Black British Service and Sacrifice in the Second World War
The Second World War was not fought by Britain alone. It was a global conflict, drawing on the…
Second World War Service and Sacrifice
Richard Akinwande Savage – The Trailblazing Officer
Richard Akinwande Savage (Jnr) was born in Edinburgh in 1903. His father claimed descent from a freed Nigerian…
Ralph Ottey Service in the ‘Dambusters’ Squadron
Born and raised in Little London, and a descendant of a Scottish military doctor who settled there, Ralph…
Private Pessima Lamboi From Sierra Leone to Burma
Pessima (Peter) Lamboi was born on Christmas Day, 1921, in Moyamba District of the Kori Chiefdom in Sierra…
Michael Adjivon A celebrated Military and Sporting Life
Michael’s story began in Togo in 1920, but he moved to Ghana when still a child to live…
John Henry “Johnny” Smythe – RAF Navigator and Windrush Voice
Johnny Smythe was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in 1915, when the country was still a British colony….
Ulric Cross – Pathfinder and Diplomat
Philip Louis Ulric Cross (1917–2013) lived one of the most extraordinary lives of the twentieth century. From a…
Lilian Bader – RAF Pioneer and Educator
Lilian Mary Bader (1918–2015) was one of the first Black women to serve in Britain’s armed forces and…
Sgt Sidney Cornell – Second World War Heroism
This year saw marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day, a pivotal moment in the Second World War, when…
The Westmaas Family
George Hamilton Westmaas and his wife Winifred raised eight boys in Georgetown, Guyana (then British Guiana). George’s grandson,…
John ‘Johnny’ Smythe (1915-1996)
He was selected to train as a navigator, due to his high scores on mathematics tests. Assigned as…
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…
Eddie Martin Noble (1917-2007)
Born in Jamaica, Noble was brought up primarily by his grandparents. He removed from a predominantly European Jamaican…
Princess Tsehai (1919-1942)
From age eight Tsehai attended schools in England and Switzerland and would travel with her royal relatives to…
Dudley Thompson (1917-2012)
Born in Panama, Dudley’s father was a teacher who had come to the country for work purposes, and…
Harold Sinson (1921- 2010)
In 1943, having been told by a friend that the RAF was advertising for people from the Empire…
Second World War Service and Sacrifice – Dr Harold Moody (1882-1947)
Born in Jamaica, Harold was the eldest child of a successful retail chemist and strict Congregationalist. Harold moved…
Second World War Service and Sacrifice – William ‘Bill’ Miller (1890-1970)
Born in Plymouth, William Alexander Miller, known as Bill Miller, was the son of an English mother and…
