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 is with real pleasure that we welcome Audrey Dewjee back to the pages of Historycal Roots. Her latest article describes something of the experiences of the 4,000 RAF West Indian airmen who were stationed at Hunmanby Moor in Yorkshire during the Second World War. The subject has been very close to Audrey’s heart for a long time and her article has been a real labour of love which we are delighted to lay before you. Veterans Alford Gardner and Gilbert Clarke (pictured) were among those present at the unveiling of a commemorative plaque in the nearby town of Filey in 2023. You can read Audrey’s article here:
You have to be careful about claiming to have identified the ‘first’ of anything in the past, there is always the chance someone will find an earlier example – wise words that historian Ray Costello shared over a convivial lunch in Liverpool some years ago.
John Ellis is far too canny to fall into that trap but he has identified Flight Sergeant Thomas Smith, a ‘man of colour’ from Barnstaple in Devon, as a founding member of the Royal Air Force when it was formed on 1st April 1918. As a ‘founding member’ you can’t get much more ‘first’ than that, although it is possible, of course, that there were other Black men who joined on the same day.
Perhaps others stories will emerge but, for now, we celebrate Flight Sergeant Thomas Smith. Thomas, who had a Black father, a White mother and an American grandfather, got into the RAF in spite of the provisions of the Royal Air Force (Constitution) Act of 1917 which restricted entry to men of ‘pure European descent’. Thomas was able to get round this manifestation of the institutional racism of the time because he was already serving as a Petty Officer in the Royal Navy Air Service and was able to transfer across into the newly formed RAF.
Thomas came from a humble background. His father, Moses, was a ‘hawker’ (a street trader) and his mother, Elizabeth, the daughter of a mussel gatherer, was also a fish hawker prior to her marriage to Moses. Moses, who undoubtedly faced racism, was no stranger to the Barnstable constabulary and was in the local gaol on more than one occasion. But he was also an eloquent man, well able to speak up for himself. He was also known to box at the local fair and there were occasions when he used his pugilistic skills to defend himself as the need arose.
Thomas had more than one brush with the law himself. In May 1911 he took revenge for an assault on his father by attacking both the father and sister of the culprit. He was serving in the Royal Navy at the time and his Commanding Officer spoke up for him, describing him as ‘a very good character’ and ‘a very good man’.
When war broke out in 1914 Thomas Smith was serving on the battlecruiser HMS Indefatigable and he saw active service in the Dardanelles and North Atlantic. The Indefatigable was sunk at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 with the loss of almost the entire crew of around 1,000. Fortunately Thomas, following promotion to the rank of Petty Officer, had been transferred to another ship in December 1915 – a lucky escape.
You can learn much more about Thomas Smith, including his ground-breaking time in the RAF, in John Ellis’s latest article for Historycal Roots. It really is a remarkable story:
This year’s Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph has been like no other because of covid-19. It has set me thinking about previous Remembrance Sunday commemorations – and omissions – which, to some extent, have been corrected in the very recent past.
For years and years, the BBC presenter of the Remembrance Sunday programme recited the same old script in a solemn pompous voice – while simultaneously revealing either his ignorance or his racism. For years and years the virtues of “Commonwealth” participation in the two World Wars were extolled and tribute was paid to the contribution of people from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, but there was little or no mention of the sacrifices made by people of colour, whether from the Indian subcontinent, Africa, the Caribbean or any other part of the former British Empire from which they came. I used to watch in fury, every year, and many times wrote to the BBC to tell them that they must acknowledge these contributions. Colleagues at the time did the same, but perhaps none did so for as many years as my friend Kusoom Vadgama. Our protests fell on deaf ears.
I was especially infuriated when the commentator, usually David Dimbleby, would mention the countries from which the various High Commissioners came, without ever mentioning that the people of those countries had fought and died side by side with their comrades from the British Isles. The insult was even greater when you knew that two of the High Commissioners themselves had fought in the war – Arthur Wint (Jamaican High Commissioner from 1974-1978) and Ulric Cross (High Commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago from 1990-1993). Arthur Wint was a pilot and Ulric Cross a navigator in the RAF.
Something else that has never been commented on – the shape of the Cenotaph itself. Many war memorials in British towns and cities include a cross, but a cross is significantly absent from the Cenotaph. As Mary Lutyens pointed out in an article in Ms London (16 November, 1981), her father, the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens who designed the monument, “refused to put a cross on it, because he said the troops marching past were of many different religions.” Good for you Sir Edwin! – at least someone had awareness and integrity.
The Cenotaph in 1925 (IWM Q37996)
Gradually, and possibly grudgingly, over recent years, things changed a little and Britons began to hear stories in the media about those who had been omitted for so long. However, the Black Lives Matter movement, the 75th anniversary of the ending of World War 2 and, in particular the VJ day anniversary this year, have resulted in a sea-change in reporting and suddenly the stories of veterans from all over the world are starting to be told – too late for many of those who would have appreciated this recognition.
