In my late teens, in the late 90s I attended university in the United Kingdom. In my first year, the Japanese Emperor visited the Queen. And was met by British

In my late teens, in the late 90s I attended university in the United Kingdom. In my first year, the Japanese Emperor visited the Queen. And was met by British WW2 soldiers on the Mall, who in photos in the papers, were respectable old men, wearing their regimental berets and ties, and stood with their backs to the royal procession, Japanese flags burning. They were protesting Japanese atrocity, still without apology. My great uncles had fought against the Japanese during the war, and I grew up listening to stories of their time in Burma. In fact we had a number of war souvenirs at home, including samurai swords pulled from the bodies of soldiers who had committed suicide rather than surrender. Airbrushed from history is the fact that the battles against the Japanese were won by soldiers from around the world: Kings African Rifles, Rhodesian African Rifles, Karen militia who fought the Japanese whilst living in trees. I don’t know why we don’t tell these stories more often. Here is a rarity, an Al Jazeera documentary about a Nigerian boy soldier, left for dead and nursed back to health by locals. It’s an excellent documentary for anyone interested. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BREOezfAJSU https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BREOezfAJSU