Africa Soldiers; How Africa Saved Europe, During World Wars

[Robot]

Africa Soldiers; How Africa Saved Europe, During World Wars Written by Paul I. Adujie New York, United States This is part of the world’s untold and sparsely documented history. It is how Africa saved the world over and over again. Africa was compelled and conscripted to fight the economic and social strife for America and Europe and thereby gave America and Europe the breathing space and freedom at industrialization. There are phases and stages in these processes. First, it was the horrors and brutalities of the enslavement of Africans which provided free unpaid labor for the homes and fields of Americans and Europeans; thus, enabling Americans and Europeans to cultivate large expanses of lands in plantations forms. Cash crops in the fields and animal husbandries in large scale and the production of lard, created a wealth base for slave owners. A second wave of horrors and brutalities came in the...Read the full article.

[M. Akosa]

It is very funny how black Africans and people of African origins in the US and Europe are not seriously in dialogue on the issues of their continued existence, presence and contributions to Europe and America. I mean it is time that it should be taught in schools to our children to understand how black people should be relating to white people, to keep themselves intact from further neo-colonization and slavery.

What happens here is that the Europeans and US are not at all remorseful or feeling any guilt of their continued covert and overt policies of their relationship with people of black African origins, which is nothing but; PICK and CHOOSE; USE and DUMP.
The black Africans as usual are still dumb and stupid about their understanding of their type of relationship with Europe and the USA, which should also be nothing else but; PICK and CHOOSE; USE and DUMP. Citizenships and green cards just mere accesories and piece of travel document.

Sorry for our lost brave warriors who continue to sacrifice their lives for our slave masters in Europe and US.

[I Love Nigeria]

http://allafrica.com/stories/200906120257.html


http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...rlz=1R2GPRE_en
Nigeria: World War 11 and African Veterans
Tayo Agunbiade
11 June 2009

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

opinion

Lagos — It was in an atmosphere of pomp and sobriety that the 65th Anniversary D-Day in Normandy , France was commemorated.

Thousands including world leaders, Presidents Obama and Sarkozy, gathered to pay their respects to the dead as well as honour the ex-service men and women for their courage. Over the years the world war commemoration ceremonies are marked on a note of sober reflection and the veterans are praised for their bravery and for stopping -albeit at a heavy price- the Nazis and Fascists in their tracks and thereby changing the course of history. There is however what can be considered a huge gap in the way the events are highlighted. For the sake of the future generations, the role of African soldiers must be properly documented.

Watching the ceremonies over the years one does not get a sense of the role of African soldiers during the two World Wars. Veterans from the US, Britain and Canada alongside whom African colonial troops also split their blood during the bitter fighting to liberate Europe are revered year in year out for their courage. American and British courage in particular is overwhelmingly documented in various big budget films. Many of the Hollywood stars made their names and fortune by starring in films about the wars.

Unfortunately the Western media hardly picks up on the part played by the African colonial troops in this liberation struggle. The role of the colonial forces is either downplayed or virtually obliterated from the psyche of the international community. It is not unlikely that the textbooks in many of these countries do not included the sacrifices of African soldiers in the liberation of Europe from Nazism, Fascism and the Japanese army in Asia .

To go back in history, we discover that soldiers from the colonies fought alongside the allied forces in both wars. Thousands of men were sourced from the colonies during the First World War. Many were sent to combat units. While serving as front-line infantry it is said that so many died of combat or illness. Similarly thousands were recruited into the Royal West Africa Frontier Force to fight for Britain and France in World War Two. Conscripts from Nigeria , Ghana , Gambia and Sierra Leone totaled about 167,000 from all four colonies. Forced recruitment took place in East Africa too.

According to some reports the colonial troops: "served as the spearhead of assaults on fixed positions and suffered predictably high casualty rates. There was hardly a major offensive in which Africans did not play an important role". The Colonial Federation of French West and Equatorial Africa provided just over 200,000 soldiers to the war effort. Known as Tirailleurs Senegalais they were fully involved in liberation of France . It has been said that Africans were recruited to offset the might of the German troops and sent to the frontlines. This has been interpreted as yet another way in which the resources from the Continent were exploited for the benefit of Europeans. By and large the efforts of the African troops have been underplayed over the years. With the exception of a few monuments erected in a few countries symbolizing the participation in the two World Wars, there is hardly any mention of their input. The common cause they all stood and fought for does not receive a lavish display in the media. There was no reference to colonial troops and their acts of bravery and resilience in the media coverage in the recent commemoration service.

