The outbreak of war in 1914 saw the major combatants draw heavily on their empires, dominions and colonies.

The use of West Indian and African soldiers in the various armies provided much needed manpower in fighting the war but also gives a clear insight into the attitudes and prejudices that existed towards these men.

Once war was declared in 1914, the West Indies offered to send contingents of men to fight alongside Britain. The British West Indies had been part of the British Empire since the 17th century. Only two years before the start of the First World War, they had been divided into eight separate colonies, the names of which we are familiar with today: The Bahamas, Barbados, British Guiana, British Honduras, Jamaica (with dependencies Turks and Caicos), Trinidad and Tobago, the Winward Isles, and the Leeward Isles. In total, 16,000 soldiers were recruited in the West Indies along with 4,500 volunteers who were also sent to the war.

Whilst Britain was more than happy to accept these men from the West Indies, they were far more opposed to using black African soldiers on European battlefields. African soldiers were common in the French army during the First World War, with around 450,000 men being deployed in their armies. However, Britain eventually banned the use of black African soldiers in their own armies in Europe.

Additionally, the German army was fiercely opposed to the use of black African soldiers in Europe, going so far as to produce a pamphlet which suggested that colonial soldiers were perpetrating a variety of war crimes and atrocities on German soldiers such as the cutting off of ears, hands, or heads as trophies.

Stories about this sort of behaviour were rife in the British and French armies as well but were often anecdotal or slightly removed from the actual supposed incidents themselves. The nature of these atrocity reports was often complicated by different ideas of warfare and the supposedly barbarous nature of some of the colonial combatants.

Ongoing German propaganda often portrayed black soldiers as uncivilised demons or apes who would destroy all forms of pre-war civilisation. Allied propaganda would attempt to counter these arguments by referring back to Germany’s supposed lack of civilisation for starting the war in the first place, but would also represent their own black soldiers in similar ways or portray Germany in a manner which echoed racial stereotypes.

Men from the West Indies arrived in Sussex prepared to fight side by side with the British army. A camp was created at Seaford to be used to train and prepare the 1st Battalion of the West Indies Regiment for the fighting taking place in Europe and beyond.

However, much like the Indian soldiers initial deployment in France or the men of the Chinese Labour Corps, the soldiers arriving from the West Indies did not have an easy trip to Britain or Europe. The initial journey to Britain was hazardous and, when their ships were diverted via Halifax in Canada, hundreds of men were left with severe frostbite. Many had to be sent back to the West Indies as unfit to serve and were given no compensation or benefits.

The winter of 1914/15 was particularly cold and harsh. The West Indian soldiers were confined to poor accommodation and unsuitable clothing for the duration of the winter and, as a result, their health and morale began to suffer. Following this, a bout of pneumonia which had afflicted numerous men and an epidemic of mumps then swept through the camp.

The West Indian Regiment would go on to play a crucial role in the First World War, especially in Palestine and Jordan, where they were deployed against the forces of the Ottoman Empire. During this fighting, General Allenby sent a telegram to the Governor of Jamaica:

I have great pleasure in informing you of the gallant conduct of the machine-gun section of the 1st British West Indies Regiment during two successful raids on the Turkish trenches. All ranks behaved with great gallantry under heavy rifle and shell fire and contributed in no small measure to the success of the operations.

Thousands of men from the West Indies had campaigned to be allowed the right to fight alongside Britain at the start of the war. However, in a cruel twist of fate, by the war’s conclusion, the West Indian soldiers were on the verge of mutiny in the Italian camp of Taranto. Manpower shortages had left the West Indian soldiers facing hard physical and demeaning labour, such as the building and cleaning of toilets for white soldiers. The later discovery that white soldiers in the camp had received pay rises whilst they had not, tipped the regiment over the edge.

The mutiny lasted for around 4 days and, at its conclusion, 60 soldiers were tried and convicted. Most received prison sentences from 3 to 5 years while one soldier was sentenced to 20 years in prison and another was executed by firing squad.

The mutiny may have subsided but the feelings behind it had not, with many West Indian soldiers deciding that they would strike for higher pay when they returned home to the West Indies. However, the islands of the West Indies had already been undergoing a series of violent strike actions during the final years of the war. The British were so concerned by these that they had moved naval warships into West Indian ports to quell the possible uprising.

