Black History: Black servicemen of the First World War Presentation for Black History Month

**Black History Month and the centenary of the end of the First World War are both significant events on the calendar of HIstory Departments this term. **

-suitable for assemblies

• useful for Black History Month
• Relates to the centenary of the end of the First World War
• Scope for classroom activities based on the contents
• Includes images that can be used for display

This presentation and collection of images relating to Black and Asian service in the First World War provides an excellent tool for covering the role played by Black and Asian servicemen in the Great War. It is multinational in approach, highlighting the fact that the war was a global one. It challenges the perception of the conflict being a white mans war, fought in Europe, from the opening slides. It uses facts such as the first shot fired by the British Empire being in Australia, and the first by the British Army itself by a Black Soldier of the Gold Coast Regiment to illustrate how the role of Black ad Asian services was interlinked with that of British, French or German ‘regular’ armies. The presentation contains 23 slides. Each includes an image and is accompanied by facts about this aspect of Black and Asian service in the war. The role of the Army and Navy are included in the presentation. It is suitable for an assembly on the topic as the information on the slides speaks for itself. A Non specialist can ask pupils to reflect on some issues, or consider the global geography involved in the examples provided. Within a history classroom the examples can be explored in more depth. Where, When and Why were men from around the world, from so many cultures, involved in a conflict such as the First World War? To help with this there is a zip file containing 52 images relating to Black and Asian service in the Great War.