American poet, essayist and journalist Walt Whitman's eight-section poem The Return of the Heroes was written some decades before the First World War at the conclusion of another bloody conflict on another continent, the American Civil War. Though acknowledging the patriotic glory of a fight well won, Whitman's poem was a reminder amidst the jingoistic fervour, medals and military honours accompanying marches through the newly reunited nation's capital city of the ambiguity of victories, the difficulties of reconstruction and the transition these men would have to make to civilian life. Black soldiers who had fought for Britain would also have their medals after the greatest war the world has ever known, but would face their own hardships upon their arrival back home.

MEDALS AND ACCOLADES

By the end of the war, many soldiers of African descent fighting for the British cause had earned medals in many theatres of the war. Attitudes shown by the British authorities to black United Kingdom-based soldiers were very much a reflection of how soldiers of African descent were treated throughout the Empire. One such was Sergeant Major Ebrima Jalu of Gambia, described by the author and colonial administrator Sir Harry Johnston as ‘a full-blooded Negro of Mandingo race’ who served in the West African Frontier Force. In an action in the Cameroons, Sergeant Major Jalu was in command of one of the hottest parts of the firing line following the death of his European superior officer Lieutenant Markham Rose. In January 1916, he was recommended for the Distinguished Conduct Medal by his commanding officer, General C. M. Dobell, for holding the British position against German troops. Perhaps a little surprising is the low expectations evident in the reason given for the award: ‘Although deprived of the support of any European for several hours, he displayed the greatest coolness in controlling his men and directing the fire of the guns’. It would seem that the prevalent belief in a racial hierarchy reveals itself even in the most positive, congratulatory of circumstances.