In this video, volunteer Shirley Wilson shares the stories of sailors who were known in the First World War as ‘Lascars’.
‘Lascar’ was always a European word applied to non-European seamen, a corruption of an Urdu word meaning soldier or army. It was a flexible category. At times Arab, Chinese and even African sailors were categorised as ‘lascars’.
Through newspapers, memorials, and artefacts, Shirley dives into how these men were portrayed and how their treatment radically differed to European sailors.