The process of re-writing British history to more fully reflect the Black presence continues apace with two new articles for Historycal Roots.
In the first, John Ellis continues his exploration of the presence of soldiers ‘of colour’ in the British Army in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This time he turns his attention to the 20th Regiment of the Light Dragoons. During the period 1797 to 1818 he has identified two dozen men of colour who served in the regiment at one time or another. He has dubbed these men ‘A Band of Brothers’ not least because the names apparently include two sets of brothers. John starts his story at the end with the discharge of a group of men in Ireland in 1818. Five of them, all born on the island of St. Domingo (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic), had enlisted, along with others, in the Caribbean on the same date in October 1798. They served together, saw colleagues die, and were discharged together after twenty years’ service. John’s article is here:
The second article is by another stalwart contributor, Audrey Dewjee. The recruitment of Black women to the ATS and WAAF (the branches of the Army and Royal Air Force that were open to women) in the latter part of World War 2 is relatively well documented. The story of one of them, Nadia Cattouse, can be found elsewhere on this site, she died recently at the age of 99.[1]https://www.historycalroots.com/nadia-cattouse/
What is less well known is that some women of colour, resident in Britain when the War started, had successfully defeated the colour bar that was in operation at the time and joined up anyway. Audrey’s article identifies twelve such pioneers. They include Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan whose story is relatively well known (she parachuted into France, was captured by the Germans and shot as a spy), and others about whom we know very little at all. Audrey’s article is here:
It has been my habit for the last thirty years to visit Stonefall War Graves cemetery in Harrogate a few days before Remembrance Sunday, to put poppies on the graves of nine men.
This year I have decided to do something different by way of remembrance – hence this article.
Stonefall War Graves cemetery
Stonefall War Graves cemetery contains the graves of over 1,000 men and women who died in two World Wars. Two-thirds of the 988 graves from WW2 belong to men of the Royal Canadian Air Force, who left their homes thousands of miles away to fight Nazi Germany. Many other graves contain the remains of airmen from Australia. Every year wreaths from Canada and Australia are placed on the central Stone of Remembrance and sometimes flags of these countries are placed on individual graves.
There are graves of other servicemen and women in the cemetery, most of them native British, but there are also a few graves of servicemen from other European countries who died in Britain during the war, including Russians, a German and a Czech airman.
I used to put poppies on the graves of nine men who came from distant countries in the then British Empire. As they are simply recorded as ‘British’ and not by their countries of origin, I was afraid they would not be known about, or remembered by anyone else.
War graves at Stonefall (Commonwealth War Graves Commission)
The Nine Men
The first of the nine to die was 136422 Flying Officer Ulric Leslie Look-Yan, son of Joseph and Maud A. Look-Yan, of Port of Spain, Trinidad, known to his family as ‘Lin’. He was killed in a flying accident on a training exercise, on 14th January 1944, aged 21, when the plane he was flying dived into the ground at Roseden, near Wooler in Northumberland. Lin’s mother was able to visit his grave in 1972. There is much more information about him on this link: http://www.milfield.org.uk/royal_air_force_milfield.htm#
714152 AC2 Patrick Constantine Marshall, son of Tenold Neel Marshall and Ethel Marshall of Spanish Town, Jamaica, died on 21st July 1944. He had arrived in Britain a month earlier as part of the first large contingent of RAF volunteers for ground crew duties who were doing their initial British training at RAF Hunmanby Moor, Filey, Yorkshire. Patrick died from meningococcal meningitis, aged 19.
714017 AC2 Byron Sylvester Martin, son of Mary Deleon and twin brother of Joyce, of Spa[nish?] Town, Jamaica, died 17 days later on 7th August, 1944. His cause of death was listed as meningococcal meningoencephalitis. Byron was another member of the first contingent of men who were training at RAF Hunmanby Moor, Filey. He too was aged 19.
144463 Flying Officer (Pilot) Edward Fred Hutchinson Haly, DFC, son of John and Edith Marie Haly, of British Guiana, aged 23, is commemorated on the memorial plaque in the shelter at the cemetery. A Pilot Instructor based at RAF Marston Moor, Tockwith, he too was killed in a flying accident, along with the rest of the plane’s crew, on 17th September 1944. The plane was on a daytime training flight, when it dived into the ground on approach to the airfield with its wheels down and burst into flames. The cause of the accident was structural failure of an elevator. Air accident investigators found a sheared elevator control joint at the scene. While in Britain, Edward had married Daphne Pauline Biles in London in 1942. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for service with 51 Squadron, in August 1943.
