Commemorating the contribution made

by BME soldiers during WW1

People from all parts of the British Empire contributed to the needs

of the war, whether by serving in the armed forces or providing mate-

rial and financial resources. Most of this contribution was of a volun-

tary nature. Indeed all those serving in the Indian Army were volun-

teers. People of colour and the regiments and branches of the ser-

vices 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 re-

lied 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 com-

memorate the centenary of the start of the First World War, this se-

ries of posters examines the experiences of BME soldiers from all

around the world, and their contribution and sacrifice made during

and after the war.

Introduction.

Notes.

Little is known about how many of Germa-

ny’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 Armis-

tace. Schutztruppe (Protection force) was the

African colonial armed force of Imperial Ger-

many 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 Schutz-

truppe headquarters was established and located at Berlin’s Mauerstrasse,

in proximity to the German Colonial Office. German military law and disci-

pline applied to the Schutztruppe.

This Photo shows an African who

travelled back to Germany after

WW1 to serve in the Freikorps in

1919.

Africans in the German Army.

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 serv-

ing 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 discov-

ered 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 trans-

ferred 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, be-

tween October and November, 1916. His courage and abilities encouraged his su-

perior 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 commis-

sioned 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.

Black Britons.

People in the British Caribbean had a

great deal of loyalty to the “Mother Coun-

try”. 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 col-

onies to enlist in the army in the UK and were recruited into British regi-

ments. 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 Indi-

an 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, Mesopota-

mia (Iraq) and East Africa.

British Caribbean.

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 offic-

ers 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 Australi-

ans 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 con-

sidered and treated equal but when they re-

turned 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 discrimi-

nated 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 Med-

Indigenous Australians.

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 de-

mons, 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 Tirail-

leurs 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 amalga-

mated 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 Sen-

egal alone more than 1/3 of all males of military age were mobilized.

French Africans.

The First World War gave rise to a crucial

change in the relationship between Eu-

rope and Africa. Over two million people

in Africa made huge sacrifices for the Eu-

ropean 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 free-

men 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 re-

cruited to carry heavy weapons and supplies. They were badly paid and giv-

en 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 Afri-

ca itself.

55,000 men from Africa fought for the British

during World War 1 and hundreds of thou-

sands of others carried out the vital roles of

carriers or auxiliaries. Contributing African

countries included Nigeria, the Gambia, Rhode-

sia (now Zimbabwe), South Africa, Sierra Leo-

Africans.

India sent over 1 million men to aid the War effort. At

that time India included Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh

& Shri Lanka. Soldiers were from many ethnic back-

grounds 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 over-

seas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. 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. While some divisions were

sent overseas others had to remain in India guarding the North West Fron-

tier 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.

Asian Troops.

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 hesi-

tant 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 newspa-

per, 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 insist-

ed. “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 respond-

ed to their draft calls, and roughly 370,000

black men were inducted into the army.

Charles Brodnax, a farmer from Virginia re-

called “I felt I belonged to the Government of

out country and should answer to the call and

obey the orders in defence of democracy”.

African Americans.