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SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: Garry Stewart (right) and Horace Barnes holding the colours of the West India Regiment

FORMER MILITARY man Garry Stewart is embarking on the toughest campaign of his life since leaving the Army – to make sure that the stories of African Caribbean soldiers who served in the First World War are not forgotten.

Stewart is determined to make sure their stories are heard because he feels their contributions have been "whitewashed out of the history books."

Towards this end Stewart, who served in the Royal Signals in the Falklands, the Gulf and Germany launched a black community history group called Recognize in 2008.

He has just issued a "call to arms" to others in Birmingham’s African Caribbean community who worked on similar projects to come together and mark next year’s centenary of the outbreak of the Great War between 1914 and 1918.

“It’s time we finally put the record straight and honoured those African Caribbeans who gave their lives for the Mother Country but have never been given any credit for it,” said Stewart, speaking at the launch of his campaign called We Were There Too at the Library of Birmingham.

“I only found out three years ago that black soldiers played an active role in World War One. Stories abound that African Caribbeans were not allowed the responsibility of owning a weapon, but instead given demeaning jobs such as cleaning the latrines of white soldiers.

“How come then, photographs like this exist of three black soldiers cleaning their rifles while serving in France probably between 1915 and 1918? So much of this history has been ignored. It’s quite shocking.”

He already has support from several local groups including the WAWI project, run by Horace ‘H’ Barnes. WAWI stands for Why Are West Indians in this country? Barnes, who also calls his work The People’s Project, is keen to make sure the younger generation knows and appreciates the wartime roles played by black soldiers.

WAR SERVICE: Black soldiers cleaning their rifles while serving in France

The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is also supportive and will stage an exhibition next year that will include a facility for tracing family history connections to the Great War.

Stewart is also supporting a campaign to honour Second Lieutenant Walter Tull. He is Britain’s first black Army officer to be honoured with a Military Cross for the heroism he showed before he was killed on the Western Front in 1918.

According to letters sent to his family, Tull was recommended for the honour but never received it, fuelling speculation that he had been overlooked because of the rules prohibiting officers of ‘non-European descent’ leading white troops.

Another overlooked fact is the amount of money contributed to the war effort by the Caribbean – a total of £60m in today’s money – an amount the islands could ill afford today.

There was much enthusiasm to sign up as more than 10,000 Jamaicans volunteered, following on the thinking of Marcus Garvey who told them they should fight in order to prove their loyalty while also winning the chance to be finally treated as equals.

In the Caribbean, Great War veterans are remembered with memorials such as a 20-foot monument in the yard of the Montego Bay Parish Church and Jamaica’s National War Memorial in Kingston – a giant stone cross inscribed "To the men of Jamaica who fell in the Great War. Their name liveth forevermore."

Maybe after a century it’s time Britain followed this example.

Stewart is keen to hear from anyone who may have information about relatives who served during the Great War. He can be contacted at info@recognizeonline.co.uk.