New communities and the Great War

[depaor01]

Hi all,

I work in a library and have had an idea about engaging patrons who are part of our newly arrived communities such as India, Africa and the other WWI combatant nations.

Has anyone any experience of dealing with this? Pitfalls? Political sensitivity?

My aim is to commemorate family members of immigrant communities in our area alongside our own.

I suspect an iceberg ahead but would really value input from any pals with experience. 

Thanks as always, 

Dave 

[ilkley remembers]

I have done some work with BAME children in Bradford, mostly from south Asian backgrounds but also some with a Caribbean and African heritage. It was a remarkably rewarding experience and I was astonished at how many families had ancestors who had direct experience of war during the 20th Century. Indeed one of the girls had a great great great uncle who had won the VC.

 

It was something of a revelation for some students to find that WW1 was not simply a white European ‘civil war’ but instead had a global reach and involved people from a multitude of ethnic backgrounds.

 

In my experience the issues surrounding imperialism are a commonly discussed as is the racist nature of the British Empire. One also has to be sympathetic to differing cultural views particularly with regards to gender and religion. The one subject that I would advise you to be very wary of especially with people from south Asia is the subject of partition where feelings are still very strong.

 

On the subject of VCs that I mentioned earlier my wife who taught in a boys grammar school in Bradford once asked students if they had any WW1 family artifacts that they would like to bring into school. One lad unannounced turned up the following lesson and plonked on the desk the VC that his great great (great?) grandfather had won in WW1 whilst serving with the Manchester Regiment

Edited 20 October , 2021 by ilkley remembers

[depaor01]

38 minutes ago, ilkley remembers said:

I have done some work with BAME children in Bradford, mostly from south Asian backgrounds but also some with a Caribbean and African heritage. It was a remarkably rewarding experience and I was astonished at how many families had ancestors who had direct experience of war during the 20th Century. Indeed one of the girls had a great great great uncle who had won the VC.

 

It was something of a revelation for some students to find that WW1 was not simply a white European ‘civil war’ but instead had a global reach and involved people from a multitude of ethnic backgrounds.

 

In my experience the issues surrounding imperialism are a commonly discussed as is the racist nature of the British Empire. One also has to be sympathetic to differing cultural views particularly with regards to gender and religion. The one subject that I would advise you to be very wary of especially with people from south Asia is the subject of partition where feelings are still very strong.

 

On the subject of VCs that I mentioned earlier my wife who taught in a boys grammar school in Bradford once asked students if they had any WW1 family artifacts that they would like to bring into school. One lad unannounced turned up the following lesson and plonked on the desk the VC that his great great (great?) grandfather had won in WW1 whilst serving with the Manchester Regiment

Thanks for that Ilkley. Useful info. Coming from Ireland I would have been - let's say- cautious about approaching partition in the Indian context.  However I'd imagine the project would initially cover WW1 so that wouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for that.

Dave

[Ian C]

Hi Dave

I'm the chairman of the Dublin WFA, I don't have any experience of anything like your proposal but would definitely be interested in getting involved/helping.

Regards

IanC

[knittinganddeath]

I would look to establish liaisons in the communities that you want to serve. Among other things, they will likely be able to advise you on how to approach material from a culturally sensitive standpoint.

As an ethnic minority myself, I'm not super-keen on my community being dissected and speculated about by the dominant culture when we're right here and are willing to contribute to the discussion...but too often we are either ignored or never even asked. So please, help these communities tell their own stories instead of trying to tell it for them! :-)

 

[depaor01]

Thank you all for those replies. It's an embryonic idea which I'd be glad to get assistance with so thanks IanC.

Knittinganddeath- I would of course be uniquely unqualified to tell the story of any nation's involvement beyond these islands. I'm thinking of this as a community outreach project so definitely the community would take their stories to us.

Thanks again,

Dave

[museumtom]

Excellent idea David, well done. Ireland must move along with the times we live in. All new Irish ancestors casualties should be added to own own. Its our new heritage.

[Ian C]

Hi Dave

I have sent a PM with my email address if you want to get in touch.

Regards

IanC

[depaor01]

6 hours ago, Ian C said:

Hi Dave

I have sent a PM with my email address if you want to get in touch.

Regards

IanC

Thanks Ian.

Dave

[Fattyowls]

Dave,

I wondered about the angle of Irish battalions serving in brigades of the Indian army and if they served in France and Belgium in 1914-15. I checked on the Long Long Trail and found the example of the 1st Connaught Rangers serving with the Indian 3rd (Lahore) Division. They were involved in a lot of the 1915 fighting, I assume together. Chris is still working on some of Indian Divisions so details of the others aren't available but it might be possible to find shared experiences of Irish and Indian troops. That is possibly the stupidest idea I have ever heard is a perfectly legitimate response, I won't be offended.

Pete.