apathetically and found ways to avoid military service. As a black resident from Harlem quipped, “The Germans in’t done nothing’ to me, and if they
have, I forgive ‘em” Most African Americans nevertheless saw the war as an opportunity to demonstrate their patriotism and their place as equal citizens in the
nation. Black political leaders believed that if the race sacrificed for the war
effort, the Government would have no choice but to reward them with greater
civil rights. “Coloured folks should be patriotic”, the Richmond Planet insisted.
“Do not let us be chargeable with being disloyal to the flag”. Black men and women for the most part approached war with a sense
of civic duty. Over one million African Americans
responded to their draft calls, and roughly
370,000 black men were inducted into the army.
Charles Brodnax, a farmer from Virginia recalled “I
felt I belonged to the Government of out country
and should answer to the call and obey the orders
in defence of democracy”.
French Africans.
Like Britain, France was a major colonial
power. France drew troops from all over
“Francophone Africa”. France also had
Colonies in South East Asia.
Some of the most distinguished African
Soldiers were the Tirailleurs Senegalais.
"'Black devils' the German soldiers called
them, when, fighting like demons, they
had forced the Kaiser's shock troops to retreat before them."
Despite the name, the Tirailleurs Senegalais were composed
of soldiers recruited and conscripted from throughout French
West Africa and not just from Senegal. However, recruitment
and casualty burdens for Senegalese soldiers often numbered
among the highest of the Tirailleurs Senegalais.
With the start of World War I, many Tirailleurs Senegalais soldiers were brought
to the front in France and served in several important battles, like Vimy Ridge and
Somme. They were also for a time amalgamated with black American soldiers in
the trenches. French West African troops serving in World War I comprised
about 170,891 men, and approximately
30,000 of them were killed. In Senegal
alone more than 1/3 of all males of military age were mobilized.
Indigenous Australians.
Indigenous Australian soldiers fought alongside non-indigenous soldiers in World War I.
Initially recruiting officers allowed Indigenous Australians to enlist only if their skin was
considered ‘white enough’ but as the war went on, with casualty rates rising and recruitment numbers dropping, the officers weren't as selective. It’s not sure how many Indigenous Australians fought in the war but it is believed to have been around 500-600. They
were involved in the majority of the campaigns.
Many enlisted with the hope that fighting for the country would in turn change the way
they and other Indigenous Australians were treated – to no longer be discriminated
against and to be treated equally. Others enlisted for the same reasons as non-indigenous
Australians such as to see the world while receiving good pay (the pay was the same for
Indigenous and non-indigenous soldiers). In the trenches of the great wars indigenous
Australians found respite from the racism and
bigotry of mainstream Australia. The service
was one of the few places racism wasn't the
norm during the first half of the twentieth century.
In the trenches Indigenous Australians were
considered and treated equal but when they
returned home, things went back to the way
they were before the war. The men were no
longer equal to non-indigenous soldiers who
they fought side by side with. They continued
to be discriminated against, for example, they
couldn’t apply for land under the soldier
settlement schemes or even have a drink with
their fellow soldiers at the local.
NSW serviceman portraits, 1918-1919 - Leslie John Locke.
Locke was awarded the Military Medal.
Africans in the German Army
Little is known about how many of Germany’s
Pre-war black population served in the Armed
forces. Some certainly did in WW1.
WW1 was not just fought in Europe. There
were theatres of war in Africa and Asia.
In Africa, The Germans used Askari troops
called”Schutztruppe”. They fought bravely
and were never defeated even after Armistace. Schutztruppe (Protection force) was the
African colonial armed force of Imperial Germany from the late 19th century to 1918,
when Germany lost its colonies.
The colonial force for German East Africa was established by an act of the
Reichstag on 22 March 1891; the colonial forces for German West Africa
and German Southwest Africa on 9 June 1895. Schutztruppe formations
were organizationally never a part of the army or navy. In 1896 Schutztruppe headquarters was established and located at Berlin’s Mauerstrasse,
in proximity to the German Colonial Office. German military law and discipline applied to the Schutztruppe.
This Photo shows an African who travelled
back to Germany after WW1 to serve in the
Freikorps in 1919.