Flying Officer Edward Fred Hutchinson Haly, DFC
One month later, 1553660 Sergeant Pilot Iskeli Doviverata Komaisavai, son of Ratu Savenaca Komaisavai and Adi Miriama Komaisavai, of Tailevu, Fiji, died on 19th October 1944. A note in records at the National Archives states his death was caused by ‘serious illness – polyserositis.’ He was 24 years old. Descended from the former kings of Fiji, Komaisavai sailed from Fiji to train with the Air Force in Canada. He had arrived in Britain in June 1941 and served as a pilot with 234 Squadron.
When I arrived to plant my poppy in November 2023, I was shocked to discover the grave covered in wreaths and a photograph of Sgt. Pilot Komaisavai next to the headstone. A wreath-laying ceremony, attended by the High Commissioner of Fiji, had been organised a few days earlier by Sergeant Sakeasi Iliesa, a Fijian currently serving with the RAF. Sgt. Iliesa, who came across Komaisavai’s story whilst researching Fijians who had served in the British Forces, said he wanted to raise awareness of Sgt. Komaisavai’s service and how he was a pioneer for Fijians in the RAF.
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723562 AC2 Wilfred Octavius Dawns, son of Zachariah and Ellen Dawns of George’s Plain, Jamaica, died of pneumonia on 17th January 1945, aged 24. He was a member of the second main contingent of ground crew volunteers who arrived to do their basic British training at RAF Hunmanby Moor, Filey in November 1944. He was taken ill at Filey during a bitter cold winter.
TML/75289 Private Shabani Selemani of the African Pioneer Corps [East Africa] died on 15th May 1945. No further details are known of his exact birthplace, his age or his family. I am not even certain whether Selemani is his first name or his surname. For many years I had wondered how he found his way to his final resting place in Harrogate, until military historian, John Ellis, and Elizabeth Smith, Public Engagement Coordinator (North East) of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, supplied further information. Shabani Selemani had been a Prisoner or War, probably captured at the fall of Tobruk in May 1942 and taken first to Italy and then to a camp in occupied France. It is likely he was liberated at the end of the war and brought to the UK to a military hospital, possibly in the military wing of Harrogate General Hospital. We don’t know whether he died from illness (most likely) or whether he had been wounded.
723376 AC2 Ivan Copeland Ashman is another person about whom there is little information in official records, other than he was from Jamaica. He died on 28th April 1945 of pulmonary tuberculosis, aged 19. He was another member of the second main contingent of ground crew volunteers who arrived to do their basic British training at RAF Hunmanby Moor, Filey in November 1944
724737 Leading Aircraftman Isaac Roland Bryan, son of George and Olga Bryan of Fair Prospect, Long Bay, Jamaica, died while still in service with the RAF, two years after the war ended, on 7th May 1947. At the time of his death he was a clerk at 1 Personnel Holding Unit, Innsworth, Gloucestershire, probably awaiting repatriation to Jamaica. He came to Britain in March 1945 in the third main contingent of ground crew recruits who did their initial British training at RAF Melksham in Wiltshire. Isaac died of pleurisy secondary to pulmonary tuberculosis, aged 21.
We know that eight of these men were young – aged between 19 and 24, and there is no reason to suppose that Shabani Selemani was much older. None of them died in combat, although Shabani Selemani may have been wounded in action, which could have contributed to his death. This should remind us that many who lost their lives during the war, died from accidents of all kinds, sickness, ill-treatment by captors and illness caused by adverse weather and conditions of deprivation, as well as during combat. No doubt, all of these men left their homes with high hopes that they would help create a better world and better lives for themselves after the war. Instead they lie buried in a cemetery in Yorkshire, far away from their homes and loved ones. Remembering them with gratitude for their sacrifice is the least that we can do.
