By Hotdigitalonline UK | November 2025
Every November, as red poppies bloom across lapels and wreaths are laid at cenotaphs across Britain, we pause to remember those who fought, those who fell, and those whose stories remain untold.
For many in the Ghanaian and wider African community, Remembrance Day can feel distant, a ceremony for “others.” Yet, history tells us otherwise. The blood of Africans, including thousands of West Africans from the Gold Coast, runs through the very soil of remembrance.
It’s time to make remembrance not just a moment of silence, but a living story, one that connects the past and the present, Ghana and Britain, memory and identity.
The Forgotten Front: Ghana’s Soldiers of Empire
During both World Wars, tens of thousands of men from the Gold Coast served under the British flag.
They fought in jungles and deserts far from home, in East Africa, Burma, and North Africa, often with little recognition.
These were men like Private Joseph Ashitey Hammond, Seth Kobla Anthony, and Alhaji Abdul Aziz Brimah, who marched barefoot through malaria-infested swamps, carrying supplies, defending convoys, and rebuilding bridges under fire.
Many never returned.
Those who did returned to a homeland that barely understood their sacrifice.
Their service laid the foundation for Ghana’s military tradition, one that continues today in peacekeeping missions worldwide.
“We fought for freedom, but we returned to find we were not free,” one veteran once said, words that echo through generations.
From the Trenches to the Diaspora
Today, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren live in cities like London, Birmingham, and Manchester, forming part of a new frontline as they navigate identity, belonging, and contribution.
Remembrance, for us, is not only about the fallen, it’s about what they stood for.
Courage. Duty. The belief that a better world is worth fighting for.
At Newham’s East Ham Cenotaph, you’ll find British-Ghanaian veterans standing shoulder-to-shoulder with others, poppies pinned to kente cloth, embodying that bridge between two histories.
Each act of remembrance, whether at a school assembly, a church service, or a quiet moment of prayer, renews that promise: we remember because they built the world we now shape.
Making Memory Matter
So, how do we make remembrance a living story, not just a yearly ritual?
1️. Tell the African Story.
Include Ghanaian and African veterans in local ceremonies, schools, and media. History must reflect all who served, not just those who were written about.
2️. Pass It On.
Let our youth hear about the “Gold Coast Regiment.” Let them know that Africans, too, played a role in liberating Europe.
3️. Serve in Our Time.
Remembrance is not just about soldiers. It’s about service, in hospitals, schools, and communities. The spirit of sacrifice lives when we give back.
4️. Connect Home and Abroad.
Every November, Ghana’s own veterans hold memorials in Accra and Kumasi. Lighting a candle here in London connects those ceremonies across continents, a single light for a shared history.
Why It Still Matters
For the Ghanaian diaspora in Britain, remembrance is personal.
It reminds us that migration and memory are not separate; they are threads in the same fabric.
By honouring those who came before, we affirm our place in the story of both nations.
“We are not visitors to this memory,” one Ghanaian veteran in the UK said. “We are part of it.”
So, when the bugle sounds and the streets fall silent, let’s remember, not as spectators, but as storytellers.
Let’s wear our poppies with pride, and our heritage with purpose.
Because remembrance is not just about the past.
It’s about who we choose to be today.
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