The Motherland Calls – Britain’s Black Servicemen & Women 1939-1945 A Tribute to the forgotten black servicemen and women whose contribution to the war effort has been overlooked until now. Read more here. Stephen Bourne is a leading authority on black history and has published 11 books on the subject, including A Ship and a Prayer, Black in the British Frame, Speak of Me as I Am and Mother Country. You can watch a TV-interview with the author here.

The Caribbean Connection In 2006 the RAF-magazine Spirit of the Air published an article titled ‘The Caribbean Connection’ written by Val Simpson. The article features some interesting pictures and mentions the careers of Squadron Leader Ulric Cross and Flight Lieutenants Arthur Wint, Vincent Bunting and John Ebanks. Link to the article Under One Flag How indigenous and ethnic peoples of the Commonwealth and British Empire helped Great Britain win World War II This book by Erica Myers-Davies tells the stories of the unsung heroes and heroines of World War II from across the world. With personal forewords from Prince Harry and Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry VC, the first serving recipient of the Victoria Cross since 1969, it emphasises the vital contribution made by those from the Commonwealth and British Empire who volunteered during World War II. HRH The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh KG KT (Grand President of The Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League) will be present when the book is launched in Canada House at an event hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner for the United Kingdom, James R. Wright. [Nov. 5th, 2009] More.

– They also flew S/L Ulric Cross of Trinidad: DFC, DSO, Judge, ambassador, High Commissioner F/L Dudley Thompson, OC, QC of Jamaica: lawyer, Pan-African activist, Order of Jamaica F/O Errol Barrow of Barbados: Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs F/L Michael Manley of Jamaica: Prime Minister, Member of Parliament, Member of House of Representatives F/L Edward Dalrymple of Dominica: Mayor, vice-president of Dominica Freedom Party, Professor of History, City College of New York, Princeton, Rutgers Universities F/L Arthur Wint of Jamaica: Olympic Gold Medalist, OBE, MBE, High Commissioner

This site aims to provide a permanent archive of the volunteers from the West Indies who flew for the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. The general public in the United Kingdom and elsewhere is scarcely aware of the involvement of Caribbean crew in the airwar of 1940-1945. In 1940, no so-called ‘men of colour’ could have joined the Royal Air Force; but by the end of the war in 1945, there were between 300 and 500 aircrew from the Caribbean out of a total of around six thousand volunteers who served during World War 2. About seventy were commissioned and one hundred and three received decorations. Yet these facts are not generally known even to the present Black British population in Britain. Since so little is recorded, we encourage surviving crew as well as their relatives and descendants to add to this body of information. Anyone who has a story to tell, information to share, or pictures to show is heartily invited to contribute to this website. How does this site work? The main body of this site consists of a list of names of aircrew that are known to us. The names are accessible either by country of origin, rank or decoration or by entering a name in the search-box. Each entry offers the option to add a comment.Here you can submit your information regarding the individual concerned. Pictures are best sent directly with a reference to the webmaster, who will place them in the entry.

African Heritage personnel in RAF Museums

The RAF Museum London and subsequently the RAF Museum Cosford will celebrate the Afro-Caribbean contribution to the RAF – the first service to instigate an equal ops policy. Beginning with WWI through to WWII and The Cold War to currently serving members, the exhibition will include personal recollections, photos and more. The exhibition will open 1st November 2013.

West Indians in Britain (1944)

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RAF Bomber Command Memorial Unveiling

The RAF Bomber Command Memorial was unveiled by HM Queen Elizabeth II on June 28th 2012. ‘Bloody marvellous but long overdue’ (The Telegraph)

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Dudley Thompson

F/O Ambassador Hon. Dudley Thompson OD QC passed on January 20, 2012. He was a day past 95. He was buried with full national and military honors at UP Park Camp, Jamaica on feb 10th. Read the commemorative text by Gabriel Christian.

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Red Tails: Tuskegee Airmen portrayed in Lucasfilm production

The story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots to fly in a combat squadron during World War II.

Red Tails Trailer

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Approval for Bomber Command Memorial

Westminster City Council in London has given the go-ahead for the erection of a memorial to the 55,573 aircrew of Bomber Command that were killed during World War 2. The monument will be built in Green Park and should be ready by 2012. Cy Grant, the founder and inspirator of this website who died recently, devoted the last years of his life to promoting the memorial – which he referred to as a peace memorial – and emphasizing that the Caribbean sacrifices made in service of Bomber Command should be explicitly commemorated. the Telegraph BBC News More news

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George Stanislaus Lau

Sqn Ldr George Stanislaus Lau, died peacefully on 1st April 2010. Beloved husband of Elaine. Funeral Service will take place at St Augustine’s, High Wycombe on Thursday 8th April at 1.30 p.m.