I watched the 2020 Remembrance Sunday Ceremony on TV and noted with pleasure that the Queen’s equerry, Ghanaian-born Lieutenant Colonel Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah, was in attendance, as he was at the private ceremony earlier in the week, when the Queen laid a bouquet on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. [Find out more about Lt. Col. Twumasi-Ankrah on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqRUjE2MAV8 ]
On Wednesday 11th November, the actual Remembrance Day – I will be thinking, among others, of the following:
Adolphus Meheux a Sierra Leone-born merchant seaman from Hull who lost his life off the Netherlands when his ship the SS Cito was attacked by German destroyers on 17 May, 1917. His name appears on the memorial boards at the entrance to Hull Station. https://www.africansinyorkshireproject.com/adolphus-meheux.html
Jim Bailey
James Bailey, brother of Lilian Bader, a merchant seaman who along with 21 of his shipmates on board the SS Western Chief went down in the Atlantic on 14 March, 1941, after being torpedoed by an Italian submarine. He is commemorated on the Trinity House Memorial at Tower Hill in London.
The following who all died in World War 2 and are buried or commemorated in Stonefall Cemetery, North Yorkshire:
Grave of Selemani Shabani
Private Selemani Shabani of the African Pioneer Corps [East Africa]
Sgt. Pilot Isikeli Doviverata Komaisavai
Sgt. Pilot Isikeli Doviverata Komaisavai of Fiji served with 234 Squadron. He died on 19th October 1944 at the age of 24.
Flying Officer Ulric Look Yan (IWM D 15031)
Flying Officer Ulric Leslie Look Yan of Trinidad, aged 21.
Flying Officer Edward Fred Hutchinson Haly DFC of British Guiana [now Guyana], aged 23.
This site https://www.caribbeanaircrew-ww2.com/ is an unparalleled source of information about Caribbean aircrew. It contains information about the Caribbean aircrew mentioned above and many more besides.
Leading Aircraftman Isaac Roland Bryan of Jamaica, aged 21.
AC2 Ivan Copeland Ashman of Jamaica.
AC2 Wilfred Octavius Dawns of Jamaica, aged 24.
AC2 Patrick Constantine Marshall of Jamaica, aged 19
AC2 Byron Martin of Jamaica, aged 19.
The last five were ground crew members of the RAF. Just because you didn’t go into battle, didn’t mean you were safe from accident or illness. A number of non-combatants never returned to their families.
The hundreds of thousands of East Africans killed in World War 1 who don’t have individual marked graves, but who are commemorated on three memorials: one in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the others in Mombasa and Nairobi in Kenya.
The Askari Monument, Dar es Salaam
The inscription on the Askari Monument in Nairobi
The inscription (in English, Kiswahili and Arabic) on both monuments reads as follows:
This is to the memory of the native African troops who fought: to the carriers who were the feet and hands of the army: and to all other men who served and died for their King and Country in Eastern Africa in the Great War 1914-1918.
If you fight for your Country even if you die your sons will remember your name.
Karun Krishna Majumdar (IWM CL 1176)
Wing Commander Karun Krishna Majumdar, who flew and survived the war in Europe, only to die fighting in Burma in February, 1945.
Man Mohan Singh
Flying Officer Man Mohan Singh, who came to Britain in 1939 and was eventually stationed in Australia where he was killed in a Japanese air raid.
Pilot Officer Gurbachan Singh, who was killed in an accident when his plane hit a telephone wire in Wiltshire and crashed on 12 April, 1941, aged 21.
Pilot Officer Hukum Chand Mehta, who died when his Hurricane IIB flew into the ground at Kielder in Northumberland, during a formation practice on 3 November 1941, aged 24.
Flight Sergeant James Hyde (he was promoted to Warrant Officer before he died) (IWM CH 11978)
Warrant Officer James Hyde
a Spitfire pilot from Trinidad (featured on this film around minute 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViGwxJloI70 ), who was killed in a dogfight over Nijmegen in the Battle of Arnhem on 25 September, 1944, aged 27.
Sergeant Osmund William St. Clair Alleyne, Wireless Operator/Gunner, from Dominica, killed in action on 5 August, 1943.
Victor Emmanuel Tucker (IWM CH5312)
Pilot OfficerVictor Emmanuel Tucker from Jamaica, he was shot down 4 May 1941 and crashed into the Channel, aged 25.
These are just a handful of stories of the people who were lost in two World Wars. Their stories are important: we need to tell them, especially to our children, and we need to ensure that they become part of mainstream British history.
Today, on the anniversary of his passing, we celebrate the life of Ronald Fitzherbert Hall. Ron’s name will not be widely known beyond the circle of his friends and family but he contributed greatly both during and after World War 2. Our story, which you can find here http://historycalroots.com/ronald-fitzherbert-hall-navigator-here focuses mainly on his time in the RAF during the War.
