A ground-breaking British project that featured Black and white war veterans working together with young people was brought to a triumphant close with the screening of a new documentary film, writes Oliver Barrett.
The Divided by Race, United by War and Peace (DRUWP) initiative, run by The-Latest.Com, launched a photography exhibition at the Harris Academy, Peckham, south London, last week, opened by Mayor of Southwark Cllr Althea Smith.
At its core the five-month-long DRUWP project explored the testimonies of 14 surviving veterans, particularly those West Indian and African men and women, who volunteered to join the Second World War fight against Hitler's nazi Germany and soon afterwards returned to live in Britain.
They risked their lives to serve under the Union Jack flag in times of war, then faced a second battle – their right to remain under that flag, as British citizens. Until now their stories have not been properly heard. Nor has the contribution they made been fully recognised, both in helping win the war but also changing the face of British society.
DRUWP sought to both redress that balance and explore the sometimes painful evolution of a multi-cultural society from a unique perspective that combined different races and ages. Veterans from the Dulwich, Paddington and Seaford Royal British Legions and the West Indian Association of Service Personnel took part in the project that was supported by the National Lottery's Heritage Lottery Fund.
The movie has begun to go international with the help of top PR and marketing expert Sandra Corbin, of Barbados-based Strategy Consultants. She is booking Caribbean screenings of the film and speaking engagements for its producer, Marc Wadsworth.
The film had a UK screening on Thursday, March 7, 7pm at the Ritzy Picturehouse, Windrush Square, off Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London SW2 1JG, where co-directors Jimmy Haisman and Marc Wadsworth, who also produced the film, were joined afterwards by war veterans for a Q&A.
Photography: Marlon Ruddock and Oliver Barrett.
Thomas L. Blair is a sociologist and political blogger on the Chronicleworld 'for creative renewal in Black Britain and Afro-Europe'. His work is honoured in the British Library's archive of "social, historic and culturally significant web-based material from the UK domain". He won top prize in the blogging competition on The-Latest.
Sumantra Maitra is a freelance journalist from Mumbai, India. He is a correspondent for All Sports magazine, and a foreign affairs blogger for the Washington Examiner. He has written articles for news website Merinews.com and other regional publications. Sumantra runs a blog at DailyWorldWatch.wordpress.com. He provided exclusive eyewitness reports for The-Latest on the Mumbai bombings of 2008.
Brian Usher is photography consultant for The-Latest.Com. He is a highly experienced editorial and commercial photographer whose work has been published throughout the world, appearing in many well known magazines and newspapers. Brian has featured in several books and has been a writer for the Royal Photographic Society magazine.
Heidi Kingstone has spent time in Afghanistan reporting for a number of publications. Her work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Spectator, The Sunday Times and other international journals. She has also reported from places like Iraq, Rwanda, Lebanon, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. Heidi is The-Latest's Editor at large.
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