A decade ago we worked on a project to identify Black soldiers who served in the First World War and who were commemorated in the UK. We had some successes, as a result of our work the ‘lost’ grave of Lionel Turpin was located and his final resting place in a Leamington cemetery is now marked. The project also led us to the story of the Walker Brothers and a book that tells their story:
We were helped in our work by two books, recently published at the time, Black Poppies by Stephen Bourne and Black Tommies by Ray Costello, but there was still a sense that this was a hidden history and that there were those who wished to deny the presence of Black soldiers in Flanders – if they were there at all, they were there simply as labourers, not as fighting troops. Thanks to the work of John Ellis our website now contains the stories of a number of men of colour who served in combat roles (just type ‘somme’ into the search box to find them).
The photo we feature below is further proof of a Black presence at the Battle of the Somme in 1916:
John Ellis provides some context:
This unit is D Company of the 1st/4th Gloucestershire Regiment (City of Bristol Battalion). They were formed from civilian volunteers living in Bristol when WW1 broke out. They went to France in 1915 and in July 1916 they participated in the Battle of the Somme. The photo was taken after a successful attack on the German trenches They have taken trophies: A German machine gun. German helmets and swords. Within a few days they went back into battle. The Battle of the Somme ended in November 1916. Over 400,000 British soldiers were killed. So many of the men in the photograph would have been wounded or killed after it was taken.
Only a few of the men in the photo have been identified. Most are unknown. Including the Black soldier sitting behind the machine gun among his comrades.
The photograph comes from the collection of amateur historian, Ian Chard, who reached out to the BBC in an attempt to find out who some of the men were. You can read more about the story here:
Nadia Cattouse in her Auxiliary Territorial Service uniform
It is with great sadness that we report the death of Nadia Cattouse just a few days short of her 100th birthday. Born in British Honduras (now Belize) she led a remarkable life as a singer, actor and activist as well as serving her country as a member of the ATS during World War Two.
We are lucky that in April 2020 Audrey Dewjee wrote an article about Nadia that was cleared by the lady herself and given her blessing. There is a lot of fake history on the internet but we can be sure that Audrey’s article is factually accurate in every respect, you can read it here, it is a fitting tribute to a life well lived: https://www.historycalroots.com/nadia-cattouse/
Audrey Dewjee’s latest article for Historycal Roots starts with the birth of Edward Albert in Kingston, Jamaica in about 1830 and leads inexorably through the generations to Jack London. Born in British Guiana in January 1905, Jack won both a gold and a silver medal at the Olympic Games held in Amsterdam in 1928.
Audrey’s article takes us on a fascinating journey. To be honest, the story of Edward Albert is remarkable in its own right, encompassing life in the Royal Navy from the age of nine, the amputation of both legs below the knee at the age of twenty-one, his ‘death’ following the operation (greatly exaggerated as it transpired), time spent begging on the streets, a successful business venture (he was robbed of his profits), marriage and fatherhood. Edward’s resilience in the face of adversity and repeated setbacks is inspiring, but his story does not end there.
Among other discoveries, Audrey has identified two grandsons and a great-grandson who served in the Army during World War One or Two, including one who was captured by the Germans at Arnhem and another who died in Singapore.
Jack London enters the story in 1938 when he married Agnes Downham, a grand-daughter of Albert.
Born during the time of slavery, Edward Albert’s story, and that of many others like him, reminds us of Maya Angelou’s poem:
You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Thank you, Audrey, for illuminating Black British history with your research and for helping to ensure that people like Edward Albert ‘rise’ and are not forgotten.
On 11th March 1916 the SS Verdala left Jamaica with 1,160 recruits on board, men who had enlisted to fight for Britain in the ‘Great War’. As the ship steamed out of the harbour, even the Governor of Jamaica, Sir W H Manning, didn’t know the precise details of the planned voyage other than that England was the ultimate destination. What transpired shook many Jamaicans’ faith in the colonial authorities.
Recruits marching through the streets of Kingston on their way to the Verdala[1]From ‘Jamaica and the Great War’ by Herbert G De Lisser
On the eve of departure from Kingston[2]De Lisser, Op.cit.
The Verdala was ill-suited for the voyage that lay ahead and nine of the men who left Jamaica with high hopes of contributing to the war effort died long before the ship reached England. Hundreds of others were permanently disabled.