Ron is just one of the many unsung black heroes who deserve a place in our collective history. We hope you enjoy reading about him.
We make our own contribution to the VE (Victory in Europe) anniversary celebrations by adding a new page to the Windrush Generation section of this site.
Alford Gardner was on the Empire Windrush when she docked at Tilbury in June 1948 but he had also served in the Royal Air Force during World War Two.
Alford (right) with his friend Dennis Reid
The page has been written by Audrey Dewjee and is a revised version of an article she first wrote over two years ago. Audrey has updated it following recent conversations she has had with Alford who is still enjoying life to the full at the age of 94.
When does an ‘ordinary’ life become ‘extraordinary’?
Travelling over 4,500 miles from a Caribbean island to serve your king and “Mother Country” in the Second World War is not bad for starters.
Overcoming racism to make a new life for yourself in a land distant from your birth is a good way of continuing the story.
Marrying and bringing up a family of four children, holding down a job, paying your taxes for 38 years sounds good too.
Charlie Dawkins’ life was all these things and much more.
Although his story is not unique, it is well worth remembering. It also shines a light on the little-known story of the 4,000 West Indian recruits who trained at RAF Hunmanby Moor, Filey, in 1944.
Charlie lived a relatively quiet but very worthwhile life. He was much loved by his wife and children. He passed good old fashioned values on to the next generation. He instilled in them good Christian principles, such as honesty, integrity and self-discipline. He was kind and thoughtful, well-informed and wise beyond his years and the limited educational opportunities that were open to him.
Charlie Dawkins was indeed a very special person. You can read an article about him by Audrey Dewjee on a new page in the ‘Windrush Generation’ section of this site: http://historycalroots.com/charles-austin-dawkins
This contribution to Historycal Roots is written by Audrey Dewjee, who has been researching British Black and Asian history for the last 45 years.
It is not generally well-known that men from Africa and the Caribbean volunteered to serve in the RAF in World War
2. About 5,500 served as ground crew and
over 500 more flew in bomber and fighter aircraft. A new movie features some of the men who
risked their lives to help Britain
beat the Nazi regime. Hero: Inspired by the Extraordinary Life
& Times of Ulric Cross, directed by Frances-Anne Solomon, is a must-see
film with an important message for people of today.[1]
Every film needs a ‘bad guy’ to enhance the narrative. In Hero this role is assigned to “James Macfarlane,” a fictional character given the nickname “Pony”. It is unfortunate that this purely fictional character is portrayed in the film as being the warden of the West Indian Students Centre and is known to all by the nickname “Pony”. I worry that some filmgoers may not realise that James Macfarlane is a fictional character – especially as all the other main characters in the film are real historical personalities – and that this may result in confusion between the fictional character (a ‘baddy’) and the admirable real historical person nicknamed “Pony,” who ran the Centre from 1954 until its closure in 1978.
Who was Pony Hynam?
Some time in the late 1970s, I went with a friend called Audrey Elcombe to interview an ex-RAF Pilot Officer. Audrey was doing research for a book she was writing about Black aircrew in the Second World War.[2] I didn’t make any notes at this meeting but, on hearing his story, I felt very privileged to meet Winston Kitchener Hynam. I have taken the following information about him from various websites, principally from http://www.caribbeanaircrew-ww2.com – the website founded by ex-Flight Lieutenant Cy Grant. More pictures and 32 of Pony’s log books are available to view at http://www.caribbeanaircrew-ww2.com/index.php?s=hynam&Submit=Search
Winston Kitchener Hynam, known to everyone as “Pony”, was born in Bridgetown, Barbados in 1917. When World War 2 began, he enlisted in the RAF to help fight Nazi tyranny. He started his career as a Sergeant in 103 Squadron where he served as a Front Gunner and a Wireless Operator on Wellington bombers, and later as an Air Bomber on Halifaxes. David Fell comments “He was awarded a well deserved DFM (Distinguished Flying Medal) for his excellent work in three separate aircrew trades during the same tour which must be unusual if not rare.”[3] Being a front gunner was especially dangerous as he would be a prime target for attacking enemy fighters.
Once, when he was flying as Front Gunner on a bombing raid to Paris, the Wellington he was in was hit by flak at 2,000 feet. The plane’s intercom and hydraulics systems stopped working and the crew knew that the pilot would have to make a crash-landing back at base. Throughout the return trip ‘Sergeant Hynam remained outstandingly cool and alert…setting a fine example [to the rest of the crew].’
His Wing Commander, in recommending Pony for his DFM, wrote
the following about him:
‘Sergeant Hynam has taken part in 30 operational sorties of which 9 have been as 1st Wireless Operator, 15 as Front Gunner, and 6 as Bombardier.
