A video of Ghanaians soldiers being trained by the British Army in 1941 has surfaced online. The video captures both old and middle-aged men being taken through military combat drills in preparation of World War II.
They were captured manning their respective posts at base along with carrying the ammunition given to them by the British Army.
According to jstor.org, the second World War saw the enlisting of British West African colonies that were supplied with raw materials and manpower to aid the war.
Gold Coast, which is now Ghana, had about 70,000 men including technical and service corps. Most soldiers were drawn from the supposed martial peoples of the Northern Territories but recruiting was later extended to Asante and the south in mid-1940.
Although formal recruitment was only applied to drivers and artisans, a large number of recruits were forcibly enlisted through a system of official quotas imposed on districts and through chiefs at the time.
The portal added that while there was strong opposition against enlisting Ghanaian soldiers, the British Army required the labour for its military efforts. It also went to the extent of closing some of the gold mines in the Gold Coast.
At the end of the second World War, the wartime shortages, soaring inflation and the lack of jobs led to discontent in the Gold Coast.
