Asian Studies
Contemporary Spanish Studies
Critical Inventions
Demographic Developments
First Nations & Colonial Encounter
Latin American Studies
Peace Politics in the Middle East
Religious Beliefs & Practices
Spanish History
Spirituality in Education

Distant Drums
The Role of Colonies in British Imperial Warfare

Ashley Jackson
Ashley Jackson is forging a reputation as a leading historian of the British Empire and World War II. After eight years at Mansfield College, Oxford he moved to King's College London in 2004, where he is now Professor of Imperial and Military History. His third book, The British Empire and the Second World War, appeared to critical acclaim in 2006. He is currently writing Ocean Victory: Britain's Eastern War, 1939–1945 and a biography of Winston Churchill. His latest book, Mad Dogs and Englishmen: A Grand Tour of the British Empire at its Height, is published by Quercus.

“The crucial role that India and the ‘white’ Dominions – Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada – played in Britain’s system of imperial defence is well known. Jackson’s aim is to underline the vital contribution of those 50 or so other imperial territories ruled through the Colonial Office. ‘Colonies were woven into the tapestry of British warfare and Britain’s presence on the world state as the foremost power,’ writes Jackson. ‘Yet the military history of the colonial empire has been overlooked’. Why was this so? Partly, explains Jackson, because the Dominions and India provided the empire with its ‘main non-British defence assets that could be utilised for imperial purposes’. The colonies, on the other hand, had no warships or air forces, and their armies were relatively small during peacetime and intended ‘primarily for internal policing’. And when they did make significant military contributions – in both world wars, for example – it was often by the less glamorous provision of essential military labour to support fighting fronts, rather than front-line soldiers.
… Yet, according to Jackson, colonies have always been central to imperial defence. Many were acquired precisely because of this utility, and ‘small’ wars on the colonial frontier were the ‘meat and drink of the British military for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. The ‘base infrastructure’ of colonies – from fortresses to aerodromes – was essential to the functioning of the British military system, as was their provision of human resources. During the Second World War, the colonies supplied more troops to the imperial cause than all of the ‘white’ Dominions combined, including the 100,000-strong logistical support force that enabled Montgomery’s victorious 8th Army to sweep all before it in north Africa. After Indian independence in 1947, colonies became even more important to Britain’s imperial defence planning, though large garrison forces were gradually replaced by carrier battle groups, strategic air lift and jet fighters.
… Nor has the empire entirely disappeared. Today Britain has overseas territories in the Caribbean, Antarctica, Mediterranean, the South Atlantic, the Indian and Pacific oceans, and one of its core defence missions is still protection of these possessions and the retention of overseas military bases. ‘The fact,’ writes Jackson, “of Britain’s continuing commitment to a global military presence, irrespective of the Cold War and the downsizing of the armed forces, should come as no surprise”. This important and long-overdue book confirms Jackson’s growing reputation as a leading historian of British imperial warfare.” Saul David, professor of war studies, University of Buckingham, writing in BBC History Magazine

“Jackson examines the role of imperial colonies in the history of British imperial warfare, arguing that there has been undue focus on the military deliberations and capabilities of Britain, the Dominions, and India to the neglect of the rest of the colonies. He first discusses the major contours of imperial warfare and the place of the colonies within it and then focuses on the history of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) as military base, strategic asset, and contributor of resources to Britain’s wars. He then examines World War I in terms of the significance of the Indian Ocean, the ‘east of Suez’ region (those areas of the world to which the British military had sea lanes of communication through the Suez Canal), and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana). The focus then shifts to World War II and the mobilization of colonial manpower in Southern Africa and their tasks in the war, levels of imperial authority and the management of colonial personnel assets, the importance of the Indian Ocean, the role of the Indian Ocean colonies of Ceylon and Mauritius, and networks of imperial authority and the role of colonial governors in the War.” Reference & Research Book News

“Focusing on the two world wars, this study is a worthwhile one . . . Jackson, an expert on the imperial dimension of the world wars, is particularly strong on the Indian Ocean region, specifically Sri Lanka, as well as on Africa. The perspective of a colonial backwater, the Bechuanaland Protectorate, on the Great War is particularly instructive.” Professor Jeremy Black, The Historical Association


Distant Drums reveals how colonies were central to the defence of the British Empire and the command of the oceans that underpinned it. It blends sweeping overviews of the nature of imperial defence with grass-roots explanations of how individual colonies were mobilized for war, drawing on the author's specialist knowledge of the Indian Ocean and colonies such as Bechuanaland, Ceylon, Mauritius, and Swaziland. This permits the full and dramatic range of action involved in imperial warfare – from policy-makers and military planners in Whitehall to chiefs recruiting soldiers in African villages – to be viewed as part of an interconnected whole.
… After examining the martial reasons for acquiring colonies, Distant Drums considers the colonial role in the First World War. It then turns to the Second World War, documenting the recruitment of colonial soldiers, their manifold roles in British military formations, and the impact of war upon colonial home fronts. It reveals the problems associated with the use of colonial troops far from home, and the networks used to achieve the mobilization of a global empire, such as those formed by colonial governors and regional naval commanders.
… Distant Drums is an important contribution to our understanding of the role of British colonies in twentieth-century warfare. The defence of empire has traditionally been associated with the military endeavours of Britain and the 'white' Dominions, with the Indian Army sometimes in the background. This book champions the crucial role played by the other parts of the British Empire – the sixty or so colonies spread across the globe – in delivering victory during the world wars of the twentieth century.

Preface 1. The British colonial empire and imperial warfare 2. The role of colonies in imperial defence 3. The evolution of a martial colony: Ceylon, 1760 to 1960 4. The First World War in the Indian Ocean region 5. The First World War in a colonial backwater: The Bechuanaland Protectorate and the Caprivi Strip 6. Recruiting colonial soldiers: Mauritius and the High Commission Territories 7. The military contribution of High Commission Territories soldiers during the Second World War 8. Unrest among African soldiers in the British Army during the Second World War 9. The 1st Battalion The Mauritius Regiment, Madagascar, 1943: The archaeology of a colonial mutiny 10. Ceylon, Mauritius, and the Indian Ocean during the Second World War 11. ‘A prodigy of skill and organization’: British imperial networks and the Second World War 12. Colonial governors and the Second World War Conclusion Bibliography Index

Publication Details