Fearing that returning West Indian soldiers to this environment may cause further problems, the decision was taken to send 4,000 West Indian soldiers to Cuba and Venezuela and leave them there instead. Many would be forced to stay and never see their homelands again.

19 West Indian soldiers died in the Seaford training camp and their bodies are buried in a military cemetery there. In November 1994, for the first time, a memorial service was held, attended by Second World War veterans from the West Indies Ex-Service Men and Women’s Association of London. They were possibly the first to visit their compatriots in 80 years. In 2006, family members from the West Indies visited the graves of West Indian soldiers in Seaford.

In November, 2015, the first ever English Heritage approved Blue Plaques in Seaford town were unveiled to commemorate the centenary of the formation of the British West Indies Regiment in 1915. A Blue Plaque was placed in Seaford Cemetery, Alfriston Road, to remember the 19 Caribbean soldiers who are buried there.

The unveiling ceremony was followed by the annual 2 minute silence at 11 o’clock by the West Indian Association of Service Personnel. Guests then moved on to unveil a second plaque at Seaford railway station.

Questions to ask your students

1) How were black soldiers viewed during the war?

2) What were conditions like for West Indian soldiers in Seaford?

3) Where were 4,000 West Indian soldiers sent after the war?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – West Indian Soldiers – teachers

The post West Indian Soldiers in Seaford appeared first on WW1 East Sussex.

When war was declared in 1914, Britain relied heavily on soldiers from the empire. Men from around the world would arrive in East Sussex to fight for Britain.

At the outbreak of the First World War, the Indian Army numbered 240,000 men; by 1918 it had grown to nearly 550,000. Most recruits came from the north of India, especially the Punjab. The Indian army at the time was made up of numerous religions. Battalions of Punjabi Muslims served in Mesopotamia and, after the war, the 92^nd Battalion were made ‘Prince of Wales’s Own‘ in recognition of their bravery and gallantry. Sikhs made up 20% of the British Indian Army at the outbreak of the war. By its conclusion around 130,000 Sikh soldiers had served.

Indian soldiers served on many battlefields over the course of the war but many of the troops were unfamiliar with their equipment, having only been assigned their rifles and kit upon arriving in France. Their lack of warm clothing during the cold weather soon saw morale plummet and desertion was not uncommon. In October 1915, the infantry divisions were withdrawn to Egypt whilst the cavalry remained in France.

Nearly 700,000 Indian soldiers served in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) fighting against the Ottoman Empire. Indian soldiers also fought the Germans in East Africa and defended the Suez Canal. Three battalions of Gurkhas and one of Sikhs participated in the Gallipoli campaign. The Sikh Battalion was almost wiped out in the Battle of Krithia.

Smaller units of Indian soldiers also served in Singapore and China, whilst many others remained in India to defend the North Western border against incursions from Afghanistan.

During the First Battle of Ypres, Khudadad Khan, used his machine gun position to hold the allied line and prevent a final German breakthrough. When the position was finally overrun, the defenders were all killed, except for Khan who suffered many wounds and was left for dead. Despite his injuries he managed to crawl back to his own lines under cover of darkness. He and his men had held the line long enough for further reinforcements to arrive. For his courage and bravery Khan was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Many Indian soldiers like Khudadad Khan were wounded during the war and a great number of them were taken to Brighton to be nursed back to health. The Royal Pavilion, Corn Exchange and Dome were all converted into military hospitals and provided 722 beds. The workhouse on Elm Grove was renamed the Kitchener Hospital and also took in patients. Between 1914 and 1916, 12,000 soldiers were treated in Brighton with 4,306 placed in the Pavilion. Only 32 men died in the Royal Pavilion hospital.

As these soldiers were a mix of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, great care was taken to respect the religion and customs of each. Separate water supplies were provided for Hindus and Muslims in each ward, and nine kitchens catered for the different requirements of the patients. Separate areas were also provided for worship with a marquee being erected in the grounds for Sikhs and an east-facing area of the lawn reserved for Muslim prayer. Wounded soldiers were cared for by orderlies of the same caste and religion.

