Look at this man.

1
STARTER

• Look at this man.
• When do you think he lived?
• Where do you think he was from?
• What is he wearing and why?
• What do you think he might be remembered for?

2

• Khudadad Khan was born in Dabb Village, Punjab
  State, Pakistan. When war broke out he joined the
  Army as a Sepoy or Private soldier and served as
  a machine gunner. In October 1914 his regiment
  was sent to the front line in France. All the
  gunners were killed apart from Khan who was badly
  wounded. For his bravery in France and his
  involvement in preventing the German Army
  reaching vital ports, Khan received the Victoria
  Cross. He was the first native-born Indian to
  receive this honour.

3
Black and Asian soldiers in World War One
C When they arrived, they often found that
fighting was to be done by white soldiers only -
black soldiers were assigned the dirty and
dangerous jobs of loading ammunition, laying
telephone wires and digging trenches. Conditions
were appalling. From an article in the Guardian
Newspaper about Jamaican soldiers in WWI
B We wanted to go. Because the island government
told us that the king said all Englishmen must go
to join the war. The country called all of us."
From a 2002 interview with George Blackman a
Jamaican man aged 105 who fought in WWI

• A1,440,500 Indians fought for Britain during the
  first world war 47,000 were killed
• 65,000 were wounded
• 15,000 soldiers from the West Indies Regiment
  saw action in France, Palestine, Egypt and Italy
  during the first world war
• 2,500 of them were killed or wounded
• From the Guardian newspaper, 2002

E When we got home, if you got a mother or father
you have something, but if you're alone, you got
to look for work. When I come I had nobody. I had
to look for work. I had to eat and buy clothes.
Who going to give me clothes? I didn't have a
father or nobody. Now I said, 'The English are no
good.' I went to Jamaica and I meet up some
soldiers and I asked them, 'Here boy, what the
government give you?' They said, 'The government
give us nothing.' I said, 'We just the same.'
George Blackman talking about his experience as a
Jamaican soldier in WWI. Interview happened in
2002
F A WWI newspaper (date unknown)
D Daily Mirror, 25 Jan 1915. The Victoria Cross
is one of the greatest awards you can get in the
army.
4
Your tasks Write the title Black and Asian
Soldiers in World War One 1. Use source A to
complete these heads and tails in your book

• G The Daily Dispatch, 8 August 1917. A report on
  parent protests to their daughters associating
  with Black men.

Heads Soldiers from India and the West
Indies About 15,000 of these soldiers were They
fought in many countries Almost 1.5 million were
Tails From the West Indies From India Fought for
Britain in World War One Including France and
Egypt

• 2. Find a source which
• Was made at the time of WWI
• Was made recently
• Gives a positive view of the experiences of black
  and Asian soldiers in WWI
• Gives a negative view of the experiences of black
  and Asian soldiers in WWI
• Look at source G. Why do you think parents might
  protest about white girls consorting with
  coloured men?
• Extension Look at Sources B and C. Do they
  suggest different things about the importance of
  black and Asian soldiers in WWI? If so, why do
  you think this might be?

H "Any person who is for the time being an
alien may be enlisted in His Majesty's regular
forces, so, however, the number of aliens serving
together at any one time in any corps of the
regular forces shall not exceed one alien to
every fifty British subjects, and that an alien
shall not be capable of holding any higher rank
in His Majesty's regular forces than that of a
warrant officer or non-commissioned officer." A
special announcement that appeared during WWI in
The Manual of Military Law.
5

• Draw a black or Indian soldier in middle of the
  page. Imagine you are this person.
• Make spider lines coming out about imagined
  experiences that you had during WWI.
• Design a page of the Delhi Daily or the Kingston
  Post. Conduct an interview with your imagined
  character, discussing his/her wartime
  experiences.

6
MY FICTIONAL WORLD WAR ONE SOLDIER
Born in Kingston, Jamaica.
Signed up to fight for Britain in 1915
Worked as a stretcher-bearer in France
7
Example
2nd December 1918

• Delhi Daily
• Interview with a war hero

Name Where were you born? I was born in Mumbai
in 1895, and spent my childhood there What made
you sign up for war in Europe? I heard that
Britain needed help, and wanted to take this
opportunity to see some of the world When did you
leave India? I left India in 1915, shortly after
I signed up for the army. I was nervous and
excited. I was still only a boy. Where were you
posted? Were you rewarded for your bravery?
8
Delhi Daily Interview with a war hero
9
Kingston post Interview with a war hero
10
ASSESSMENT

• We will soon be working towards a levelled
  assessment on this topic.
• The assessment will be on organisation and
  communication (writing skills)
• You will be asked to produce a report about the
  role black and or Asian people in WWI and or
  WWII.
• We will talk more about how to do this next
  lesson.
• TODAYS homework
• Find out
• What different nationalities did Britain call
  upon for help with the war effort? Make a list in
  your book.