LINKS
Links and topics of interest
Links of interest
The Great War in Africa Association
The Great War in Africa Association brings together researchers on the African campaigns during WW1. The website provides in depth information on the various theatres of war in Africa and has a very useful African archive guide, mainly drawn from from the National Archives in Kew. To gain access to the whole site, membership (free) is required.
Recognize OnlineThe Great War in Africa Association
Recognize Online is a Birmingham-based community and social enterprise that exhibits the history of African Caribbean communities. The website features several resources on WW1 and the African Caribbean community in Britain.
British Pathe News
British Pathe News is a huge collection of films from over the past 100 years, including films relating to empire.
Mesothelioma Prognosis
Countless veterans are currently suffering from life-threatening illnesses that are a result of exposure to asbestos, a material that was commonly used in hundreds of military applications, products, and ships because of its resistance to fire. Veterans who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma even qualify for special benefits from the U.S Department of Veteran Affairs.
Mesothelioma Settlement
For most of the last century, many of our veterans were exposed to asbestos laden materials, typically from Navy ships. Asbestos poses serious health risks that may lead to a deadly cancer called mesothelioma. The asbestos mining industry knew of the dangers since the late 1800’s but suppressed their knowledge of these dangers from the public so that they could continue to make money. Consequently, many veterans now suffer from life-threatening cancer. If you or a family member has been diagnosed with mesothelioma you may be entitled to a financial settlement.
A Student’s Guide to American World War II Vehicles
World War II is a very important part of American history. In World War II, the U.S. helped the Allies to win the war against the Axis. During this war effort, Americans from all backgrounds made numerous sacrifices to support the campaign.
www.partsgeek.com/mmparts/auto_parts_playground_a_students_guide.html
Why are West Indians in this country
Why are West Indians in this country explores the history of the different regiments formed using Caribbeans from the late 18th century to the present.
Voices of War and Peace
Voices of War and Peace is and ARHC funded WW1 engagement centre in partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund. Based at the Library of Birmingham, it’s a joint initiative with universities in the Midlands region and beyond. It supports a wide range of community engagement activities, connecting academic and public histories of the Great War, as part of the centenary commemorations.
BBC World War 1 programmes
BBC World War 1 programmes this microsite offers all BBC programmes on WW1. Of particular interest is the programme on Black Welsh soldiers and sailors who fought.
The National Archives
The National Archives offers a microsite that explores the war using its extensive archival materials. There is an interactive global war map that enables the user to explore the impact of the war from a range of global perspectives, including the Caribbean. There is also a vast collection of digitised maps, letters, diaries and photographs, and the medal cards of recipients.
Colonial Film Archives
Colonial Film Archives hold over 150 films relating to the British Empire available to view online.
Books on WW1
Glenford Howe – Race War and Nationalism: A Social History of West Indians in the First World War (2002)
This work provides an account of the West Indian soldiers in World War I. It focuses on the processes and politics surrounding the participation of Blacks in the war, and reveals the daily problems of Army life for West Indian recruits, the internal intricacies of army administration, the functions performed by West Indian soldiers and their difficult experiences after the war.
Stephen Bourne – Black Poppies: Britain’s Black Community and the Great War (2014)
In 1914, there were at least 10,000 black Britons, many of African and West Indian heritage, fiercely loyal to their Mother Country. Despite being discouraged from serving in the British Army during World War I, men managed to join all branches of the armed forces, and black communities made a vital contribution, both on the front and at home. By 1918, it is estimated that the black population had trebled to 30,000, and after the war many black soldiers who had fought for Britain decided to make it their home. Black Poppies explores the military and civilian wartime experiences of these men and of women, from the trenches to the music hall. Poignantly, it concludes by examining the anti-black race riots of 1919 in cities like Cardiff and Liverpool, where black men came under attack from returning white soldiers who resented their presence, despite what they and their families had done for Britain during the war.
Ray Costello – Black Tommies: British Soldiers of African Descent in the First World War (2015)
Black Tommies is the first book entirely dedicated to the part played by soldiers of African descent in the British regular army during the First World War. If African colonial troops have been ignored by historians, the existence of any substantial narrative around Black British soldiers enlisting in the United Kingdom during the First World War is equally unknown, even in military circles. Much more material is now coming to light, such as the oral testimony of veterans, and the author has researched widely to gather fresh and original material for this fascinating book from primary documentary sources in archives to private material kept in the metaphorical (and actual) shoe boxes of descendants of black Tommies. Reflecting the global nature of the conflict, Black Tommies takes us on a journey from Africa to the Caribbean and North America to the streets of British port cities such as Cardiff, Liverpool and those of North Eastern England.
Morag Miller, Joseph Laycock: As Good as Any Man: Scotland’s Black Tommy (2014)
When the harrowing Great War diaries of one of Britain’s first black soldiers were unearthed in a dusty Scottish attic nearly 100 years after they were written, they posed a bit of a mystery. The diary entries – ranging from May 1917 to March 1918 – were written by one Arthur Roberts while he served initially with the King’s Own Scottish Borderers before being transferred to Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1917. He details what life was like for him during the First World War, how he survived the Battle of Passchendaele, and how he escaped unscathed when a German shell killed a dozen men round him. Yet Arthur was an otherwise unknown man – what was the rest of his life like?