...
>>>>>Diepee is also held as an example of England using the colonies as fodder. I've often wondered if command of Juno Beach was given to Canada as an apology for the Dieppe fiasco.
>>>>
>>>>It does look that way. The Aussies (part. Mel Gibson) have never forgotten Gallipoli. In WW I we also used Indian troops to fight on the Western Front. Many of them were hospitalised in Brighton, at The Royal Pavilion ( George IV's pleasure palace). The palace is designed as a mixture of Indian architecture and chinoiserie so, when the Indian troops woke up in it, after being taken from the front, they must have thought they'd died and woken up in Nirvana.
>>>>
>>>>http://www.asht.info/Royal+Pavilion
>>>>http://www.black-history.org.uk/pavilionindian.asp
>>>>
>>>>Many of the dead Hindus were cremated on a funeral pyre, out on the Downs. A memorial marks the spot, called the Chattri:
>>>>
>>>>http://www.asht.info/Chattri+War+Memorial
>>>>
>>>>Ironically, the Indian Govt. donated to Brighton an ornate Indian gateway to the grounds of the Pavilion, in gratitude for the way they'd been looked after here. When I first heard this I thought, "Wait a minute! We drag them from their warm, pleasant country, throw them into the mud, muck, bullets and shells of OUR war, then when they've nearly paid the ultimate price they're cared for by us, and we get a memorial gateway as thanks!"
>>>
>>>It was a thanks for not throwing them back into the muck, bullets and shells. ;)
>>
>>I should hope that the brevity of your flippant reply does not reflect a cursory glance over the (interesting) citations :-)
>
>Of course not. In fact, looking at the alienness of the structures reminded me of the pagoda in Kew gardens. I realise that the pagoda has nothing really to do with the war (or anything else being discussed here), and that it was actually architected and built at home, and not as a gift from the Chinese, but your citations, for whatever reason, just triggered the memory.

It makes an intriguing story, nicht war? I don't know if the site tells you but they had to provide different water supplies for different religions: Hindus, moslems, etc. The Indain troops caused quite a stir with the locals. I read one article by an old, old man who could remember, as a boy, the children being given chipatis by the Indians - the first time they'd experienced that kind of bread. Nowadays, of course, you can get them in any Indian restaurant or a supermarket.

That pagoda has just been reopened, last week, after a multi-£m refurbishment, after many years closed, apparently.

The Brighton Pavilion, BTW, is an absolute treasure to tour - astounding and sumptious. During the off-season we locals can visit it cheap, sometimes even free, on production of, say, a utility bill to prove residence.

>
>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>http://www.black-history.org.uk/gateway.asp