The Burma Campaign from an African Perspective: The 1944 World War II Travelogue of Sgt. F. S. Arkhurst of the Royal West African Frontier Forces

Abstract

This article analyses issues regarding identity and ideology in an African authored travelogue, “Jeep Road to Victory: African Engineers Carve a Way into Burma”, by Sgt. F. S. Arkhurst, which was published in The West African Review magazine in 1945. Sgt. Arkhurst was an officer in the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Forces in World War II. The focal points of this travelogue are the representations of the efforts of African soldiers in navigating the treacherous terrains of the South East Asia World War II battle grounds ranging from India/Bangladesh to the Kaladan Valley of Burma during the 1944 Burma Campaign. The article asks how African authored travel writing might bring new perspectives on how African soldiers contributed to the success of the war fighting on the side of allied forces.