Alhaji Grunshi was a little-known lance corporal in the Gold Coast Regiment;Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall commemorated an occasion remembering him ?- curious to know ??
Just as
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrived back in London following their
jam-packed tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga, Prince Charles and
his wife Camilla headed out on a
nine-day visit to West Africa. They arrived in the Gambia and later to Ghana, and Nigeria.Charles's trip to the Gambia is particularly
significant given that the country only rejoined the Commonwealth in February.
Charles is not the hereditary heir of the Commonwealth, an intergovernmental
organization made up of 53 countries, which are primarily former British
colonies. But back in April, Commonwealth leaders voted that Prince Charles
will succeed his mother, the Queen, as the head of the organization.
During the First
World War, Togoland was invaded by Britain and France, proclaiming the
Anglo-French condominium. On 7 December 1916 the condominium collapsed and Togo
was divided into British and French zones. For those of us, who thought World War I was fought only in Europe, life
is different !that global war of Europe
lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously described as
the "war to end all wars", it led to the mobilization of more than 70
million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of
the largest wars in history. An estimated nine million combatants and seven
million civilians died as a direct result of the war, while it is also
considered a contributory factor in a number of genocides.
Togo is a country
in West Africa bordered by Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso. The sovereign state extends south to the Gulf
of Guinea, where its capital Lomé is located. From the 11th to the 16th
century, various tribes entered the region from all directions. From the 16th
century to the 18th century, the coastal region was a major trading center for
Europeans to search for slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the
name "The Slave Coast". Ghana located
along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in the subregion of West Africa. Ghana is bordered by Ivory Coast, Burkina
Faso, Togo and Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean. Numerous kingdoms and empires emerged over
the centuries, of which the most powerful was the Kingdom of Ashanti. Beginning in the 15th century, numerous
European powers contested the area for trading rights, with the British
ultimately establishing control of the coast by the late 19th century.
The man in global
news - Alhaji Grunshi was a lance corporal in the Gold Coast Regiment - In all the many histories of the Great
War, it’s safe to say that Alhaji Grunshi rarely makes much of an appearance. But
he should. For the little-known lance corporal in the Gold Coast Regiment has
the distinction of being the first member of His Majesty’s forces to fire a
shot in 1914 ! ~ here is an interesting report from MailOnline.
Prince of Wales and
the Duchess of Cornwall helped commemorate the occasion far from the poppy
fields of Flanders at Ghana.The royal couple dined in the
High Commission in Accra in Ghana – formerly the Gold Coast – and paid tribute
to L/Cpl Grunshi. While most of the attention as the centenary armistice nears
is on the Tommies in France and Belgium, the fighting across the then vast
British Empire is sometimes neglected. Three days after Britain declared war on
Germany on August 4, 1914, L/Cpl Grunshi, fired his shot at a squadron of
German-led armed police in Togo, which adjoined the Gold Coast. The first British bullet in France was not fired until
more than a fortnight later.
The little-known
tale from Togo – then known as Togoland, Germany’s sole West African colony –
was recently recounted to Charles and
Camilla by Britain’s leading female black architect, Elsie Owusu. She dined
with the couple, and gained their help in promoting the set of medals she has
produced to mark L/Cpl Grunshi’s shot. Ghana-born Miss Owusu has worked to link
artists and goldsmiths in Britain and Ghana in the project. Sir Peter Blake – who created the Beatles’ Sgt
Pepper album cover – designed the medals using traditional West African
symbols, and pure Ghana gold. The medals will be on display this month in
London jeweller Cox and Power. Miss Owusu said: ‘People sometimes forget the
contribution made to Britain’s First World War by soldiers and others from
across the Empire. L/Cpl Alhaji Grunshi certainly played his distinguished part
alongside other soldiers from the Gold Coast.’
L/Cpl Grunshi
fought on until the end of the war. He was Mentioned in Despatches, was
promoted to sergeant, and received the Military Medal in 1919 for his exploits
in the East Africa Campaign. Togoland did not hold out for long in 1914,
surrendering after just a few weeks.
Camilla, Duchess of
Cornwall, is now a member of the British royal family. She is the second wife
of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne. Instead of
using the title of Princess of Wales, she uses the title Duchess of Cornwall,
her husband's secondary designation. In Scotland, she is known as the Duchess
of Rothesay.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
4th Nov
2018
