Western colonialists ‘failed us’ – Ghanaian WWII veteran

Joseph Ashitey Hammond says Allied servicemen returned home in 1945 to hunger and betrayal by the British colonial government

The colonial powers “failed” the African soldiers who fought for the Allies in World War II, Ghana’s last surviving veteran, Joseph Ashitey Hammond, has told RT in an interview.

Then a British colony known as the Gold Coast, Ghana provided both manpower and resources for Britain after London declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939. Some 65,000 Ghanaians served under British command in the Royal West African Frontier Force, fighting in campaigns across Italian Somaliland, Abyssinia and Burma.

Hammond, who joined the army at 18, said many young Ghanaians volunteered based on promises made by the British government, including monetary compensation, pensions, employment opportunities and reintegration support, such as housing and healthcare. “People like us, the young ones sitting here after our education, we ourselves willingly joined the army,” he said.

His regiment was part of the forces deployed to Burma to fight the Japanese, eventually driving them back and preventing an invasion of India. “If somebody knew what I’ve suffered, what I’ve gone through... he will be so shocked beyond description… War is a very bad thing, it’s satanic. It’s never good,” Hammond recalled.

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After sustaining an eye injury, Hammond returned home in 1945 along with fellow soldiers, only to find the British had not kept their promises. Many of the returning veterans received no compensation or employment and were driven to the brink of starvation.

“It was terrible, we were like master and his boy… They promised fervently… But they failed us,” he said. “There was no work, our position was so deplorable… I’m not ashamed to say some of our soldiers went into the street to beg for something to eat.”

In 1948, Hammond and other veterans organized a peaceful march to Christiansborg Castle, the seat of the British governor, to present a petition asking for their due. Instead, they were met with gunfire in what became known as the Crossroads Shooting.

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According to Hammond, the local colonial police chief, Colin Imray, gave the order to open fire. When Ghanaian officers hesitated, Imray took a rifle himself and started shooting. Three ex-soldiers were killed, and over 60 others were injured. The shooting sparked national outrage and is widely seen as a turning point in Ghana’s struggle for independence, which it gained in 1957, becoming the first sub-Saharan nation to shake off colonial rule.

Hammond celebrated his 100th birthday earlier this year.