Book Tells Our Story As Soldiers: Veteran

Ratu Meli Vesikula says the book, 212 Soldiers for the Queen Fijian in the British Army 1961-1997, tells their story.

He is a veteran British Army War­rant Officer Class 1, Regimental Ser­geant Major and Member of British Empire (MBE) Ratu Meli Vesikula.

Ratu Meli was speaking during the launch of the book at the Fiji Mu­seum in Suva on Tuesday.

200 of them were men and 12 were women who were part of the first batch to be recruited by the British Army in 1961.

“Our journey was a tough one. We did not know much about Britain at the time we reached there. The culture, the environment and the food were very different,” Ratu Meli said.

“All we knew about Britain was the notes jotted down from Geography and History classes. We were blind to what was waiting for us in the new country.

“Our first challenge we had to overcome was the cold and winter weather when we reached in De­cember, 1961.

“It was one of the most bitter, cold winters for many years for years,” Ratu Meli said.

He said they learned about Britain through their personal experiences while serving in the British Army.

“We had to master the English lan­guage to a level where we could con­verse with our fellow British broth­ers in the forces,” Ratu Meli said.

“Many of us could not do that, but we tried our level best to adapt to the environment we were in where we called it home.

“We were determined to achieve what we could there by giving our level best.

“We had developed homesickness quicker, being 15,000 miles away from home.

“All this was some of the chal­lenges we had faced as we struggled and gave our individual effort in the work we did,” Ratu Meli said.

He said the book told the story of the experiences of the Fijian young men and women in the British Army, which was a huge success for Fiji.

Edited by Epineri Vula

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