You may be familiar with the story, the broad outlines are relatively well-known, but even with well-known stories there is often more that can be learned. We think our latest article will contain new information for even the most well-read of this site’s followers. You can read it here:
Photo courtesy of AGNAP (the Association of Guyanese Nurses and Associated Professionals
We were so pleased to see that Daphne Steele has now been commemorated with a Blue Plaque in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. Daphne is credited as having been the first Black matron in the NHS (from 1964). The new plaque commemorating her contribution is at what was formerly St Winifred’s maternity home where she was based for a number of years.
Daphne was one of several members of the Steele family who came to England from British Guiana (now Guyana) in the early 1950s. She arrived in 1951 and was soon followed by the best known of her siblings, her sister, Carmen, now known as Carmen Monroe, the actress. My own father-in-law was another Steele who made the journey, he was met by Carmen when he arrived in London in 1952 and spent many years working in the Post Office, a less glamourous contribution to Britain’s post-war regeneration but important nonetheless. The Steeles are just one example of the countless families who helped rebuild Britain after the devastation of World War Two.
Daphne trained at St James’ hospital in Balham and it was our privilege to be present when a Nubian Jak plaque was unveiled there in 2018:
After two years in south London she then trained as a midwife before going on to work for the NHS in Oxfordshire and Manchester (as well as a stint in America) before settling in Yorkshire.
The unveiling ceremony was featured on the BBC news website and you can read more about Daphne here:
Life is full of surprises and we certainly were not expecting Stephen Bourne, a published author with a number of books to his credit, to ask us out of the blue to publish his latest book. When he said he wanted to tell the story of Amanda Ira Aldridge and Avril Coleridge-Taylor we really could not refuse. Both these ladies, the mixed heritage daughters of famous fathers, have long been of interest to us.
Stephen’s informative and nicely illustrated book is now available to buy (just click on the cover):
For a long time recordings of the work of these two composers were hard to find but that is changing, gradually.
There are two short pieces by Avril on ‘Beyond Twilight’, a CD of music for piano and cello by a number of female composers, and her ‘Sussex Landscape’ is included on a CD that features some her father’s best music (his Violin Concerto is a particular favourite).
Music by Amanda (aka Montague Ring) is harder to come by but the American pianist, Rochelle Sennet, has included some piano pieces by her on two recent releases:
This music is all available on Spotify for those of you who have access to that service.
We do hope you will have the chance to listen to their music while reading about these ground-breaking women in Stephen’s book.
Audrey Dewjee’s latest contribution to Historycal Roots is of particular interest to us and we hope you will find it enlightening too. Audrey has chosen the title ‘Roots entwined’ for the article and in it she explores the history of inter-racial marriage in her home county of Yorkshire.
The earliest mixed marriage she mentions in the article took place in Deptford, London, in 1613, but, as she puts it, ‘Yorkshire eventually caught up.’ She goes on to mention the marriage of John Quashee and Rebecca Crosby at Thornton by Pocklington on 12s. November 1732.
St Michael’s church, Pocklington, the site of John and Rebecca’s wedding?
Audrey goes on to cite 18th, 19th and 20th century examples. One of her 19th century Yorkshire marriages features John Perry, a Black man born in Annapolis in Nova Scotia in about 1819, who married in Ripon in 1844 and ended his days in Sydney, Australia, having been transported to the penal colony. As an illustration of how ‘entwined’ these stories can become, John Perry has featured in an earlier Historycal Roots article by John Ellis which Audrey references.
Of course, similar stories can be found in virtually any part of the country and there must be people who are puzzled by the results they get back from a DNA test. As Audrey says ‘colour fades quickly if [mixed heritage] children and grandchildren have White partners … and gradually the memory of a Black ancestor fades,’ something my wife and I are only too aware of as we watch our grandson growing up.
In recent years our knowledge of who was on the Empire Windrush when she docked at Tilbury in June 1948 has developed considerably. Bill Hern has played a big part in this and some of the fruits of his latest research can be found in a new book produced by the Windrush Foundation. It is beautifully illustrated – I was going to describe it as a great ‘coffee table’ book, but such books are usually used as rarely opened adornments, this book is so much more than that. The words tell the stories of over eighty of the Windrush passengers, most of which have never previously been told. If you still believe the passengers on the Windrush were all Jamaican men coming to the UK in search of work, this book will set you straight!
My understanding is that the book is only available through the Windrush Foundation, it can be downloaded as a free e-book / pdf via this link:
