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World War One in Africa

At the start of World War One, British and German colonial forces went into battle in East Africa. We hear very rare recordings of Kenyan veterans of the brutal four year war.

At the start of World War One, British and German colonial forces went into battle in East Africa. Tens of thousands of African troops and up to a million porters were conscripted to fight and keep the armies supplied. We hear very rare recordings of Kenyan veterans of the King's African Rifles, talking about their experiences of the war. The interviews were made in Kenya in the early 1980s by Gerald Rilling with the help of Paul Kiamba. Photo: Locally recruited troops under German command in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (then part of German East Africa), circa 1914. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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9 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Wed 11 Nov 202008:50GMT
  • Wed 11 Nov 202012:50GMT
  • Wed 11 Nov 202018:50GMT
  • Wed 11 Nov 202023:50GMT
  • Thu 12 Nov 202003:50GMT

Podcast