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A veteran interview with

Clarence Obi

Clarence Obi served with the Royal Pioneer Corps in 1973. In his revealing interview it becomes very apparent that attitudes to race were very different at the time. Clarence was interviewed thanks to the support of the Stoll Housing Association.

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About Clarence Obi

Clarence Obi details the racism he experienced serving with the Royal Pioneer Corps in the 1970s after being spurred to join the Army by his curiosity and inspiration from his father. Training was by far his favourite part of his army career; it was tough but varied and always left him feeling physically and mentally fit, something he couldn’t say about the rest of his service.  

His first experience with the army’s prejudice came when his staff sergeant beat him until he bled in front of 30 to 40 people and suffered no consequences for his crime. The next time he was beaten was during a sports day, when a lieutenant officer used a pacer stick to nearly blind him while the other officers turned a blind eye. When kicked by his corporal for tying his laces, he made the mistake of reporting it to his colonel, staff sergeant, and sergeant major, who then proceeded to kick Clarence themselves. 

Clarence had wanted to make a career out of the army but left after finding all the rules and regulations overly restrictive for him and easily abused by others. No matter how many exams he passed, he was stuck doing repetitive physical labour with no chance of promotion, being sent abroad or advancing himself in any way. Even though he possessed an exemplary record and was wearing the same uniform as everyone else, he was treated like an animal rather than an equal and he had had enough.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Sarah Beck
Reviewed by:
Leon Graham

Transcripts:
Please note that transcripts and closed captions in the video player are automatically generated by Vimeo.

Copyright:
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Home | Veterans | Clarence Obi

A veteran interview with

Clarence Obi

Clarence-Obi-4

Clarence Obi served with the Royal Pioneer Corps in 1973. In his revealing interview it becomes very apparent that attitudes to race were very different at the time. Clarence was interviewed thanks to the support of the Stoll Housing Association.

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Obi, Clarence. A Veteran Interview with Clarence Obi. Interview by Sarah Beck. Legasee, 22 Jul. 2014 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/clarence-obi/. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
APA Style:
Obi, C. (2014, July 22). A Veteran Interview with Clarence Obi [Interview by Sarah Beck]. Legasee. Retrieved June 6, 2026, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/clarence-obi/
Chicago Style:
Obi, Clarence. 2014. A Veteran Interview with Clarence Obi. Interview by Sarah Beck. Legasee, July 22. Accessed June 6, 2026. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/clarence-obi/
Harvard Style:
Obi, C. (2014). A Veteran Interview with Clarence Obi. [Interviewed by Sarah Beck]. Legasee, 22 July. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/clarence-obi/ (Accessed: 6 June 2026)
Vancouver Style:
Obi, C. A Veteran Interview with Clarence Obi [Internet]. Interview by S. Beck. Legasee; 2014 Jul 22 [cited 2026 Jun 6]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/clarence-obi/
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