Ghana Life: Old Soldiers Never Die

The British West Africa Regiment had a distinguished record in World War II, serving in Ethiopia and Burma. In Ethiopia in 1941, then the Italian colony of Abyssinia, they helped to restore the kingdom to Emperor Haile Selassie, and in Burma, in the last years of the war, they were engaged in some of the bitterest jungle fighting against the Japanese. The British colony of the Gold Coast, now Ghana, contributed many men to the West Africa Regiment and they returned after the war proudly bearing their military decorations. In the 1970s many of them were still in uniform, serving with the police or as security guards for public and private organisations, and they all had one thing in common: the medal ribbons were still in place, displayed proudly across their left breast.

Returning triumphant after the war they renamed their headquarters in Accra, Burma Camp. In the course of time, the names of the fallen soldiers were inscribed on war memorials beneath the names of their fathers who fell fighting for the British Empire in the First World War. Scanning the vertical columns of names on the memorial in Kumasi revealed that the largest proportion of those recoded as making the supreme sacrifice came from the northern Moslem tribes, reflecting the British colonial policy of recruiting northern Moslems into the army and police. Akan, and more specifically, Ashanti names are also seen, grandsons of mighty warriors who fought the British in four, so-called, Ashanti Wars.

The war memorial in Kumasi is located across the road from Kumasi Fort, which is notable for its small size and low red walls. In spite of its small size, it was the bastion protecting the British administrators during what history records as the Fourth Ashanti War, and the Asante call the Yaa Asantewaa War after the Queen Mother who rallied the tribesmen to rebellion in 1900. The small number of Europeans and a larger contingent of loyal native troops, held out for several months in Kumasi Fort until a relieving force fought its way northwards from Cape Coast.

Kumasi Fort became a military museum and in the 1970 its guides were still veterans of World War II who proudly showed visitors photographs and relics of their exploits in Ethiopia and Burma and embellished their presentations with their own reminiscences. Somewhat surprisingly, the exhibits relating to the Yaa Asantewaa War were still presented from the British perspective, having been left as the colonial curators prepared them since Ghana gained independence in 1957. This suggested that the guardians of this heritage either couldn?t read, had no interest in reading or had no concern for the way their history was presented.

The issue almost certainly would not have much concerned the World War II veterans. These were to a man proud of their colonial service and often praised the British officers who shared their hardships and led them in battle. They respected the discipline and integrity of the system they had served and strove in their own way to set an example in carrying these qualities forward into their new Ghana. Now they have faded from the scene it may be hoped that something of their legacy remains to inspire the youth of succeeding generations.

John Powell

To learn more about life in Ghana and the challenges faced by Kwame Mainu as he struggles to gain a university degree, hold his marriage together and avoid involvement in a Kumasi-based drugs cartel, read John Powell?s novel The Colonial Gentleman?s Son. More details can be found on the following websites

http://www.ghanabooksjwp.com

http://www.amazon.com/The-Colonial-Gentlemans-John-Powell/dp/184624496X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331919059&sr=1-1

Source: http://toddsblogs.com/referenceandeducation/2012/08/14/ghana-life-old-soldiers-never-die/

kenyon martin kenyon martin big miracle slab city super bowl snacks appleton super bowl recipes