Our Government and History textbooks tell us that the fire for independence was ignited in part from the experiences gained during the WW11. We are told that having fought for and won freedom in far away lands in Europe and Asia , the soldiers returned home and decided to press for freedom on their own homelands. The flames of self-determination and Pan-Africanism were largely lit during this era. Sadly on return from the battle front, many were to be disappointed by the attitudes of the colonial masters towards their gratuities and welfare. One such famous incident led to the Christianborg Crossroads shootings in 1948 in which three ex-service men who went to present a petition to the British Colonial Governor were killed on the orders of a British Superintendent in Ghana (then Gold Coast). Ghana recently remembered the fallen soldiers in a solemn ceremony.

It is very likely that as a result of the lack of official recognition of the African war veterans by the international community, President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal in 2004 invited veterans, historians and representatives of some 20 African countries as well as France to take part in televised discourse, marches and commemoration activities. At the time President Wade noted that: "The idea is to re-evaluate the role Africa played in bringing peace to the developed world through its participation in two world wars".

It is clear that there needs to be a concerted effort to incorporate the role of African veterans in the two world wars into any of the services and activities being held on European soil. Speaking last week during the service held in honour of the veterans from US, Britain and Canada , President Nicholas Sarkozy said France will "never forget them". The pledge of a permanent memorial in the hearts and minds of the nation should be publicly extended to those who were conscripted from the former colonies and sent to fight a war in far away lands. Beyond the few cenotaphs built in some of the former colonies, the beam light needs to be shone on the lives of the living veterans. Their efforts during the two wars needs to be documented and made available to the public. It is not enough to document and keep away on the shelves for historical purposes. The exemplary efforts of the African veterans should be made public knowledge and be incorporated into school lessons in the educational systems from primary to tertiary levels. Lessons about the Holocaust are part and parcel of classes in the schools. There is no shortage of Museums, exhibitions, films etc to keep the memories alive. A proper and honourable official recognition will also help ordinary citizens to appreciate the true magnitude of the contributions of the colonial troops to the war effort. Commemoration services should be inclusive and invite officials and leaders from former colonies.

Media has a very crucial role here. Films, documentaries, exhibitions etc are major tools to address the gap in the history of the wars. None of the films about the heroic acts during the wars highlight the contributions of the African soldiers. Many of the films tell the story from the perspectives from the allied forces. Others take it from the perspective of the Holocaust. What about a film from the point of view of an African soldier plucked from his homeland into the trenches of Europe and Asia ? We have seen films about slave trade and slavery, heroines during the French resistance, acts of courage of the British, ruthlessness of the Japanese and Germans during the war. Love stories set against the background of wars, stories about returnees from the wars, stories from the colonial era etc are all examples of various ways in which the story can be creatively told to the world. Stories told through the eyes of a veteran soldier is a story worth hearing about. Documentaries are also a powerful way of projecting the African veterans to the world.

The Commonwealth and French authorities owe it to Africa to pay tribute to her sons who lost their lives in the bitter fighting to save Europe and Asia . It is estimated that about 300,000 African conscripts died in both world wars. Britain and France have a duty to ensure the memories and contributions of the African veterans do not remain in the trenches, untold.

Copyright © 2009 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

[DeepThought]

Pauluuu, Paulluuu,

Thank you for reminding us of the contributions of Black Africans to the liberation of Europe and the fighting of the Hitlerian menace.

The day you direct your energies to criticising our own home grown tyranny, we'll thank you twice as much.

