Raising awareness of Black, Asian and Muslim service in the world wars – including as we commemorate 80 years since VE Day next May – could help tackle racism and anti-Muslim prejudice after this summer’s riots, prominent voices have said as they mark 110 years since the first Muslim soldier earning the Victoria Cross for bravery.
On 31 October 1914, Sepoy Khudadad Khan of the 129th Baluchi Regiment, was supporting the British Expeditionary Force to prevent German troops taking vital ports in France and Belgium. As the line was pushed back the machine gunner, badly wounded and massively outnumbered, held off the German advance long enough for Indian and British reinforcements to arrive and prevent the enemy making the final breakthrough. He was the sole survivor of his team.
Khudadad Khan was presented with the Victoria Cross by King George V in 1915 while recovering from his injuries at a hospital in the UK – the first Indian soldier ever to receive the award. After the war he returned to Pakistan (then pre-partition India). His Victoria Cross is now displayed as part of the Ashcroft Collection at the IWM in London.
Imam Qari Asim, Chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, said:
“It was frightening this summer to see a toxic minority attacking mosques and threatening Muslims in their community. If they knew this country’s history – what Khudadad Khan and thousands of other Muslim soldiers did for Britain in the world wars – perhaps they would think differently. We should do more to raise awareness, among Muslims and non-Muslims alike, of this service and sacrifice. We are all part of Britain’s history and that’s something we can commemorate together.”
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, whose two grandfathers both fought in the Bombay Royal Sappers and Miners Regiment in the Second World War, said:
“We saw the very worst of Britain this summer, as an angry few turned their anger first on ethnic and faith minorities, and then on the police doing their job to protect people.
“Next month we will remember the men and women whose service and sacrifice helped defend our freedoms. Those armies in the world wars included men like Khudadad Khan and soldiers from Africa and the Caribbean; they included both my grandfathers too. Then, as now, Britain is at its best when we stand together.”
Calvin Bailey MBE MP, who served in the RAF in Afghanistan and chaired the RAF ethnic minorities network, said:
“Khudadad Khan’s bravery is a symbol of the shared history that explains who we are today. The service of men and women from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean was a massive part of the victories in both world wars. This is one of the many great stories that need to become well known.
“When I served in Afghanistan, people were coming down from the mountains with their grandparents’ medals in tins to show us a connection we ourselves had forgotten. I served alongside people from many different countries, as well as Brits like me whose families came from overseas. When you’re trusting your life to your comrades, you don’t worry about where their parents came from.”
Research earlier this year by Focaldata for British Future found that more than three quarters of the public (77%) agreed it is important for integration today that children are taught in school about this shared history, while 85% agreed all those who fought for Britain in the World Wars should be commemorated regardless of where they came from.
The majority of the public (54%) agree that the contribution of Commonwealth soldiers in the World Wars is not talked about as much as it should be.
While six in 10 Britons (62%) are aware that large numbers of soldiers from India fought for the Allies in the Second World War, less than four in 10 people (38%) said they know that large numbers of Muslim soldiers fought for Britain.
Only 35% know about the WW2 service of those from Jamaica and just 30% know that Kenyans also fought for Britain, according to the poll.
Sunder Katwala of British Future said:
“Most people now know that Indian soldiers fought for Britain in both world wars – but fewer are aware that many were Muslims from modern-day Pakistan. Only around a third of people know of the service of forces from Africa and the Caribbean.
“The story of Khudadad Khan and others like him should be on the school curriculum.
“And commemorating all those who served, from all backgrounds, could make Remembrance Sunday a moment that brings people together across communities.
“The 80th anniversary of VE Day next year is also an opportunity to raise awareness of the men and women from across the Commonwealth who risked their lives to secure the freedoms we share today.”
Antony Metcalfe, Head of Community Engagement at the Royal British Legion, said:
“The Royal British Legion proudly recognises all who served in our Armed Forces community from the First World War to the present day. We are united across faiths, cultures and backgrounds and it is VC recipients like Khudadad Khan who is testimony to the selfless sacrifice of so many from pre-partition India in both the First and Second World Wars. It’s only right that we remember all those from communities who have often been forgotten or unrecognised. As always, there is more that binds us then separates us.”
Earlier this month the British West India Regiments Heritage Trust organised the unveiling of a plaque in Belgium honouring the 15,600 West Indian soldiers who fought for Britain during the First World War. Until then, no mention had been made of the WW1 service of thousands of soldiers from the British West Indies Regiment at St George’s Memorial Church in Ypres – where thousands had fought and 1,500 members of the regiment lost their lives during the conflict. Almost 100 soldiers, veterans, faith leaders and community champions travelled to the church to unveil the plaque in honour of their sacrifice.
Born in London of Jamaican Windrush parents, Andy Allen was the British Army’s first Black Regular Army Colonel, and travelled with BWIRHT to Belgium for the unveiling of the plaque to honour the Caribbean servicemen. Colonel (Ret’d) Allen MBE said:
“It’s so important that this history is told and that these men are honoured as they should be. I spent 30 years in the British Army, yet even I wasn’t fully aware of British West Indies Regiment story.
“Soldiers came from the Caribbean, from Africa and from Asia to fight for the King and for ‘their motherland’, Great Britain, that many had never seen. They are a proud part of this nation’s history and I am extremely proud to have also served.”
Meg Henry of the Linking Network, which brings students from different backgrounds together in schools to help bridge divides, said:
“All schools teach students about the world wars but in today’s diverse classrooms we should be making sure they hear the full story – that soldiers from across the Empire were fighting for Britain. The new curriculum review should ensure that students from an Asian, Caribbean or African background and their peers know that this is their history too – and that there were millions of people serving who looked like them. Teaching our shared history helps all students understand more about why Britain is now a multi-ethnic society and has been for generations.”
Julie Siddiqi, Community Organiser, said:
“We need more points of contact between people from different backgrounds, to help bring communities together. Many won’t realise that, for example, their Pakistani neighbours might have grandparents who served in the same war as their own relatives. Remembrance Sunday can be a moment when we commemorate our shared history, regardless of ethnic or faith background.”
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