Reading through my father's wartime diaries I find him opposing the ban on coloured soldiers being in the cinema at the same time as white soldiers ("they are good enough to die with or for the British but not good enough to share a cinema") and supporting the Egyptian workers fight against exploitation and colonialism. He also talks about chatting with Italian prisoners "with all racial prejudice put aside, as it should be."
Yet he uses the same racist terminology as the other soldiers, except that he puts it in inverted commas.
Posted by derekmcmillan
at 9:07 AM BST