It focuses more closely on the recruitment process than has been the case to date and makes extensive use of oral material to provide an African perspective on a process that is usually viewed from ‘above’.
The article is a contribution to existing literature addressing the subject of Bechuanaland during the Second World War, and to the general literature on Africa and the war. Therefore a picture of the recruitment process is created that features perspectives drawn from all levels of colonial society.
The outlook of the men who were required to join the army is also analysed, as are the methods used to induce them to enlist. It outlines the motives and political aims that led the chiefs to offer wholehearted support for the war effort and examines the attitude of the British administration to African participation in the war. This article traces the process of recruiting Batswana men into the British army in Bechuanaland during the Second World War. MOTIVATION AND MOBILIZATION FOR WAR: RECRUITMENT FOR THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE BECHUANALAND PROTECTORATE, 1941–42 MOTIVATION AND MOBILIZATION FOR WAR: RECRUITMENT FOR THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE BECHUANALAND.
