Frustrated Expectations: Experiences of Northern Rhodesian (Zambian) Ex-Servicemen in the Post-Second World War Era

Abstract

This article examines how Northern Rhodesian ex-servicemen experienced home life after the Second World War, the problems they encountered, and the society into which they were reintegrated. Challenges faced by African veterans made them restless and discontented compared to European ex-servicemen who benefited from entrenched discriminatory racial practices. Using hitherto unexplored materials from the National Archives of Zambia, this article further argues that African ex-servicemen were preoccupied with their immediate personal well-being and not wider societal issues such as nationalism. This stands in contrast to older academic arguments that African ex-servicemen played a vital role in nationalist politics.