Show remembers ethnic soldiers

Exhibition aims to raise awareness of ethnic soldiers' contributions

The Ministry of Defence is staging a photographic exhibition that highlights the little known contribution of ethnic minorities in the Armed Forces over the last 200 years.

The We Were There exhibition documents the role in the British military of people from all corners of the Commonwealth as long ago as the Napoleonic wars.

It is a story rarely told. One and a half million Indians fought for Britain in World War I, 180,000 Africans fought alongside them.

But while the exploits of Australians and New Zealanders are well-documented, the role of black and Asian servicemen and women is rather less familiar.

The mother country was in trouble, so it was our duty to assist in any way we can

Allan Wilmot
West Indian Ex-servicemen Assoc

The MoD's latest exhibition aims to put the record straight. On Friday it opens in the midst of Caribean Expo 2001, in London's Docklands.

The show started as an exercise for Ministry staff, but officials decided this was a message worth spreading.

Abraham George of the MoD, said: "With the passage of time, people have forgotten a lot of these stories and we thought it would be a help to educate and inform the public.

"And that's why we've also approached schools and we try to get them involved so that children have a more rounded perspective of history."

Allan Wilmot joined the Royal Navy in Jamaica in 1941, serving on minesweepers and patrol boats. He said it seemed the right thing to do.

Mr Wilmot, now vice-president of the West Indian Ex-servicemen Association, said: "We considered ourselves a part of the British Empire.

"The mother country was in trouble, so it was our duty to assist in any way we can. So we all volunteered for the army, navy and air force."

Recruitment targets

While the exhibit may be about the past, its relevance to today is not in doubt.

As the armed forces struggle to keep up their numbers, the need to appeal to as many people as possible is more acute than ever.

And the services are, not surprisingly, looking to recruit through the exhibition.

The government is well short of its target of a 4% intake from ethnic minorities. It hopes that perhaps two centuries of history can make a difference.

The exhibition opens runs from 27-29 July at the Excel Exhibition Centre in Docklands and later in the year tours Glasgow and Newcastle.

Photographs courtesy of the Imperial War Museum.