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The contribution of members of the British Empire and Commonwealth countries to the First and Second World Wars has been neglected in many accounts of the history of those conflicts. Forces from the Indian subcontinent, the Caribbean, Africa, Canada, Australia and New Zealand played an important role in both wars, and the Imperial War Museum Film and Video Archive holds many examples of accounts on film of the part they played. Almost three million servicemen and women from the Indian subcontinent (including modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) volunteered for duty in the Indian Royal Air Force, Navy and Army in the Second World War. This documentary film looks at the life of the men of the Indian Air Force, and focuses specifically on the work of No.1 Squadron, based in the Punjab. The film was aimed at an Indian audience, though it has a commentary in English, in a somewhat patronising tone, and the film ends with a request for recruits and for financial support. Other films on the Commonwealth contribution to the Second World War in the Imperial War Museum Film and Video Archive include 'Maximum Effort' (1944) on the role of men from New Zealand, 'Johnny Gurkha' (1945) on the regiments of Nepalese soldiers, ‘West Africa Was There’ (1945) on the participation of African troops in the Burma campaign, and 'West Indies Calling' (1943) where Caribbean servicemen describe their roles in the war effort. |
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