Veteran voices from the Commonwealth tell for the first time how the Second World War changed their lives irreversibly and blew the British Empire apart. Christopher Somerville skillfully links the voices, guiding them into covering such topics as racial prejudice, attitudes towards Britain before and after the war, why Commonwealth citizens even volunteered, and the inevitable disillusionment by 1945. The result is a rare and faithful memoir to the five million Commonwealth citizens who fought for the Allies and the 170,000 who died or went missing.