The memorials’ missing men

In April, the UK’s secretary of state for defence, Ben Wallace, announced in parliament the findings of a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) report. It found that the organisation had failed to commemorate large numbers of Indian, Egyptian and other African troops after the First World War, either to the same standard as those who had fought on the western front, or even at all – with the number possibly being as high as 400,000. Wallace offered an official apology on behalf of the government of the time, the current government, and the CWGC, and made a commitment to put things right. The story attracted extensive coverage, much of which quoted the report’s reference to the “pervasive racism” of the time.

The apology followed a 2019 Channel 4 documentary, presented by Labour MP David Lammy and based on my research. It revealed that a policy that was applied on the western front after the war, whereby cemeteries equally commemorated people of all