“THE FIGHTING BECS” IN BOTSWANA’S DECADE OF WAR 1939 to 1948” by Jeff Ramsay (original) (raw)

Abstract

The following monograph is adapted from a seventeen-part series of “The Struggle” that appeared in the Mmegi newspaper in 1995 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the end of World War II. At the time this author was also assembling an exhibit at Kgosi Sechele I Museum for the occasion: “On the Frontline, Batswana Participation in the World Wars." Both the articles and exhibit were part of a wider collective initiative, spearheaded by the then-existing District Museums, working with local war veterans, to remind the nation of the extent of the Bechuanaland Protectorate’s engagement in the global conflict. Variations of the original articles subsequently appeared in the Botswana Daily News (2003), and Weekend Post (2015), and were condensed for inclusion in the booklet From Boys to Men: The Story of the BDF at 30 - 1977 -2007. “The Fighting Becs” began as an attempt to contextualize the wealth of detail contained in Alan Bent’s 1952 semi-official account Ten Thousand Men of Africa: The Story of the Bechuanaland Pioneers and Gunners, 1941-1946, with a broader understanding of the war’s progression, while taking on board subsequent contributions by locally based scholars about Botswana’s engagement in the conflict (see Bibliography). Additional sources included then-emerging testimonies of war veterans, in the context of the 50th-anniversary commemorations held in Francistown, Mochudi, Lobatse, and Molepolole, along with the findings of two then-doctoral students Ashley Jackson and Deborah Schmitt (nee Shackleton). Nearly three decades later one can take some satisfaction that what was initially uncoordinated collective efforts by various interested parties to recall Botswana’s contributions and sacrifices as part of the British Empire’s war effort succeeded in generating popular and official interest in the Second World War’s local legacy. One tangible outcome of this awakening was Government's decision, effective in 1998, to provide pensions to surviving veterans and family members. In addition to some modest editing of the original text, the content below has been enriched with illustrations and maps.

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.