‘It’s like those who died were invisible’
JULIE SUMMERS: The historian is the author of several books, including We Are The Legion: The Royal British Legion at 100, set to be published on May 15 to mark the group’s 100th anniversary.
“When I woke up and heard the news [commission report], I just felt sick. I felt sick because I thought, I’ve been duped into believing that the commission was absolutely above criticism. And I felt foolish, frankly, for believing that.
“But I also felt a tremendous sense of sadness because some of those decisions were clearly made on the ground in specific countries. And it just points to the most shocking state of affairs at the beginning of the 20th century.
“I’ve read the commission’s findings, acceptance and recommendations. It’s pretty appalling. I’ve been asking myself how I could possibly have missed all this. And the thing is that when I was working with the commission, I had access to the records they have.
“And the shocking thing is that the names of these men are not recorded. So it was like they’re invisible.
“To my great shame I hadn’t known that in Egypt alone, 75 per cent of the men who were conscripted were forcibly conscripted. I’m very shocked. I’m very embarrassed. And I think their treatment is doubly shocking for that revelation. And I feel so stupid I hadn’t queried it more.
“My second reaction after being horrified and upset was to think, ‘Oh, my goodness gracious me, what is hiding in plain sight in the British Legion archives?’ However, because the legion was then the British Services Empire League, and responsible for looking after the people who were affected by the war, it was more than just a list of names. It was actually families and orphans and widows. They weren’t there to record keep, they were there to help and assist.
“I think it’s very brave of the commission to own this horrible situation completely because I don’t think the commission itself is heavily to blame.
“I realised that, actually, the commission is taking responsibility for absolutely everything. But in certain circumstances, they simply could not have had that information.
“The legion has got a committee looking at how to reach into communities who are disenchanted and feel disenfranchised by remembrance, and trying to help them to understand that actually, remembrance covers everybody, all families who were affected.”