Question:
Why are black and Asian soldiers and airmen who fought for Britain in WW2 never recognized in films and docus?
James
2013-05-06 15:33:44 UTC
Only one film I remember depicted a WW2 Sikh pilot and that was the Michael Caine film "Battle of Britain" and a West Indian soldier based in London was shown as a BBC documentary about a year ago showing how he and other black Commonwealth soldiers received just as much disgusting racist abuse as the black GI's from their own white counterparts.
Six answers:
Kevin
2013-05-06 15:38:30 UTC
Not going to lie; I have no idea what a docus is. Anyway, I imagine that it's because the stereotypical Briton is white
?
2013-05-08 18:44:27 UTC
Because the film makers wanted to show the sons of the people that would watch at that time, not for future documentaries.



My Dad was a Gunner and the next squad to his was from (I Think don't hold me to this) Bechuanaland, and when the Pathe news crew came round to film pulled the Lads from Bechuanaland off the gun turrets and put some English guys on instead, with the words, the Mothers want to see their sons not some ?????? and good racist comment followed.



Dad still wasn't filmed, but hey Pathe had the footage for the Mothers back in Blighty.



There wasn't the Black film crews going round, so they didn't get filmed.



In WW1 there were many soldiers from India, but you will be hard pressed to find any references.



Likewise the Ascaris who were the East African rifles, and only a few of the Officers were white fought in Burma, but again you will be hard pressed to find any references on t'interweb to their even being in existence, not because of any deliberate or even accidental reason, but purely because they didn't record their own exploits.



The other point is not everything that was recorded has been released, and that is down to individuals, back with my Dad, we cannot find any mention anywhere of his Battalion the first Heavy ack ack on t'interweb, unless or until someone releases the info onto the web it is invisible.



The majority of stuff was filmed by BBC or Pathe News, and the explanation is above, they wanted to show the sons out there on the front, they were the ones getting killed, that the public in Blighty were interested in.
ammianus
2013-05-07 13:40:35 UTC
'The Forgotten Volunteers' - BBC TV documentary,part of the 'Timewatch' Series is about the Indian army in WW2 which,with over 2 million volunteers,was the largest vilunteer army in history.
Jim L
2013-05-08 09:33:34 UTC
Remember that they are not much recognised in their now independent home countries either. India gives far more recognition to the nationalists who were doing their best to stab Britain in the back.
Yorrik
2013-05-06 23:18:52 UTC
I have not forgotten.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TU1dQK-j-4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Imn5lFHdTE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGVCMn99JJI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCYHvVFw1J0



and there's more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft0_x7PyL9k



When I saw black folk here in London during the war, I thought they must be the Kings of Africa who were going to kill all the Nazis. When you are a child your mind thinks like that.



Child of the London Blitz



London UK 070513.0018
Granpa grumps
2013-05-08 09:22:15 UTC
Because of institutionalised racism!


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