The conference programme for 23 November is now available. If you would like to attend and haven’t yet booked, please get in touch. There are still a few places available. Details here.
Articles of interest
The last man to walk out of Delville Wood…was a Dundee man
Gus Hume-Gore – some letters from Skipper’s War.
German online colonial sources
In response to the Guardian article on African war graves, the CWGC has issued the following.
CWGC on restoring the Askari monument in Mombasa
The lengths individuals go to remember the War dead – a CWGC gardner in Egypt
Deadline for Endangered Archives applications closes 11 November 2019.
Medal collectors might be interested to know that Spinks have some African World War 1 medals for sale in their next auction: 27th & 28th November, commencing each day at 10am. See the catalogue for details.
Brian Tarpey sent this in following the article on Dartnell in September.
Download Links are in italics
The German online colonial sources are a treasure trove! I never knew so many photographs could be found of German East Africa (and some are in colour!). Many of these photographs clearly show that the German administration, and the colonists themselves, thought very highly of their colony, and of their accomplishments. Makes me think that Lettow-Vorbeck and his merry band of guerillas were not merely trying to divert British forces from the main theater in Europe, but were very much dedicated to saving what must have been a beloved territory. No doubt, one is bound to romanticize a hundred years on – a capital crime in the post-colonial era. But there is that small fact of the many Africans who fought alongside Lettow, and countless others who provided resources such as food and shelter, seemingly voluntarily and in good faith. Were the post-WWI German publications on GEA mere propaganda (think of Dr. Schnee’s “truth about the German colonies”)? Are we to dismiss them out of hand? To be sure, none of us should wish for the colonial era to be repeated, or, at least not in the way it developed. But, in examining the German colonial archive, one gets the distinct impression that, if ever there was a mission of civilization, evidence for it exists in the then GEA. In addition, a comparative study of GEA and the later Tanganyika territory would make for most interesting reading, at least to gauge the differences and similarities in achievements between the two colonial administrations. If anyone knows of such a study, I would be grateful for the reference.
Thank you for informing us of the German online colonial sources.
Ion