The Legacy Project
Many of us have a relative who fought in a war : WWI, WWII or any of the twentieth century's wars. A grandfather, a grand-uncle, a great-grandfather, a cousin... Some of those servicemen and women agreed to talk about their memories at some point in their life. Others who took part in recent wars are also sometimes willing to tell their stories.
But most of the time, their legacy is buried in family shelves or trunks : albums filled with old black and white photos, letters young generations do not know about...
The Legacy Project seeks to re-discover those invaluable stories. The focus and mission of this project involves the preservation of forgotten war stories of all veterans, including those from developing countries, former colonies such as Nigeria, India, Ghana, New Zealand and others. The Legacy Project is a private sponsored project, therefore your contributions and financial support are welcomed.
We conduct interviews with veterans, but we can also produce videos telling your story, using letters and pictures you may have. If you want your story to be told, please contact us here : Legacy@militaryguardian.com
Understanding the Past: Colonial Empires in the 20th Century
The British Empire
The British Empire reached its full height of world dominance and power after the signing of the 1707 Act of Union with Scotland. It was said, that the sun always shined on the British flag because the empire extended all over the world. This dominance lasted until 1914 marked by historians as the start of the First World War between the colonial powers of France, Russia and Britian, known as the Triple Entente. Thus, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy making up the Triple Alliance. Great Britain will "call to arms" young men and women from their colonies from around the world to join and unite in their fight against the Triple Alliance, notably, Germany.
- Imperial India
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Algeria
- Ghana (Gold Coast)
- Nigeria
British Empire Poster (WWI, 1914)
The French Empire
The "Second French Colonial Empire" with the conquest of Algeirs in 1830 was arguably the start of the largest colonial power in the 1800s. The total amount of land under French sovereignty reached over 4.5 million square miles. These areas included West and North Africa, Madagascar, Indo China and small islands in the South Pacific. At the start of WWI and WWII, the manpower of the French colonies will play a major role and contribution in the defeat of Germany.
The flag of the 43rd battalion of Senegalese soldiers (1914)
The Belguim Empire
The Belguim Empire has its roots in the Berlin Conference of 1884-85, led by King Leopold II. Whereas, the King would consider the "Congo Free State" his personal colony separate from the royal crown of the Belguim people. This arrangement would last until his death in 1908. Thus, creating the official Belgium colony called the "Belgian Congo". At the start of WWI, the Belgium government will also call to arms, men from the Belgian Congo to join in the defense of the empire of Belgium.
The Force Publique in German East Africa during World War I (1914)
The German Empire
Under the leadership of the new King of the of the Imperial State of Germany, King Wilhelm II established Germany as a colonial empire in 1885. These colonies included German East Africa (Burundi,Rwanda & Tanzania) German South-West Africa (Namibia) German Cameroon and parts of Gabon, Congo, Central African Republican, Togoland and Ghana). Germany was also active in the pacific thus annexing smaller islands and New Guinea.
�Our German Fatherland to which I hope will be granted... to become in the future as closely united, as powerful, and as authoritative as once the Roman world-empire was, and that, just as in the old times they said, Civis romanus sum, hereafter, at some time in the future, they will say, I am a German citizen.�
The Montford Point Marine - Film Project