[kalu31]

Hogwash!

which African Division stormed up the Normandy beaches? which African battalon crossed the Rhine into Berlin? which African unit defended Britian during the Luffwaffe airraids? Which African soldier was in Stalingard or Kurst?

i have heard of Africans in Burma, but did they defend Singapore, did they bayonet charge the Japs in Iwojima?

could it be that as "citizens" of the Crown the black "soldiers" were used as porters and storekeepers? i do know that the Indians fought the Nazi, i have not heard them complain ooh.

in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt where Rommel and Mongomery fought battles on African soil, i cannot find an account of a single African soldier!

the almight USA that actually saved the Europeans did not have intergrated black units, the black were in seperate units and saw limited action, it was later in the war that they did fight, and bravely too, the Tuskagee airmen come to mind.

lets not look for glory where we played no part nor had a choice in the matter, at least the Black citizens joined up to fight in the US Army, we were still colonies of the Crown!

we will soon say we brought down the Berlin wall, common Al Bashir we cannot arrest!

[Namio]

Hogwash!

which African Division stormed up the Normandy beaches? which African battalon crossed the Rhine into Berlin? which African unit defended Britian during the Luffwaffe airraids? Which African soldier was in Stalingard or Kurst?

i have heard of Africans in Burma, but did they defend Singapore, did they bayonet charge the Japs in Iwojima?

could it be that as "citizens" of the Crown the black "soldiers" were used as porters and storekeepers? i do know that the Indians fought the Nazi, i have not heard them complain ooh.

in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt where Rommel and Mongomery fought battles on African soil, i cannot find an account of a single African soldier!

the almight USA that actually saved the Europeans did not have intergrated black units, the black were in seperate units and saw limited action, it was later in the war that they did fight, and bravely too, the Tuskagee airmen come to mind.

lets not look for glory where we played no part nor had a choice in the matter, at least the Black citizens joined up to fight in the US Army, we were still colonies of the Crown!

we will soon say we brought down the Berlin wall, common Al Bashir we cannot arrest!

Kalu 31,

I have not read the article itself and I agree that we should consentrate on the present enemies within instead of history. But I think you should do more research before you blatantly deny black Africans' role in those two World wars. Some years ago a Briton came to Harvard to promote that view, the moderator had to step in between us.

If I were a much younger man, I might challenge you to a boxing match.

[kalu31]

my Oga Namio,


i get the impresssion you were in Burma, i am still loyal Sir....

[bob]

Hogwash!

which African Division stormed up the Normandy beaches? which African battalon crossed the Rhine into Berlin? which African unit defended Britian during the Luffwaffe airraids? Which African soldier was in Stalingard or Kurst?

i have heard of Africans in Burma, but did they defend Singapore, did they bayonet charge the Japs in Iwojima?

as clint eastwood produced his film 'flags of our fathers', spike lee picked a quarrell about the non recognition of the role african american soldiers played in holding and securing the beach head, as special forces, at great price, till the mainforces arrived. they may have played this role not only at iwo jima but all over the pacific theatre and perhaps even at normandy.


i have never heard of the role of continental africans in combat.

[Namio]

Support for the war effort

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/sp...a/page12.shtml

African men on the march

Many people in Africa had only the vaguest understanding of what the First World War was about. Certainly the reasons for it were not easy to understand. It was triggered by the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand of Serbia, and in Europe, people thought it would be all over by Christmas of 1914.

Without the cooperation of local leaders and chiefs, European powers would not have been able to raise the troops and carriers they needed, and some chiefs were very willing to help.

"This is one of the most important services that I have done for the peace of the protecting government and for the peace of the whole world. A war against Britain was a war against Buganda, and so, when I was appointed to lead some soldiers, I at once left for Kampala with 5,000 men. There I was told not to go to the battlefield at once, but to wait in my country and do as I was directed. While waiting, these are some of the things I did:

a) I did all I could to recruit men for the armies.
b) I sent in a lot of carriers.
c) I very much encouraged the growing of food.
d) I encouraged further the growing of cotton.
e) Because I very much wanted peace I tried my best to get into contact with the British armies for I did not want the enemy to get to our city London."
- The Record of My Service by Buganda chief Samwiri Mukasa.

In Nigeria, there was a general rallying round among urban educated Nigerians. Speeches were made and money collected.

