The First World War 1914 - 1918

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.

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.