Ethnic diversity

Preparation and Planning

The majority of this lesson revolves around challenging preconceptions and then considering and discussing the ideas and facts that are presented. To reap the full benefit from this topic and the resources, it is recommended that this is planned as a double lesson. You can choose to extend the relevant Episodes to suit your class interests and abilities.

There is minimal preparation required for this lesson. Episode 2 uses a Bernard Manning interview for discussion. There are racist views expressed during the interview and you should check whether the content is appropriate for your students before playing in class.

You need to photocopy enough Student Worksheets for each student.

This is a topic that could provoke contentious or racist comments and you will need to be aware of any sensitivities or strong opinions within the class. Slide 44 presents some 'Debate Rules' that can be set at the beginning of the class to ensure that all students are given a say and that the debate is constructive.

'We Were There' is an MOD exhibition on this topic. To order free colour books featuring content from the exhibition, email: enquiries@defencedynamics.mod.uk Alternatively, visit the website: http://www.wewerethere.defencedynamics.mod.uk/

About the MOD Topic

Pre World War 1:
Service of ethnic minority personnel in the Armed Forces of the British Crown can be traced back several centuries. Until the First World War, service was mainly within the local defence forces formed in the Empire to protect British strategic interests in the region from internal and external threat.

The largest of these military forces came from India. The Indian Army started life in the seventeenth century when the East India Company recruited local personnel to guard its interests, although formed units were not organised until the mid eighteenth Century. It recruited throughout the sub continent, mainly in the south and coastal regions. However, it gradually expanded its recruitment base to include others such as Gurkhas from Nepal in 1815 (which was never actually part of the British Empire) and later men from the Punjab and other parts of northern India.

Recruitment of ethnic personnel took place throughout the Empire, including China, East and West Africa, and the West Indies. The West India Regiment has an interesting history. Originally recruiting enslaved Africans and some free blacks, it was the longest continuously serving black regiment, existing from 1795 until its first disbandment in 1927.

World War One:
Well over 1 million men from parts of the Empire that are now linked with the UK's minority ethnic communities served in the First World War. Over 100,000 of them died or were wounded.

In all, 140,000 Indian men served on the Western Front: 90,000 in the Indian Corps and 50,000 in the Labour Companies.

In 1915 the British West Indies Regiment was formed from local volunteers to fight overseas. There was widespread enthusiasm on the islands to help the war effort, and the cost of sending the Regiment to France was raised from public subscription. Two thirds of the total recruitment of 15,200 were Jamaican, though each of the colonies sent volunteers. Despite their loyalty and commitment they experienced some racial prejudice which resulted in a mutiny in 1918.

African soldiers were also heavily involved in World War One efforts. Soon after the declaration of war, soldiers from Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Uganda, Nyasaland, Rhodesia and Kenya were mobilised to defend the borders of their own lands which adjoined German territories.

Around 60,000 black South African and 120,000 other Africans also served in uniformed Labour Units which provided logistic support to front line troops. Other uniformed Labour Units were raised in China (with 92,000 recruits), Mauritius and Fiji.

World War Two:
Over 200,000 soldiers from India and 90,000 soldiers from East, West and Central Africa took part in the Burma campaign between 1942 and 1945, which was undertaken in a very difficult environment of hot, humid jungles and mountains. They played a crucial role in defeating the Japanese. Men from Fiji, Tonga, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea helped to stop the Japanese advance in the South West Pacific and took part in their subsequent defeat there.

During the war, Indian troops captured by the Japanese were recruited into the Indian National Army under Subhas Chandra Bose. Subhas Chandra Bose was one of the most prominent and highly respected leaders of the Indian independence movement against the British rule. In alliance with Japan, the troops fought to 'free' India. India was proclaimed a Republic on 26th January 1950.

Chinese personnel were involved in the defence of Hong Kong. Chinese men and women from the Colony also played a very important part behind the lines in the Far East, sabotaging the Japanese war effort, gathering intelligence and assisting allied personnel to escape from Hong Kong and evade Japanese lines.