In each capacity he has proved himself to be extremely competent and reliable. During these trips he has crashed twice and been hit in the back by shrapnel once. Despite these setbacks he has maintained a high standard of morale in himself which has set a fine example to the rest of the Squadron.
In concentrated flak, in bad weather and dangerous situations, he has at all times displayed outstanding coolness and complete disregard for danger, which, coupled with his accuracy at shooting has inspired the greatest confidence in his numerous captains….
Since becoming a Bombardier in a Halifax aircraft, this N.C.O. has shown the greatest enthusiasm and aptitude for his new task, which has largely been responsible for the excellent bombing and photography of the target area that his crew have obtained.‘
Having survived his first tour of 30 operations, Pony was (like
all air crew) entitled to step down from further active service and he went on
to spend some time as an instructor.
However, he then volunteered to return to active duty and was commissioned
as a Pilot Officer as a member of 100 Squadron.
While flying with this squadron, he received a second award for bravery,
this time the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross).
He was the only West Indian to hold both medals.
On the night of 17-18 August 1943, whilst flying with 100 Squadron, Pony took part in the famous Peenemunde raid. This was one of the biggest and most dangerous bombing raids ever carried out by the RAF. The target was the launch site and testing ground of V2 rockets then being developed by the Nazis, which in 1944 would start raining down on London with devastating consequences. British intelligence had discovered the site’s importance and the raid was carried out by moonlight (something which was always avoided because of the added risk to planes and crew) in order to assist with accuracy. The bombing resulted in a delay in the development of these weapons and the removal of the test facility further into German territory. The air crew casualty rate on this raid alone was enormous, and Pony was extremely fortunate to be alive at the end of the War, after taking part in a total of 50 bombing missions during his RAF career.
From 1954 to 1978 Pony Hynam was the Warden of the West Indian Students Centre at 1 Collingham Gardens, Earls Court, living in a flat on the top floor with his wife Doris, known as “Molly”. [I think that their flat is probably where our interview took place.] Under his able management, the Centre provided a very important meeting place for Caribbean and African people. Politicians from the West Indies came to speak at the Centre and influential organisations such as the West Indian Standing Conference and the Caribbean Artists Movement held their meetings under its roof.
Pony Hynam died in 1991, leaving his wife (who died in 2008)
and two daughters.
Footnotes
[1] Squadron Leader Ulric Cross DSO DFC was the most senior ranking West Indian officer in the RAF in WW2. After the war he studied law and then had a career as an esteemed Judge in West and East Africa and in his homeland, Trinidad. From 1970 to 1973 he was Trinidadian High Commissioner here in Britain combining the post with Ambassador to Germany and France. He died on 4 October 2013, aged 96.
[2] Unfortunately Audrey Elcombe died before she found a publisher and her manuscript disappeared.
Congratulations to the tireless Nubian Jak for arranging another Blue Plaque to commemorate the contribution Black men and women have made to British society, well over thirty plaques have now been erected.
The latest was unveiled by the mayor of Haringey, Stephen Mann, fittingly enough, on Remembrance Day, 11th November 2017. The local MP, Catherine West was also present. The plaque was unveiled in Jackson’s Lane at the home of Cy Grant.
Cy died in 2010 after having lived a (very!) full and varied life. Born in what was then British Guiana in 1919 he served in the RAF as a navigator during World War 2. On only his third mission his plane was shot down. He was able to bale out but was taken prisoner by the Germans and spent two years as a prisoner of war.
After the war he studied law and qualified as a barrister but racial prejudice prevented him from finding work. He embarked on an acting career and found success in films (including a role alongside Richard Burton in ‘The Sea Wife’ [1957]) and on stage.
He also embarked on a singing career and it was as a calypso singer on the long running ‘Tonight’ programme, singing about a topical news item, that he came to the notice of both the boy who would grow up to become the Mayor of Haringey and also the author of this blog. He was one of the very few Black faces on TV at that time. Fans of ‘Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons’ will also remember Cy as the voice of Lieutenant Green.
He was also an activist who was instrumental in setting up the Drum Arts Centre in North London and later as Director of the Concord Multicultural Festvals. Oh, and he found time to write too.
A blue plaque seems a very fitting commemoration of such a life, just reading about his many achievements makes me feel tired!
It is with real pleasure that we welcome Audrey Dewjee back to the pages of Historycal Roots. Her latest article describes something of the experiences of the 4,000 RAF West Indian airmen who were stationed at Hunmanby Moor in Yorkshire during the Second World War. The subject has been very close to Audrey’s heart for a long time and her article has been a real labour of love which we are delighted to lay before you. Veterans Alford Gardner and Gilbert Clarke (pictured) were among those present at the unveiling of a commemorative plaque in the nearby town of Filey in 2023. You can read Audrey’s article here:
