British troops from Cameroon refresh themselves at a river, 1918 (c)

Photograph, World War One, West Africa (1914-1918), 1918 (c).

Britain's locally raised troops were crucial in securing victory in the West African campaign. This was fought in inhospitable jungle conditions. The climate, along with virulent disease and dangerous wildlife, caused more casualties than the enemy.

Compared with Europeans, local troops were more resistant to tropical diseases and heat, and their sickness rates were much lower.

One of 6 photographs collected by Mr Arnett, a senior government official in Nigeria and the British Cameroons, 1920 (c)-1929 (c).