Post 1945
At the end of the Second World War, the Royal Air Force (RAF) decided unilaterally not to re-impose its pre-war ban on recruiting British subjects not of 'pure European descent'. The British Army and Royal Navy (RN) initially declined to revise their peacetime recruiting ban. In 1947 the Cabinet decreed that they should accept volunteers from the UK's ethnic minority community.

As the UK's ethnic minority population expanded, the number of Service people drawn from this population also gradually increased. There was very little growth in recruitment until the 1960s and an unofficial quota limited the number of ethnic minority personnel serving in the Army to a maximum of 3%. The RN and RAF did not apply any form of quota in the 1960s.

In 2003 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) renewed their 'Partnership Agreement' to promote employment through improved racial equality practices. The Partnership Agreement covers a wide range of issues including recruitment, retention, racial discrimination, harassment and progression of ethnic minorities in the Armed Forces. Members of the MOD and CRE meet on a regular basis to discuss all of these issues. The involvement of the CRE allows the Armed Forces to draw upon examples of best practice in other organisations.

Squadron Leader Majumdar
Video 3 shows the funeral of Majumdar. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for gallantry and leadership that he displayed while serving as the Commanding Officer of No 1 Squadron, Indian Air Force, during the retreat from Burma in 1942. He was the first Indian Air Force officer to be awarded a DFC. He was subsequently awarded a Bar* to the DFC in recognition of his courage and skill while serving as a tactical reconnaissance pilot with No 268 Squadron, Royal Air Force, during the liberation of France in 1944. Squadron Leader Majumdar was the only Indian Air Force officer to receive two DFCs during the Second World War.
*Bar refers to when a VC or DFC is awarded to the same person for a second time.

Kamal Ram
Video 1 and 2 shows Kamal Ram receiving his VC. Kamal Ram was born in Bholupura village, Rajasthan, India. He served in the 3rd Battalion, 8th Punjab Regiment. On 12th May 1944, on the Gustav line in Italy, the advance of Sepoy Ram's company was halted by four enemy machine gun posts. The Company Commander requested a volunteer to silence one of them. Sepoy Ram volunteered and successfully captured the post after killing the crew. He succeeded in capturing another on his own and a third with the help of a Havildar. As a result of his bravery Sepoy Ram was awarded the Victoria Cross by King George VI in Italy on 26th July 1944.

Useful links
http://www.britishempire.co.uk/
http://www.wewerethere.defencedynamics.mod.uk/index.html
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/

'We Were There' is an MOD exhibition on this topic. To order free colour books featuring content from the exhibition, email: enquiries@defencedynamics.mod.uk Alternatively, visit the website: http://www.wewerethere.defencedynamics.mod.uk/

Further Opportunities for Learning

Research ways that veterans are currently remembered e.g. Remembrance Day, memorials etc. Produce a proposal for new ways that ethnic minorities, of past and present, can be remembered to ensure they receive the same level of honour and thanks as service personnel of European descent.
Explore and research the 'We were there' website to produce a wall poster or mini exhibition which highlights the sacrifice of one ethnic minority: http://www.wewerethere.defencedynamics.mod.uk/
Write a 500 word essay on the statement "No Blacks or Asians fought for us in the First or Second World Wars.' Students should use the knowledge developed during this lesson and any further research, essays can take any direction, however all points must be justified and considered from varying perspectives.
Glossary work - students should compile a detailed glossary defining all the words that they have been introduced to during this lesson. History books may help students to understand some of the war-related words.
Produce a news report for a Victoria Cross winner.
Design a memorial that commemorates the contributions made by ethnic minorities in modern wars.
Research a biography of Sepoy Kamal Ram or select a soldier from Slides 21-31. Further information can be found on the We were there website: http://www.wewerethere.defencedynamics.mod.uk/

Student worksheet answers

Download the teachers notes PDF to access the answers for this lesson.