Updated: 22 Apr 2021, 17:35
HUNDREDS of thousands of black and Asian heroes who died fighting for Britain were not properly commemorated due to “pervasive racism” and prejudice.
Up to 350,000 troops of mostly African and Middle Eastern countries “were not commemorated by name”, a shocking found.
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Boris issued a grovelling apology last night and paid tribute to those who had been forgotten while fighting for Britain
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Ben Wallace formally apologised today and vowed to improve memorials around the world which honour those who fought for BritainCredit: Rex
Another 54,000 troops from India, Egypt, Somalia, and east and west Africa were commemorated “unequally”, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission said.
Boris Johnson has said he is “deeply troubled” by failures to properly commemorate potentially hundreds of thousands of black and Asian service personnel who died fighting for the British Empire.
The Prime Minister offered “an unreserved apology” on Friday after an investigation found the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) did not formally remember the individuals in the same way as their white comrades.
After the finding that “pervasive racism” underpinned the failings, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told MPs he accepted there “can be no doubt prejudice” had played a role.
The CWGC also issued an apology, saying the actions were “wrong then and are wrong now”, and that officials would be “acting immediately to correct them”.
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The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is expected to issue a formal apology after its investigation discovered up to 350,000 black and Asian service personnel who died fighting for the British Empire have not been commemorated by name, according to
The Guardian.
Guardian front page, Thursday 22 April 2021: Neglect of Commonwealth victims of war fuelled by racism, says report pic.twitter.com/S8LpqgSGlh
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FILE PHOTO: The tombs of the Uknown Soldiers are seen prior to the burial of four WWI Canadian soldiers at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission s (CWGC) Loos British Cemetery outside Loos-en-Gohelle, France, August 23, 2018. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
LONDON (Reuters) - As many as 350,000 Black and Asian service personnel who died fighting for Britain might not have been properly commemorated because of pervasive racism , a report concluded on Thursday.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) issued an apology after an inquiry it commissioned found hundreds of thousands of mostly African and Middle Eastern casualties from World War One were not commemorated by name, or at all.