"Our kith and kin have gone to fight in our stead, and it is only right that we should give them all the support necessary... Ingratitude is the greatest reproach that could be flung at a native, and I therefore urge upon all to contribute their quota to this national fund so that it might not be said we are ungrateful to the British Government for many benefits conferred." - Dr. Obasa, described in West Africa magazine as the "well-known Lagos public man," speaking at a meeting of chiefs at Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos.

Recruitment


People were recruited in a number of ways. One was through a direct appeal for volunteers. This happened first in Egypt, where peasants were attracted by the wages offered.

Another was recruitment through chiefs. The British enlisted the help of chiefs and left them to find the men however they could. Although officially nobody was supposed to be forced into signing up, inevitably they were.

"We came back one night from our yam farm. The chief called us and handed us over to a government messenger. I didn't know where we were going, but the chief and the messenger said that the white man had sent for us and we must go. After three days we reached the white man's compound.

Plenty of others had arrived from other villages far away. And the white man wrote our names in a book. And tied a brass numbered ticket round our necks and gave each man a blanket and food.

Then he told us we were going to the Great War to help the king's soldiers who were preventing the Germans coming to our country and burning it. We left and marched far into the bush. The government police led the way and allowed no man to stop behind." - A first-hand account of what it was like to be recruited. As told by No.1475, a carrier who was recruited in 1914. Quoted in The African Contribution to the Second World War.

There was also forced recruitment. This happened under the British in northern Rhodesia. In the Congo, the Belgians forced 260,000 men to be porters carrying soldiers, equipment and provisions.


Listen
A porter recalls being sent to the war

Conscription


Men were also conscripted. In 1912, the French set about creating a permanent black army. There was compulsory military service for all African males. After the outbreak of the war, 14,785 troops were signed up in West Africa. Then in 1915-16, 50,000 more were recruited through chiefs.

African troops under French command were combatant. The 'tirailleurs' in charge of artillery, with their distinctive red fezes, were famous. In 1918, Blaise Diagne, the Senegalese politician and the first African Deputy in the French Chamber of Deputies, was appointed High Commissioner of Recruitment of black troops.

In East Africa, the British instituted a compulsory service order in 1915 covering all males aged 18-45. This was extended to the Uganda Protectorate in April 1917.

The First World War: in action



The First World War gave rise to a crucial change in the relationship between Europe and Africa. Over two million people in Africa made huge sacrifices for the European Allies. 100,000 men died in East Africa and 65,000 men from French North Africa and French West Africa lost their lives.

Not since the American War of Independence, when 14,000 slaves and freemen fought as black loyalists alongside the British, had such a huge number of people of African descent been involved in fighting for Europeans. Very few were combatant, most of them were used as porters. They were recruited to carry heavy weapons and supplies. They were badly paid and given food which was either of poor quality or entirely foreign to them. While travelling through new territories for them, they often fell sick and were affected by different types of malaria.

Theatres of war


On the continent of Africa, there was action along the coast. In the West and South the Allies attacked Germany's African ports. They attacked Lome (in Togo), Douala (in Cameroun), Swakopmund and Luderitz Bay (in South West Africa).

In the East, German-held Dar Es Salaam was bombarded. In the North, the main concern of the British was to safeguard the Suez Canal.

German South West Africa was brought under allied control in the first few months. Cameroon took longer to capture. The East Africa campaign took even longer, with the Germans led by brilliant German General von Lettow-Vorbeck. African troops from French West Africa saw action in Western Europe, but the British never took African soldiers out of the continent.

Mutinies and uprisings


Where there were political tensions and frustrations the war only made them worse. In Nysaland (now modern Malawi), the American-trained missionary John Chilembwe led an uprising. It was religious as well as anti-colonial in character. Importantly, it was triggered by the high level of forced military recruitment of Nysas, many of whom were subsequently killed in large numbers in the first few weeks of fighting.

Further south, a number of Afrikaners, sympathetic to Germany and hostile to the Allies, tried to raise an armed rebellion. This was put down by the British educated Afrikaner leader General Smuts, who went on to play a key military role against the Germans in the First World War and in the settlement afterwards.

In the Niger Delta, Farrick Braide, also known as Elijah II, preached that the beginning of the First World War marked the end of British rule.

