"Bringing together testimonies from people in Kenya, Malaysia and Cyprus, the exhibition tells the story of their struggles for independence and, at times, of those who fought to retain the status quo. Their voices sit alongside young British National Service conscripts, revealing how these conflicts quickly escalated into complex civil wars."
"Warfare concepts that would become chillingly familiar - "hearts and minds", population control, waterboarding, and the continuation of divide-and-rule tactics - were used, or invented in these conflicts. The exhibition is mainly a mix of oral history, a few tangible objects, and several recreations of Potemkin villages built by the British. I did get a bit of a start when turning one corner, only to come face to face with a machine gun pointing straight at me."
Three post-WWII conflicts in Kenya, Malaysia and Cyprus illustrate persistent attempts by colonial Britain to maintain political control while nationalist movements sought independence. Counter-insurgency methods such as 'hearts and minds' campaigns, population control, waterboarding and divide-and-rule tactics were developed or employed, producing complex civil wars and severe impacts on ordinary lives. Oral testimonies, tangible objects and recreated Potemkin villages convey both local experiences and the perspectives of young British National Service conscripts. Documents uncovered in 2010 revealed deliberate concealment of abuses and contemporary recognition that those actions were wrong, underscoring that the end of the Second World War coincided with rapid imperial fracture and upheaval.
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