A request from Melvin Page:
As a historian investigating African participation in both World War One and World War Two, I have been struck by the significance of song in the lives of the askari. This, of course was well recognised by KAR veteran and historian George Shepperson, as well as in Anthony Clayton’s collection of African Soldier’s Songs: Communications for New Loyalties (1978). In anticipation of reissuing that decades’ old publication with the inclusion of additional lyrics, I would appreciate any suggestions, particularly for additional lyrics based on recordings, letters, or other sources (including English translations when possible ). Please send these to me at melpage@etsu.edu, with as much detail as feasible concerning the songs themselves, their provenance, and specific sources from which they have been derived. I would be pleased to credit any additions to the new collection.
Melvin E. Page, Professor of History (Emeritus), East Tennessee State University, U.S.A.

Details have finally arrived of the publication of Rick (Richard) Newton’s book on Airmen and Aircraft over East Africa during the war – Rick presented on the Air war in Africa at our 2025 conference with publication then imminent. Alas, some gremlins have delayed its publication until mid-2027. Details at the link.

There’s the Britannia Medal Fair on Sunday 15 November for those interested and near to London. Anne will be there with books and to answer questions on researching someone who served in Africa.

Good news is that the British Library Web Archive is finally back up and running after it went offline in October 2023 when the British Library was hacked. This means the back-ups of the GWAA website they were doing should resume. Not all websites are backed up. The GWAA’s website is in recognition of its contribution to history and knowledge.

Please remember to take a look at the Forum and if you’re able, please share your archival and other research advice to assist other researchers. Thanks.

For medal collectors, 8 October 2026 sees the Captain of the SS Mendi‘s medals up for auction. Details here

Historian John MacKenzie passed away on 18 September 2026.

CWGC’s David MacDonald posted on LinkedIn: “a new Commonwealth War Graves Commission design by Studio Mehta Architecture and O/S Architecture which has been co-curated with community members in Mkongani, Kenya to safeguard a First World War burial site. A new community baraza will commemorate 14 men of the Arab Rifles who lost their lives here on 9th January 1916. Over the next few weeks we will share more details about the scheme, who the men of the Arab Rifles were and how their experiences during the First World War were almost forgotten.”

The long-awaited There Came a Time volume 3 has been published under the title: Fiction as Memory: The Great War in Africa. It is now available for purchase at £21.32.

As usual there have been some new additions to the website and spreadsheets.
The seminar on 23 September focused on archives holding WW1 Africa material – below is a list to start. If you are aware of any others, please let us know. The archives will be listed in the relevant country sections on the Forum. It would be helpful to add information on access, such as whether catalogues are available, fees payable and any special permissions one needs, etc.

The next online seminar is on 13 October at 6pm UK time. The focus will be on Boers who served in the German Schutztruppe in the East Africa Campaign. If you would like to attend, please email Anne as the link is only sent to named individuals.
We have 4 available slots for online seminars in 2027, please get in touch if you would like to share your research or to suggest a topic to discuss.
Plans are in place for an online discussion day around ‘Writing African history in the World Wars’ – more info to follow but it is likely to be a Saturday in May 2027.

A new venue is potentially needed for the 2027 GWAA conference as the Africa Centre in London has had to close its doors. Our 2026 conference was one of the last events. Hopefully they are able to find a way to re-open but if you are aware of affordable and accessible venues, please let me know.

11, 12 and 13 March 2027 have been set aside as Great War in Africa study days at The National Archives, London. Details to follow but the idea is that I will be at the archive for the three days and anyone wanting to link with other researchers will be able to do so providing they let me know they will be there. Regular users know that it is very difficult to link with researchers on the same topic if you do not know who they are. Data protection prevents this information being shared publicly

Archives containing WW1 Africa material:
Kenya
Nairobi – National Archive
Various provincial archives

Tanzania
Dar es Salaam – National Archive
local museums (political, environment – eg Arusha)

South Africa
Pretoria – National Archive
Regional archives:Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg, Bloemfontein
SANDF Document Centre, Irene – Military records
Ditsong Military museum – private papers, photos
SA National Library, Cape Town
University collections:
– Wits – William Cullen Library
– Cape Town – Jagger Library
– Stellenbosch – propaganda posters
– Grahamstown – Cory Library, National Literature Library
– Durban – Kelly Kenny Library
– Pietermaritzburg – Comrades Marathon
– Brenthurst Library, Johannesburg – appointment only

Zambia* – National Archive
Malawi* – National Archive (fee $100)
Zimbabwe* – Harare – National Archive
*fee payable which differs for overseas and local researchers

Namibia – Windhoek incl SA material from occupation years
Cameroon – Buea National Archive
Ghana – Accra
Nigeria – Ibadan, Enugu, River States
Sierra Leone – National Archive

Caribbean – Jamaica, Barbados, Grenada

Belgium – Africa museum, Royal Military
France – Archives Nasionales section d’outre mer
Germany – Bundesarchif, Hambault (pow recordings)
Ireland – Trinity College Dublin (medical)

UK
TNA – variety, Discovery Catalogue, includes most other archive catalogues (Use Discovery to check for personal papers in local archives)
BL manuscripts, Asia for India Office
National Army Museum
Imperial War Museum – Tues- Fri, online booking at least a week before
British Empire Museum – Bristol (WW2 officers)
Bodleian – Oxford, Africa collection (old Rhodes House)
SOAS, London (Royal Africa Society access) – weekdays only – missionaries
Cadbury Library, Birmingham – missionaries
Cambridge University Library
Edinburgh
Trowbridge (new name)
Fusilier Museum – some 25th Royal Fusiliers (LoF in Alberta, Canada)
Leeds – Liddel collection
King’s College London – Liddel Hart
Wellcome Institute, London

Egypt – National (difficult to access)
Australia – Canberra
India – No Africa records spotted

Online
Endangered Archive Project – KAR attestations (first 1000 records)
Ancestry (Fold 3/Forces Records UK) – paywall but free in libraries and archives
Findmypast – paywall
FamilySearch – need to register
Naval History
Newspapers (Readex) – on site at the British Library and through some universities
Facebook groups

Company archives – eg: HSBC, BSACo at London Archive, Derbyshire; Levers

Also consider oral histories, artefacts and photographs

Forthcoming Seminars
23 September 2026 – Archives – general discussion on strange places to find WW1 Africa material and accessing archives
14 October 2026 – Anne Samson: South Africans in the German Schutztruppe
Please let me know if you would like to join as links are sent to named individuals.

If you would like to share your your research/experience in a future seminar, please get in touch. The programme for 2027 is currently being arranged.

The historian John Iliffe passed away on 20 August 2026. He wrote numerous books on Africa which covered the war period.

Various spreadsheets on the site have been updated. If you have lists of names which can be added to the GWAA In Memory pages or that might be of assistance to other researchers, please get in touch.

New titles have been added to the books to purchase page. Buying through the links on the page help support GWAA or authors direct (some links are direct to the author or primary seller page).

Don’t forget there’s also the forum through which information can be shared.
And if you have any publications on World War 1 Africa (and other relevant conflicts in Africa), please send me the details so I can ensure they get added.