Karen Bonner
“I wanted to be a nurse as long as I could remember. I never considered another career and…
Service and Sacrifice
Sergeant Winston White (Retd), RAF 1970 – 2000
Winston G White came to the UK from the Caribbean in 1967 as a teenager. After school, he…
Tiarna-Ann Pearce, London Fire Brigade 2020 – Present
Tiarna-Ann is 25 years old and has been a firefighter for almost a year now. Currently stationed at…
Shaun Coltress, London Fire Brigade 2009 – Present
“I really enjoy working for London Fire Brigade and hope to be here for many more years to…
Karen Bell, Sub Officer, London Fire Brigade 2009 – present
Karen Bell joined the London Fire Brigade 12 years ago. Starting as a Control Officer receiving 999 calls,…
Chloe Reid, London Fire Brigade 2018 – Present
“I joined the Brigade because I wanted a role that gave me purpose and liked the idea of…
Colonel (Retd) Andy Allen MBE Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 1984 – 2015
Colonel (Retd) Andy Allen MBE Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 1984 – 2015 As an Army Cadet, Andy…
Albert Jarrett, RAF 1942 – 1946
In 1942, after three years of war, the situation looked bleak for the Allies. Britain reached out to…
John ‘Johnny’ Smythe (1915-1996)
He was selected to train as a navigator, due to his high scores on mathematics tests. Assigned as…
First World War Service and Sacrifice; Gershom Browne, (1898-2000)
Born in British Guiana (now Guyana), Gershom lived in rural Bagotsville, he was officially too young to enlist…
WATCH: African Community Service and Sacrifice
Folarin Kuku joined the Army in 2005 and attended Sandhurst he was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards. In…
British and Commonwealth Community Films
These films explore the service and sacrifice of different communities from Britain and the Commonwealth from the First…
WATCH: Caribbean Community Service and Sacrifice
“I was born in Woolwich, east London, to West Indian parents who had migrated to Britain in the…
Billy Strachan (1921- 1998)
Born in Jamaica as William Arthur Watkin Strachan, Billy left school in December 1939 with a desire to…
Patrick Nelson (1916-1963)
His mother was Gertrude Nelson. Patrick first came to Britain in 1937 after training as a hotel valet…
Gilbert Clarke
Born in Jamaica, Gilbert, his brother and sister lost their father when Gilbert was three. A bright pupil…
James Samuel Risien Russell (1863-1939 )
Born in Demerara, British Guiana (now Guyana), Russell’s father, William Russell, was a wealthy sugar plantation owner and…
Private Bai
Private Bai of the Gold Coast Regiment was the first confirmed Commonwealth casualty under fire in the First World War….
Pte Emmanuel Obeng, Royal Logistics Corps, 2019 – present
Emmanuel describes being in the Army as being ‘part of a bigger family where you can familiarise yourself…
Tiarna-Ann Pearce, London Fire Brigade, 2020 – Present
Nicole wanted to be a paramedic from a very young age. She explains ‘I believe this stemmed from…
