Breaking the Myths: Africa and World War at the Royal Overseas house, there was a great turn out of collaborators, partners, funders and the public. As the centenary ends, Diversity Houses’ overall aim of the past two years was to raise the awareness of how Africa can be better acknowledged for their vast contributions in World War 1. We had an array of speakers and performers entertaining and informing the crowd of the sacrifices and contributions the micro nations of Africa contributed.
The event showcased the work of the Children from St Michael’s School who had created stories, poems, arts and crafts about African’s experiences in World War 1. In addition, the event also showcased the launch of the play of Walter Tull which was written, directed and performed by the students a St Michael’s, alongside a book ‘We Remember’ which has contributions from various historians and researchers.
Martin Willis from the National Archives gave an insightful speech regarding the Nigerian Regiments diary extracts. Martin read through extracts from their diaries, which detailed the experiences of individual soldiers. The extracts were powerful insights of how the soldiers managed emotionally and physically during the war.
Kat Francois performed a powerful poem ‘We Remember’ The poem remembers all those from Africa and their micro nations who fought in the world war 1. In addition, Kat also detailed her personal story of how a family member was involved in the War and his name was on a remembrance stone in Kenya, however her family member originated from the Caribbean. This gives us an understanding of how far reaching World War one was.