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RAF-veteran Cy Grant dies at 90

We received the sad news that RAF-veteran Cy Grant, the great inspirator for this website, has passed away during the night of Saturday February 13th, 2010. Right up till the end his mind and energies were aimed at the acknowledgement of the Caribbean contribution and sacrifices to the Second World War. May he rest in peace. Cy was to be honoured personally at a meeting in the House of Lords on March 4th 2010. The Attorney General Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC presented an award to his daughter Sami instead. The tribute was organised by the Bomber Command Association which presented its plans for the Bomber Command Memorial. Wikipedia BBC Guardian Times-online Kurt Barling’s blog Telegraph ATV Network Caribbeanworldnews You can leave a message in our guestbook. -

Appointment in London

In 1953 the movie ‘Appointment in London’ was released. The story was about a Bomber Command squadron in 1943. Someone involved in the movie had the knowledge and courtesy to include a reference to black aircrew. It lasted only a few seconds, but must have confounded the audience at the time – as it did me when I watched a few days ago! Above is a screen shot. It shows the Wing Commander (played by Dirk Bogarde) chatting to a black airman. One of the script writers for the movie was John Wooldridge, a commander of 105 Squadron RAF during WW2. It seems reasonable to assume that he was aware of the presence of black aircrew in the RAF and inserted the scene into the movie as a mark of recognition and respect. [courtesy Tom Graham from Perth, Australia] Wikipedia

Spitfire pilots

Flight Sergeant James Hyde of San Juan, Trinidad, a Spitfire pilot who arrived in Britain in 1942 to begin his training, here pictured in 1944 with his Squadron’s mascot, a dog called ‘Dingo’. He is wearing a life jacket, known universally as a Mae West, and is holding an oxygen mask and his flying gloves. Most air battles took place at altitudes in excess of 15,000 feet (c. 5000 metres) and oxygen and thermal protection were vital. [Source: www.movinghere.org.uk - Imperial War Museum (IWM) Reference CH11978] Flying Officer Julian Merryshow (on the right) with B-flight of 602 Sqn at Sumburgh (Shetlands) in January 1943. [Photo: Royal Air Force Museum - Click on image to enlarge] “In September 1942 the squadron moved north to the Orkney and Shetland Islands to intercept the high level German reconnaissance raiders over Scapa Flow. It flew from bases in the south of England from January 1943 and transferred to the Second Tactical Air Force in November flying offensive sweeps over France and providing fighter escorts. Involved in the “D” Day Invasion, 602 later flew from airfields in Europe before returning to England in September 1944 to concentrate on strikes against V2 rocket sites and other prime targets. The squadron disbanded on 15 May 1945 by which time it was credited with the destruction of 150 enemy aircraft.” [Source: 602 (City of Glasgow) RAuxAF museum]

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RAF honours ethnic minorities

To celebrate the contribution that members of the Afro-Caribbean, Indian and other ethnic communities have made to the growth and development of the Royal Air Force, as well as the defence of the U.K. during times of adversity, the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford will be honouring their achievements with a permanent exhibition Diversity in the Royal Air Force. This display does not explicitly address the historial perspective of West Indians who volunteered to serve in the Royal Air Force in WW2 of whom about 400 actually flew as aircrew, with an estimated 103 honoured with distinguished service medals. Despite the MOD’s ‘We Were There’ Touring Exhibition, the current exhibitions at the Imperial War Museum’s ‘War to Windrush’ and the RAF Cosford Museum’s ‘Diversity in the RAF’ we still do not have a complete record of the contribution of volunteers from the Caribbean. There seems to be no official record at the Ministry of Defence, the Air Ministry or the National Archives. This site makes an attempt to redress this oversight. .

Royal Mail issues RAF Uniforms stamps

Royal Mail issued a series of six unique stamps focusing on the RAF’s illustrious history as reflected through its uniforms and flying kits. Each stamp bears an illustration of a uniformed member of the RAF by the artist Graham Turner, who illustrated last year’s Army Uniforms stamps. (Click on image to go to Royal Mail website)

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Telegraph supports Bomber Command Association

The Telegraph has joined the Bomber Command Association to help raise funds to erect a permanent memorial to the 55,000 bomber aircrew killed in the Second World War. The website of the newspaper features many articles with stories and backgrounds about the men who flew the risky missions for Bomber Command. Article fails to recognize Caribbean contribution Under the heading ‘Bomber Command to be honoured after 63 years‘ the website of the Telegraph features an article on the campaign for a memorial for the men of Bomber Command that served during the Second World War. In all, 55,573 were killed and 8,325 were lost. Sadly, where numbers of casualities from Canada, Australia and New Zealand are separately quoted in this article, the Caribbean contribution remains unmentioned. The Telegraph has however published an interview with Guyanese Navigator and POW Cy Grant.