Commonwealth troops risk fading into history
Soldiers’ role in the Second World War must be better commemorated, say former defence chiefs
THE role of Commonwealth soldiers in the Second World War should be better commemorated, say former defence chiefs in a letter.
Lord Dannatt, the former head of the army, and Lord Richards, a former chief of the defence staff, are among 46 public figures who want better education, more commemorative events and greater historical documentation of the Commonwealth’s role during the war.
The campaign, launched today by the Royal British Legion and British Future, aims to get children and historians to a compile and preserve a national record of those from the Commonwealth who served. Among the signatories of the open letter published today is Sajid Javid, the former home secretary, who said: “No one told me, growing up as a Pakistani-background kid, about the million soldiers who fought for Britain and looked like me.”
Lord Dannatt said the contribution of Commonwealth countries had been critical in forces like the multinational British Fourteenth army – the so-called “forgotten army” – under Lt-gen William Slim, which retook Burma from the Japanese. Formed in 1943 in eastern India, it was by 1945 the largest army in the Commonwealth and the world, with a million men under its command.
Lord Dannatt said Britain owed a debt of gratitude for the service of Commonwealth soldiers which comprised most of the 44 different nations under his command when he led the Army.
“We have continued to enjoy the comradeship and support of the Commonwealth to this day,” he said. “It does a lot for diversity in our ranks when recruiting from British-based ethnic minorities has been difficult.”
The cross-party Remember Together campaign is backed by actors Adrian Lester and Meera Syal, Baroness Warsi, the former Tory party chairman, Andy Street, the West Midlands mayor, and his Labour challenger Liam Byrne, and MPS including Dan Jarvis, a former paratrooper, Naz Shah, Andrew Murrison and Stuart Mcdonald.
The letter said there needed to be “better education, commemoration and documentation” of the role of Commonwealth soldiers, thus “ensuring Remembrance activity is truly inclusive”. David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, said: “Every child grows up learning about the Second World War in school, but stories of the black and brown soldiers who helped defeat the Nazis have long been missing from their textbooks.”
Two Second World War veterans have signed the letter – Jamaican-born Allan Wilmot, 95, who joined the Royal Navy in 1 941, and Pakistan- born Muhammad Hussain, 96, who joined the British-indian Army in 1941 and was at the battle of Monte Cassino, one of the war’s most brutal battles.
Sunder Katwala, of British Future, said: “Awareness of the service and sacrifice of black and Asian troops in WW2 is growing, but more still needs to be done to commemorate this contribution. Getting that right is key to making Remembrance Sunday meaningful to people of all backgrounds in Britain today.”