British soldiers from African and ethnic minorities were not commemorated properly due to racism’, report says

Britain has in recent months been reckoning with the legacy of its colonial past and links to slavery, against a backdrop of anti-racism and Black Lives Matter protests

Last month, there was a backlash at a government-commissioned report which concluded prejudice persisted but the country was not ‘institutionally racist’

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Two members of Kenya’s Military Police walk past graves after attending a remembrance service. Photo: AP

Published: 9:03pm, 22 Apr 2021Updated: 9:06pm, 22 Apr 2021

More than 100,000 African and ethnic minority soldiers who died fighting for the British Empire in World War I were not properly commemorated due to “pervasive racism”, according to a report released on Thursday.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) apologised after an investigation found that the fallen personnel “were not commemorated by name or possibly not commemorated at all”, adding the number treated unfairly could be as high as 350,000 soldiers.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told parliament that the report made “sobering reading” and the overlooking of minority soldiers was “not excusable” and a source of “deep regret”.

The report coincides with Britain reckoning with the legacy of its colonial past and links to slavery, against a backdrop of anti-racism and Black Lives Matter protests.

Last month, there was a backlash at a government-commissioned report which concluded prejudice persisted but the country was not “institutionally racist”, enraging equality campaigners.

The CWGC said the failure to honour the troops was “influenced by a scarcity of information, errors inherited from other organisations and the opinions of colonial administrators.