In Kenya, the Mumbo cult rejected Christianity and predicted Europeans would disappear from the African continent. Resistance to taxation also continued throughout the war, as in Yorubaland where there were riots in 1916.

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[I Love Nigeria]

Kalu31 You and anyone who bothered to read the present article and the accompanying one culled from ThisDay newspapers.... could not have made the comments which you made above.

Increasingly these day, it takes people like you, to say, that Africa and Africans have done nothing and contributed nothing to the world... even despite available and independent evidence which contradicts your assertions above.

I continue to wonder why some Africans have cultivated this sad mindset?

You know how it is said that, to the naive and undiscerning, ignorance is bliss? especially, persons who are willfully ignorant despite abundant information.

AND, thanks to Namio there is now a source up there, not from me, or ThisDay, mere Nigerians!

[I Love Nigeria]

Below is a response from Habu, to this article.

Africans never had one voice in the beginning irrespective of their mother dialect, unlike the westerners forcing divisions among black race. African people will continue to be free as long as mankind exists. Because slavery was very brutal to black race psychics, process of division; we can communicate all we want, talk all we want and or write all we want to, the passed wrongs will never disappear.

That’s why Mr. Kofi Annan, as United Nations' Secretary General, did not have the zeal to promote such relevance, beside, Caucasians never put Africans in positions that they cannot ‘control.’ Equally, Mr. Obama wouldn’t dare promote roles played and or still playing by African soldiers worldwide. Mr. Obama’s political future and or his life will be caught short.

Mr. Obama represents a symbol of weakness! Mr. Obama’s not in the so called White House to serve interests or protect blacks but to serve the interests and to protect whites, especially that George Bush came in disorganize the world for American interests and ran away, America has no one to bail them out, they see half-black and half-white as someone to protect them.

Why Africans are never angry? Simply, Africans are angry! Africans are extremely angry at the past wrongs, without looking forward to disorient the past wrongs, therefore allowing the past held them hostage. With or without recognitions of Africans contributions to mankind, we must move on, as westerners will never recognize Africans, mind you Africans are always considered slaves.

[Anioma777]

@kalu31

You comments are very unfortunate and somewhat irrelevant. We all know Nigeria and Africa has serious problems but this is not the thread to voice an already obvious fact. The only sensible comment was the Tuskagee black pilots you mentioned. Ironicaly I wrote an A-level history essay on them and the late first 4-star black "General" Chappie James.

I have seen old ww1 and ww2 film achives and they was quite a number of Africans that where either killed, captured or lived to tell the tale. Storming Normandy on d-day etc does not mean that those who fought on other fronts before d-day where any less significant. My dad's cousin who is late now a one Mr Ashedu from Ezi in Aniocha LGA in Delta North state fought in the both the wars.

The problem with most black people is that we care little about history or the future and only today. It will be nice to have more research done and have a way or honouring these heroes. If there is one thing I love and respect about the British and believe me there are not many,is their sense of keeping history and traditions and not letting the deaths of their soldiers be in vain.

[kalu31]

author,

if my rsponse was hash or ignorant, then i owe you an apology.

we all know Africans (not only African Americans) fought during the World Wars, but to say they "saved" europe is a stretch dont you think?

i mean America saved Europe......

thank you for the education, all that remains is for Africans to save NASA!

[emj]

Why is it, that Africans are never angry about these things? These complete disregards, disrespects, the stripping of humanity and dignity, deprivations of recognitions for work done, and sundry contributions etc?

Eherm, becos we are wiser, slow to anger or feel offended. I know quite a lot of Africans/Nigerians who fought in the Second World War...they were members of the West African Frontier Force....and were proudly so....they've since passed on, and we will remember them for who they are

http://www.mgtrust.org/afr2.htm

[I Love Nigeria]

emj Thanks a million for your comments and for supplying the links!

