The first shot fired for Britain in the First World War was from the rifle of an African soldier in West Africa.

The last German troops to surrender did so on African soil, in today’s Zambia. In between African soldiers and civilians paid a heavy price in blood and lives and their societies and outlook were changed for ever.

Recent scholarship, reflected in the commemorations and publications for the centenary of the outbreak of the war, recognises that Africa was much more than a sideshow in a truly global conflict.

This conference will consider the role of scholars, libraries, archives and information sources in documenting and interpreting the African experience of World War I.