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taken from the Voice newspaper
BANNED BROTHERS
BY Danielle Weekes
Dirty secrets: new docs reveal racist policy
Army’s secret policy to limit black recruits revealed
Campaigners demanded an independent investigation into racism in the armed forces after newly released documents revealed that a 20-year limit had been placed on the number of ‘coloured soldiers’ that could join up.
Top secret army records released last week showed that data was collected on recruits with Negroid or Asiatic features – labelled as D-Factor personnel – so that there would never be more than 4,000 recruits in the army at any one time.
This quota system, which was in place between 1957 and at least the late 70s, was so sensitive that government ministers were not aware that it existed.
“Officially, we state that we do not keep statistics on coloured soldiers,” stated a secret 1972 briefing that was addressed to the army’s Adjutant General. “In fact we do have a record, resulting from a description put on the Attestatation Paper by the medical officer of the features of the recruit, eg north European, Mediterranean, Asiatic, African or Negroid, others etc.”
The medical officer would describe recruits in crude terms like ‘Chinaman’, and a 1975 memo found that between 1 and 2 per cent of army recruits had ‘D-factor’ characteristics.
The confidential files, which have angered race relations campaigners, were released under the new Freedom of Information Act.
Aware that the policy was overtly racist, army generals had been warned not to make the details public. Denis Brennan of the Adjutant’s General Office told army bosses in 1974: “We do not feel it would be appropriate to mention it to ministers.”
Intent on preserving their web of secrecy and deceit, army bosses lied to the Institute of Race Relations, which conducted a survey on the ethnic make-up of the armed forces in 1972.
Jenny Bourne, a senior researcher at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), was a junior researcher when the first national audit of racism was done in the late sixties and the early seventies. She was at the IRR during the 1972 army survey. She told The Voice:
“We were told that the armed forces kept no records of blacks or ethnic minorities. I am utterly shocked that something like this could happen in Britain 30 years ago.
ASHAMED
“It was a massive cover-up and it is a history that army bosses should be ashamed of.” She added that an independent investigation into the forces was needed to eradicate racism.
“The armed forces definitely need to be investigated. It’s unlikely we will find the same overt racism, but it will take another shape, whether it be bullying, racial violence or the lack of prospects for ethnic minority promotions.”
Race relations activist Maxie Hayles told The Voice. “I’m disappointed but I am not surprised.”
“We are going to find even more skeletons in the closet with this new act and we can now prove that institutional racism happened then and still happens now. The armed forces need to open themselves up to scrutiny and prove once and for all that all minorities are receiving fair treatment.”
The shocking revelations are sure to cause embarrassment to Ministry of Defence officials who are currently on a drive to eradicate racism after a spate of race discrimination cases brought by embittered BEM ex-soldiers.
Five per cent of the armed forces are from ethnic minorities compared to nearly eight per cent in the general population.
A spokesperson for the CRE refused to comment on the historical documents but said that the CRE is currently in partnership with the MOD to boost recruitment and retention of ethnic minorities within the armed forces.
An MOD spokesperson said: “As times and attitudes have changed, we have recognised that we need to reflect the diversity in the population. Last year we topped the list for ethnic minority employment in the public sector for the third year in a row.”
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Last year when dem and Sadam eena ave words dem take we Breddah yes.
Me ave one bredrin who was fool enough to enlist wid dem. Before 7 months him deh ah Bagdad. Now dat he is back and traumatised, him ave to watch all de English soldier get promotion and move arn while him an him bredrin dem di deh ah get regualr harassment an racism. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]
BANNED BROTHERS
BY Danielle Weekes
Dirty secrets: new docs reveal racist policy
Army’s secret policy to limit black recruits revealed
Campaigners demanded an independent investigation into racism in the armed forces after newly released documents revealed that a 20-year limit had been placed on the number of ‘coloured soldiers’ that could join up.
Top secret army records released last week showed that data was collected on recruits with Negroid or Asiatic features – labelled as D-Factor personnel – so that there would never be more than 4,000 recruits in the army at any one time.
This quota system, which was in place between 1957 and at least the late 70s, was so sensitive that government ministers were not aware that it existed.
“Officially, we state that we do not keep statistics on coloured soldiers,” stated a secret 1972 briefing that was addressed to the army’s Adjutant General. “In fact we do have a record, resulting from a description put on the Attestatation Paper by the medical officer of the features of the recruit, eg north European, Mediterranean, Asiatic, African or Negroid, others etc.”
The medical officer would describe recruits in crude terms like ‘Chinaman’, and a 1975 memo found that between 1 and 2 per cent of army recruits had ‘D-factor’ characteristics.
The confidential files, which have angered race relations campaigners, were released under the new Freedom of Information Act.
Aware that the policy was overtly racist, army generals had been warned not to make the details public. Denis Brennan of the Adjutant’s General Office told army bosses in 1974: “We do not feel it would be appropriate to mention it to ministers.”
Intent on preserving their web of secrecy and deceit, army bosses lied to the Institute of Race Relations, which conducted a survey on the ethnic make-up of the armed forces in 1972.
Jenny Bourne, a senior researcher at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), was a junior researcher when the first national audit of racism was done in the late sixties and the early seventies. She was at the IRR during the 1972 army survey. She told The Voice:
“We were told that the armed forces kept no records of blacks or ethnic minorities. I am utterly shocked that something like this could happen in Britain 30 years ago.
ASHAMED
“It was a massive cover-up and it is a history that army bosses should be ashamed of.” She added that an independent investigation into the forces was needed to eradicate racism.
“The armed forces definitely need to be investigated. It’s unlikely we will find the same overt racism, but it will take another shape, whether it be bullying, racial violence or the lack of prospects for ethnic minority promotions.”
Race relations activist Maxie Hayles told The Voice. “I’m disappointed but I am not surprised.”
“We are going to find even more skeletons in the closet with this new act and we can now prove that institutional racism happened then and still happens now. The armed forces need to open themselves up to scrutiny and prove once and for all that all minorities are receiving fair treatment.”
The shocking revelations are sure to cause embarrassment to Ministry of Defence officials who are currently on a drive to eradicate racism after a spate of race discrimination cases brought by embittered BEM ex-soldiers.
Five per cent of the armed forces are from ethnic minorities compared to nearly eight per cent in the general population.
A spokesperson for the CRE refused to comment on the historical documents but said that the CRE is currently in partnership with the MOD to boost recruitment and retention of ethnic minorities within the armed forces.
An MOD spokesperson said: “As times and attitudes have changed, we have recognised that we need to reflect the diversity in the population. Last year we topped the list for ethnic minority employment in the public sector for the third year in a row.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last year when dem and Sadam eena ave words dem take we Breddah yes.
Me ave one bredrin who was fool enough to enlist wid dem. Before 7 months him deh ah Bagdad. Now dat he is back and traumatised, him ave to watch all de English soldier get promotion and move arn while him an him bredrin dem di deh ah get regualr harassment an racism. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]
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