African participants in the Second World War
http://www.mgtrust.org/afr2.htm

Caribbean Africa India
During the Second World War some 375,000 men and women from African countries served in the Allied forces. They took part in campaigns in the Middle East, North Africa and East Africa, Italy and the Far East.
Men of the 81st and 82nd West African Divisions served with great distinction against the Japanese in Burma, as part of the famous ‘Forgotten’ 14th Army. The 81st was composed of units from the Gambia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast (now Ghana), while the 82nd comprised further reinforcements from Nigeria and the Gold Coast. Both Divisions formed part of the RWAFF (Royal West African Frontier Force).

© Imperial War Museum

The King’s African Rifles was composed of units from Kenya, Uganda, Nyasaland (now Malawi), Somaliland (now Somalia) and Tanganyika (now Tanzania). The KAR fought in Somalia and Abyssinia against the Italians, in Madagascar against the Vichy French, and in Burma against the Japanese.

Non-white South African participants included Cape Coloured and Indian members of the Cape Corps, and black South Africans who served in the Native Military Corps. Though both the CC and the NMC made extremely valuable contributions to the Allied cause in auxiliary roles, neither was used for combat, to the displeasure of many of their members.

Out of a population of 42 million in the African Colonies of the British Commonwealth, 372,000 served in the Allied cause during the Second World War. Of these 3,387 were killed or reported missing; 5,549 were wounded.


Their Own Stories
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Al-Haji Abdul Aziz Brimah, 81st West African Division (Gold Coast)

Aziz Brimah, son of a chief of the Muslim community in Accra, Gold Coast (now Ghana), joined the Gold Coast regiment not long after the outbreak of war. He saw service on the front line with the 81st West African Division, fighting the Japanese in Burma.


© Christopher Somerville

‘We knew that if we didn’t volunteer the enemy would come. Our motives: one, the British helped us to quench our tribal wars. Two, if they have trouble elsewhere, it’s proper for us to help them. Three, it’s also in our own interest - these people have an expanding attitude to cover the whole world. If we did not go out to face them, they would come here ... This fight we took like a Jihad, a Holy Battle. So it was allowed to Muslims. If you don’t fight - they will come to your home, and kill you!'

‘When we were coming into India on our ship, rumours went round among the Indians: "The Africans are coming! They are cannibals; they chop [eat] people; they have tails!" So when we went to bathe in the streams, people asked us not to take our pants off - our blue PT pants - in case they would be frightened by our tails! Then the British authorities themselves began to spread the story: "We are bringing in the Africans. When they catch you, they will chop you alive" (laughs) This was the best way they had of putting fear into the Japanese.'

‘In the Burmese jungle there was something we called tiger leech. It’s very small, very thin. If it gets to your body it will suck your blood and get bigger and bigger. So we used a cigarette end or a match on the under of that thing; it will take its fangs out. But if you don’t do that, but just pull it off, the fangs will stay within your body, and it will go bad - very bad.'

'The Japanese put leaves all over their bodies and they crawl gradually, as if they were trees or grass. We’d been trained and lectured as to all these tricks. If there’s two trees near together they can fix a machine-gun to each one and tie a rope to the triggers, then lie in the middle. If he see you coming, he’d pull this rope: kak-ak-ak-ak-ak! Then that one: kak-ak-ak-ak-ak! Then he’ll release a mortar bomb: bam-bam-bam! You’ll think there are so many people, but it may just be one or two.'

‘If you are in a war you forget everything. There was no time to pray. This jungle war was not a child’s play - it was something very dangerous, I think unprecedented anywhere. You become a different person. You left behind every civilian attitude, every gentle attitude. You forgot ... everything. That is why, after the war, they did not let us come home straight away. They gave us two good months, with money, to go to any part of India. It was something to refresh us, to let us come back to a human being.’


Acting Captain Eric Wilson VC, East Surrey Regiment (attached to the Somaliland Camel Corps)
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Eric Wilson, son of a vicar, was born in 1912 on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. His interest in Africa, originating in childhood with stories told him by his missionary grandfather, was stimulated at school when he came across a statue in honour of Somali soldiers and a British officer killed while fighting insurgents. Wilson was especially intrigued by the sculptures on the statue’s base, which depicted camels and horses in action. After gaining a commission in the East Surrey Regiment in 1933, and a subsequent attachment to the King’s African Rifles, it seemed natural for him to wind up on secondment to the Somaliland Camel Corps.
© Imperial War Museum
On 11-15 August 1940 Eric Wilson took part in an engagement with heavy Italian forces in British Somaliland (now part of Somalia). The Italians had declared war only the day before, and were about to over-run the British colony. Yao Company of the Somaliland Camel Corps, with Wilson in charge, was manning machine-gun posts - some in concrete pillboxes, some out in the open - on Observation Hill. This was an important position in the Allied defensive line across the Tug Ergan gap between the enemy and the vital port of Berbera.

