African and Caribbean People in Britain by Hakim Adi

Author:Hakim Adi [Adi, Hakim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK
Published: 2022-07-26T00:00:00+00:00

THE COLONIES AND THE WAR

As during the First World War, Britain’s colonies and colonial subjects, as well as residents of African and Caribbean heritage, made an enormous contribution to the war effort, even though they did not enjoy the same rights as other British citizens. Well over half a million Africans served in the military within the African continent, in the war against Japan and in Europe. In many cases men were conscripted into the services, including what were referred to as the Pioneer Corps, which were labour rather than combat units. African soldiers were still subjected to physical punishments and they received lower rates of pay than white soldiers. Nevertheless, many received awards and commendations for their gallantry and more than 15,000 lost their lives. African troops were not commissioned as officers, although Seth Anthony, from the Gold Coast, was an exception. He started the war as a private but was sent to Sandhurst in 1941 and by the end of the war he was a major.11

Many African and Caribbean countries were used for navy and air-force bases, including Nigeria, the Gold Coast and Sierra Leone. The United States established military bases in Caribbean countries such as Antigua, the Bahamas, British Guiana, Jamaica, Trinidad and St Lucia. The British government was reluctant to recruit military units from the Caribbean and it was not until 1944 that a Caribbean regiment was formed, drawn from over a thousand volunteers from all of Britain’s Caribbean colonies. This regiment was deployed in Europe for ‘general’ duties rather than combat. Individuals based in Britain, or who managed to travel to Britain, did successfully enlist in the British Army, but there was no mass recruitment from the colonies. A few technicians were recruited to the Royal Engineers, but the War Office was reluctant to recruit troops from the Caribbean, citing climatic and accommodation difficulties.12 The entire British Caribbean also provided over a thousand volunteers for the Trinidad Royal Naval Reserve. According to figures released in 1946, 219 service personnel from the Caribbean lost their lives, 265 were wounded and 96 became prisoners-of-war.13

The African and Caribbean colonies also made enormous financial contributions despite impoverished conditions. It is reported that of Trinidad’s entire revenue from 1940 until 1946, 6 per cent went towards war loans and 12 per cent for ‘military and naval service’. By 1943 its population had contributed £500,000 to various war funds and $3.5m to war loans at a time when many workers earned less than two shillings a day. Jamaica was reported to have raised enough money to fund eight aircraft. West Africans donated over £1.5 million for the war and both African and Caribbean colonies supplied raw materials, including food, often produced by conscripted labour working for private companies. In some places, wartime conditions led to strikes, such as those occurring in Rhodesia in 1940 and Nigeria in 1945.14

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