A new London exhibition seeks to bring to light the forgotten tales of African and Indian soldiers who battled Japanese troops in South Asia during the Second World War. The National Army Museum’s Beyond Burma: Forgotten Armies brings to the fore the tremendous contribution of soldiers who have been all but erased from official history.
Unsung Heroes of the 14th Army
Throughout the war, around 80,000 troops from Britain’s colonies, such as Gambia, Ghana, and Sierra Leone, were sent to South Asia, mostly to Burma (now Myanmar), fighting with the 14th Army. Nigerians were over half of those West Africans sent after 1943, serving in the British Army’s 81st and 82nd West Africa Divisions.
Despite their significant numbers, these soldiers received little recognition. Allied commander Gen. William Slim, who led the 14th Army, famously overlooked African soldiers in his speech thanking the army. Dr. Alan Jeffreys, head of collections and research at the museum, said, “To put it in numerical terms, in the 14th Army there were 340,000 Indian soldiers, 100,000 British soldiers, and 80,000 African soldiers. By the end of 1945, the army had become predominantly Indian.”
The British public was primarily concerned with the European campaign of the war, and the 14th Army became known as “the forgotten army.”
Life in the Jungle: Harsh Conditions and Lasting Legacy
Aside from Burma, opening on 16 September, there is an extensive collection of rare artifacts such as medal groups, photographs, and artwork showing the brutal conditions of life in the jungle. The soldiers endured relentless terrain and harsh conditions, which influenced a great deal of the artwork exhibited.
One of the outstanding works, Maj. Conrad “Dick” Richardson’s And The World Was Covered in Darkness (1943), conveys the stifling and alien atmosphere of the jungle. Richardson had been in D-Force, a force that despatched small parties behind the lines to leave false trails, commanded by Peter Fleming, brother of the celebrated author Ian Fleming.
The exhibition also delves into the evolution of the Indian army, their ultimate victories, and campaigns that reached far beyond Burma into India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, up to Burma’s independence in 1948.
Reclaiming a Forgotten History
The show aims to reposition this war theater in public memory, and the focus is on the crucial contribution of Indian and African troops. “Mostly, the spotlight is on British returnees and war captives. We want to present the fact that many Indian-African troops were engaged,” said Jeffreys.
Attempts to bring these tales into the limelight have increased in recent years. Novels and documentaries, including Biyi Bandele’s Burma Boy, have attempted to recount these stories. A decade ago, on the 70th anniversary of VJ Day, focus shifted to surviving African servicemen, whose experiences varied from bitter treatment by the British to friendship with African Americans after the fall of Japan.
For numerous descendants, the legacy of the war continues to be a deeply personal one. A Nigerian veteran’s grandson said, “I knew Nigerians fought, but it was so far away I couldn’t quite put how it made me feel as a Nigerian.”
With Beyond Burma: Forgotten Armies, the National Army Museum is attempting to provide these unheralded servicemen with the respect they are owed, drawing their remarkable contributions to the top of national memory.
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