When the Italians attacked on 11 August, they twice managed direct hits which knocked Wilson’s gun off its mountings, killing a Somali corporal and wounding Wilson and several of his soldiers. But the Englishman and his colleagues remounted the gun and made such an effective defence that the Italians were kept at bay. For five days the Allied positions were attacked. Wilson - suffering from an attack of malaria as well as untended wounds - and the surviving Somali soldiers kept the enemy out until a final Italian charge over-ran the position.

‘Captain Wilson, fighting to the last, was killed,’ announced the citation for Eric Wilson’s award of the Victoria Cross in the London Gazette of 14 October 1940. But in fact the acting captain had been captured on Observation Hill. He was sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in Eritrea. The camp was liberated a few months later, and Wilson was free to continue his daring career - at first in the ‘wild bunch’ known as the Long Range Desert Group, then as 2i/c 11th Battalion, the King’s African Rifles, on their 1944 advance down the Kabaw Valley (‘Death Valley’) in Burma. He caught scrub typhus in north-east India, and after a spell in hospital was invalided out of active service. He finished the war in Uganda, in command of an Infantry Training Centre.


Johnny Smythe (Sierra Leone): RAF
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Johnny Smythe was born on 30th June 1915, in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone in West Africa. When Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, Johnny volunteered to help in the war effort and joined the RAF. He was one of only four, out of a batch of ninety men, to complete his training as a Navigator Officer. After spending another year studying to become a navigator, he was posted to a bomber squadron.


© Imperial War Museum

"We knew what lay ahead of us. Every day we counted the number that returned. We also knew that there was a good chance that we would not return. We met with our first serious trouble during an operation over Mainz in Germany. The plane had several times been pelted by flak and it was in a bad state. Although we lost one of our engines, we still managed to limp back home."

"On one occasion we were flying back over England when a German fighter began to dog us. I saw it first and yelled to the rear gunner, ‘Frank, open up!’ It was quite scary because we were flying so low that, had the plane been actually shot down, we wouldn’t have had time to bail out! The noise caused by the two aircraft brought our anti-aircraft fire from the ground, which fended off the German fighter, and we were able to land safely. Another lucky escape!"

Johnny Smythe was promoted to Flying Officer. But on his 28th mission, on the night of 18th November 1943, his luck ran out:

"We were flying at 16,000 ft when the fighters came out of nowhere. They raked the fuselage and there were flames everywhere. Then the searchlights caught us. I was hit by shrapnel. Pieces came from underneath, piercing my abdomen, going through my side. Another came through my seat and into my groin. I heard the pilot ordering us to bail out. We had some rough ones before but this seemed to be the end."

Johnny parachuted to the ground and hid in a barn:

"Men in uniform came into the barn where I was hiding behind some straw. Then they opened up, raking the place with automatic fire. I decided to give in. The Germans couldn’t believe their eyes. I’m sure that’s what saved me from being shot immediately. To see a black man – and an officer at that – was more than they could come to terms with. They just stood there gazing."

In Stalag Luft One, a prisoner-of-war camp for officers in Pomerania, Smythe helped on the escape committee, but couldn’t break out himself: "I don’t think a six-foot-five black man would’ve got very far in Pomerania, somehow."

The Russians freed Johnny in 1945, and a Russian Army Officer embraced him and gave him vodka:

"I was fêted because I was black. They took me to a town near the camp and I watched as they looted. A pretty German woman was crying because they had taken all her valuables. I wanted to help her but the Russians wouldn’t listen. I had hated the Germans and wanted to kill them all, but something changed inside me when I saw her tears and the hopelessness on her face."