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Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) Nyasaland
(now Malawi) Bechuanaland(now Botswana) Basutoland (now Lesotho) Swaziland At the outbreak of war, British Southern Africa eagerly
answered Britain’s call to arms. By 1941 the British army were desperately short of men and in the Middle East they
were stretched to the limit. The British planned to mobilise indigenous Africans in British Southern Africa by creating a
new military unit which would be completely separate from South Africa’s Native Military Corp. This was highly controversial,
as they faced pressure from South Africa to prohibit blacks from holding firearms.
Talks were held between British, South
Africans and native chiefs, and agreement was reached to establish the African Auxiliary Pioneer Corp (AAPC).
Members of the AAPC built roads, were camp guards and built fortifications
against Axis invasion. They also served as heavy artillery gunners, specialist bridgebuilders, camouflage smoke-makers, drivers,
mechanics and front-line supply store shifters. The unit was known as the African Auxiliary Pioneer Corps until 5 October
1944. It became known as the African Pioneer Corps until 1947, before being disbanded in 1949.
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