However, at times, the patients at the Royal Pavilion were also kept apart from the inhabitants around them. Barbed wire was placed around the Pavilion in order to keep the patients in and the residents of Brighton out. The army was particularly concerned about the possibility of the female inhabitants of Brighton contracting a bout of ‘Khaki Fever‘.

By the end of 1915, the Indian Army was moved away from the Western Front to Mesopotamia and no further Indian soldiers arrived in Brighton.

Following the conclusion of the war, a permanent memorial was opened at Brighton Pavilion in honour of the Indian soldiers who had been cared for. The ‘India Gate‘ was opened in 1921 by the Maharaja of Patiala. In his speech he paid tribute to ‘Brighton’s abounding hospitality’.

To commemorate the Indian soldiers who had died in the various hospitals in Brighton, a permanent memorial was unveiled in the South Downs. The Chattri was unveiled by the Prince of Wales in 1921. The Royal British Legion held an annual pilgrimage to the memorial every year until 1999. Since 2000 the ceremony has been conducted by the Chattri Memorial Group and takes place every June.

Questions to ask your students

1) How big was the Indian Army by 1918?

2) What different religions did soldiers in the Indian Army have?

3) When did Indian soldiers leave Brighton?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Indian Soldiers – teachers

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With manpower shortages hampering the war effort, the British Army looked to China in order to find able workers.

1915 was the worst year of the war for Britain and France. The casualties sustained in battles at Ypres and Gallipoli had brought little success and cost the British Army so much that the start of 1916 saw the introduction of forced recruitment through conscription.

Beyond the need for fighting men, however, was the additional need for men to provide labour at various supply depots and ports both in Europe and Britain.

The French initially attempted to solve this problem with the foundation of their own Chinese Labour Force in May 1916. They hired 40,000 Chinese men to serve with their army and hundreds of Chinese students to serve as translators. Shortly after the French had launched their project, the British followed suit by creating a recruitment base in the British colony of Weihaiwei (now the city of Weihai, Shandong Province) in October 1916.

China was a neutral country at the time and citizens were forbidden from fighting in the war by their government. Working as labourers however, was permitted and around 95,000 men would join this British Corps over the remaining course of the war.

Life in the Chinese Labour Corps began under terrible conditions with men sailing across the Pacific Ocean and then, to avoid landing taxes at Canadian ports, travelling for 6 days across Canada in sealed trains. By the time they sailed across the Atlantic and then journeyed by train down the length of Britain, many of the men who had set out from China had died.

Every man who joined the Labour Corps was assigned a number that replaced their name for the duration of their service. Whilst translators were on hand to explain orders to the men, British officers referred to each Chinese labourer by the numbered wristband they wore and it was reproduced on the headstones of those men who had died.

Men who had joined the Labour Corps lived under the restrictions of Military Law and were contracted for a duration of 3 years. It was not uncommon, therefore, to see groups of Chinese labourers continuing to work on the abandoned battlefields in 1919 and 1920 long after the soldiers had departed them and returned home.

Duties for men in the Labour Corps included digging trenches, filling sandbags, building huts, repairing roads, loading and unloading vehicles and munitions, and even cooking.

The port of Newhaven was the key supply point on the East Sussex coast. Chinese Labourers became a common sight in the town as they worked on the dockside and handled the train-ferry to Dieppe.

China officially declared war on Germany in 1917 after a U-Boat sunk the French ship Athos at the cost of 543 Chinese lives. Britain and France had promised China that they would ensure the Shandong Peninsula would be returned to them from the Japanese if the war was won.

During the negotiations at the end of the war, this promise was not kept and, as a result, the Chinese refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles which brought about the end of the war and dictated the terms and cost that Germany and its allies would have to pay.

Most Chinese labourers returned home in 1920 with a small number remaining in France.

Official statistics suggest that around 2,000 men of the Chinese Labour Corps lost their lives but modern estimates place the actual number at around 20,000.

Questions to ask your students

1) Which country first started hiring Chinese labourers during the war?

2) What duties did Chinese labourers perform during the war?

3) When did Chinese labourers return home?

Images

Click here to download a copy of this resource: First World War – Chinese Labourers – teachers

The post Chinese Labourers appeared first on WW1 East Sussex.