Consigned to oblivion: remembering the South African Cape Coloured Corps

The South African Cape Coloured Corps officially came into existence during the First World War and was regarded as a colonial project. Despite the integral role played by these Coloured soldiers, their participation in both the World Wars and the subsequent military history of South Africa has become marginalized and even forgotten. As a result, these Coloured soldiers have not received the recognition or honour earned by war veterans. This paper aims to critically analyse the suppressed history of the South African Cape Coloured Corps by paying attention to their racialized identity as Coloured men. The racial classification of Coloured was created to divide people of colour as part of a divide-and-rule strategy and to facilitate social control in South Africa. The Coloured classification is, however, argued to be socially constructed and is complicated by experiences of hostility, inferiority, shame, and stereotyping. Furthermore, Coloured identity is burdened by the perception that persons with mixed ancestry have inherently negative traits. Since their identity cannot be separated from their silenced history as soldiers, they are caught up in continuous wounding. By connecting their silenced history as part and parcel of Coloured identity, the paper argues that it is necessary to facilitate a recognition of that which is lost and may never return, thereby acknowledging their contribution and restoring dignity to the South African Cape Coloured Corps. Revisiting the history of the South African Cape Coloured Corps is thus a resistance against being consigned to oblivion.