All Hell Let Loose_ The World at War 1939-1945 - Max Hastings [257]
By far the most important overseas element in the Allied war effort was, of course, the British Empire. London’s relations with the white self-governing dominions were conducted with considerable clumsiness and indeed ruthlessness under the exigencies of global conflict, and policy towards the black and brown nations of Empire was uncompromising. The prime minister asserted his determination to sustain hegemony over India, and outraged American opinion by declaring in November 1942 that he had not become the king’s first minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire. Most of his people were warmly sentimental about the contribution of Indian and colonial troops to the war effort, heedless of the fact that their services were purchased for cash and only rarely inspired by loyalty, or even understanding of the Allied cause. James Mpagi from Kampala, Uganda, said: ‘We thought perhaps war was something very simple … perhaps the same thing as if people were quarrelling for a cow or [between] neighbouring villages.’
Britain took for granted the loyalty of its black and brown subject peoples, and in 1939 this was promptly expressed, in the form of messages of support from colonial governors and prominent citizens. There was no significant dissent: black Africa and the Caribbean eventually contributed some 500,000 recruits to the war effort; three African divisions carried arms in Burma, while most other black soldiers performed labour service. Britain never introduced military conscription in its African possessions, but strong local pressure and sometimes compulsion were exercised to mobilise tribesmen who served in British uniform under the command of white officers. Batison Geresomo of Nyasaland recalled later: ‘When we heard about the conflict, we were not sure … whether they will be taking everybody by force … the white man came in all the districts to recruit soldiers. Some were taken by the chiefs’ force and some went on their own wish.’ In addition, conscription for agricultural labour service was widely introduced in East Africa, much to the profit of white settler farmers. Local chiefs in the Gold Coast colony bowed to the wishes of the authorities by urging their young men to enlist. Recruiting bands sang songs to attract men, one punning the Akan word barima – ‘brave man’ – with Burma.
Barima ehh yen ko ooh!
Barima yen ko ooh!
Yen ko East Africa, Barima
Besin, na yen ko!
Brave men and warriors let us go [enlist]
Brave men and warriors let us go [enlist]
Let us go to East Africa and Burma
Come let us go [enlist]
Kofi Genfi described the recruiting process in Ashanti, where the local district commissioner Captain Sinclair was charged with fulfilling manpower quotas. Sinclair, in turn, allotted each local chief a share: ‘Sinclair … had the list, he knew how many men from each village there would be. He would take the truck … and bring the men.’ In Bathurst, Gambia, in 1943 more drastic measures were employed: four hundred ‘corner boys’ – street urchins – were rounded up and enlisted on the orders of the British governor; a quarter deserted during training. In Accra, one man described how he was snatched off the street by soldiers while visiting his brother. In Sierra Leone, those arrested for illicit diamond mining were sent to the army, an option extended to some of those convicted by the courts as an alternative to imprisonment.
Many Africans became genuine volunteers for military service, however, because they wanted work and pay. Though all claimed to be eighteen, some were significantly