| Sumario: | The article uses a postcolonial lens to analyze the triangular relationship between the Polish officers commissioned to the Royal West African Frontier Force, their British colleagues, and African inferiors in the years 1941–1943. I argue that despite the disparaging racial classification by the British, many Polish officers in West Africa aspired to become a sort of colonial intermediaries used not only for essential practical tasks during wartime but also to acquire the sympathy of Africans for the Allied cause. Others rejected any colonial ambitions altogether, becoming unexpected critics of the established system, but also of their lost homeland. Using little-known Polish-language sources alongside British materials, I demonstrate fascinating racial and sociocultural dynamics between the three groups brought about by a unique set of circumstances.
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