A group of soldiers from
the British West Indies Regiment in camp on the Albert-Amiens
Road, Northern France, September 1916.
Courtesy: Imperial War Museum.
Well
over 1 million men from parts of the Empire that are now
linked with the UK’s minority ethnic communities
served in the First World War. In some theatres of war,
they provided a vital proportion of our fighting strength.
Over 100,000 of them died or were wounded.
Shortly
after Britain’s declaration of war, two infantry divisions
and a cavalry brigade of the Indian Army were sent to Europe.
In all 140,000 men served on the Western Front, 90,000 in
the Indian Corps and 50,000 in the Labour Companies. Indian
troops also played a major role in operations in Mesopotamia,
Palestine, and Gallipoli. They also served in the West and
East African campaigns and in China.
Video
(RealPlayer format)
With
the Indian Troops at the Front
In
1915 the British West Indies Regiment was formed from local
volunteers to fight overseas. There was widespread enthusiasm
on the islands to help the war effort, and the cost of sending
the Regiment to France was raised from public subscription.
Two thirds of the total recruitment of 15,200 were Jamaican,
though each of the colonies sent volunteers. The Regiment
served in Palestine, Italy and on the Western Front.
African
soldiers were also heavily involved. Soon after the declaration
of war, soldiers from Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone,
Gambia, Uganda, Nyasaland, Rhodesia and Kenya were mobilised
to defend the borders of their own lands which adjoined
German territories. They later took the lead in the campaigns
to remove the Germans from Africa.
60,000
black South African and 120,000 other Africans also served
in uniformed Labour
Units which provided logistic support to front line
troops. Other uniformed Labour Units were raised in China
(with 92,000 recruits), Mauritius and Fiji.
During
the First World War naval action centred on Home Waters
and the Atlantic, but ships based overseas also played
their part in defending the Empire. The German cruiser
‘Königsberg’
was trapped and destroyed in the Rufiji Delta, now in
Tanzania, by ships from the Cape Station. The Royal Indian
Marine provided vessels and personnel for river patrols
in Mesopotamia.
The
First World War also saw the emergence of the aeroplane
as an instrument of war. A small number of Indian nationals
were commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps (from 1
April 1918, the Royal Air Force) and served on the Western
and Italian Fronts. One such volunteer was Lieutenant
Indra Lal ‘Laddie’ Roy, who served as a
fighter pilot with Nos 56 and 40 Squadrons on the Western
Front during 1917-18. Prior to his death in action on
22 July 1918, Lieutenant Roy was involved in the destruction
of ten enemy aircraft, and became India’s first fighter
‘ace’. In recognition of his gallantry and skill,
he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in
September 1918.
|
 |
| Wounded
Indian Soldiers |
 |
| Nigerian
Artillery Battery |
 |
| The
Garhwal Rifles |
 |
| East
Africa Recruits |
 |
| Kashmir
Mountain Battery |
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| Chinese
mechanics |
 |
| South
African Native Labour Corps |
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| German
Cruiser Konigsberg |
 |
| SE5A
flown by Lt. Roy |
|
