On Thursday 20 November 2014 Prof Alison Fell ran an event at the University of Leeds which focused on the contribution and memories of troops and workers from Britain’s former colonies to the First World War. There was an excellent turnout for this event. Suzanne Bardgett from the Imperial War Museum introduced a screening of her short film, ‘Whose Remembrance’, and then a panel of distinguished speakers – Prof Will Gould, an expert on Indian history, Prof David Killingray, an expert on colonial experiences of the war, David Olusoga, writer, oral historian and BBC broadcaster, Dr Richard Smith, an expert in the Jamaican experience of the war, and Irna Quershi, an ethnographer, writer and oral historian from Bradford - gave their own responses. This was followed by a lively Q & A session chaired by Alison Fell. Questions and responses explored a range of aspects of these men’s experiences, as well as discussing the ways in which their war contributions have and have not been remembered. Audience members included teachers, community activists, local historians, students, artists and writers.
The panel of experts at the Whose Remembrance? event.