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Sources: Black and Asian Involvement

The learning activities for the 'Black and Asian Involvement' theme are based on the following stories. You can use the extracts as they appear on this page, or follow the links to read the full stories.

Making a Difference - Experiences of a Black British Serviceman

There was no military tradition in my family. I enlisted because of patriotism and adventure. The West Indies gave full support to the mother country, Great Britain, in her conflict with Germany. ...

In the RAF my unit picked up aircrews shot down or ditched at sea. ... We also laid flare paths for the flying boats to land or take off at night and transported aircrews and maintenance crews to planes. Our other jobs included refuelling, re-loading bombs and towing sea-planes to dry docks. ...

There was no official racial discrimination in the services, but seniority promotion for a black serviceman was rare, even if you were qualified to do the job. Excuses for non-promotion were always there, so you were simply allowed to carry on in the ranks, regardless of your ability. They didn't want black personnel in charge of white servicemen.

But we were treated very well by white civilians because they were aware that you had left your safe country to face danger and help them in their time of need. And white British servicemen, in my case, were fine. In the navy, on a small ship, you have to live close, so you automatically become a close unit - whether afloat or ashore; any difficulties that arise are quickly sorted out. In the RAF, again when on air-sea rescue duties, you are together as a crew. Most of the time, I was the only black, so no problem, but when I was on other duties and had to mix, there were some problems - mostly caused by stereotyping. People would say things like 'Because you're black you don't need to wash' and 'Where did you learn to speak English, if you live in trees?' At first I took offence, but after deep consideration I came to the conclusion that it was best for me to try and re-educate my colleagues, which I did. ...

I got along fine with the white Commonwealth personnel because apparently they had been warned not to compare West Indians with their native population. A few did step out of line, but were dealt with accordingly. But I didn't get along with white American GIs. They were reluctant to accept the fact that the British black servicemen were a different race in social outlook. Many of the white American GIs were from the southern states of America and, although they were in Europe (a very different social scene), they couldn't face the changes that took place. So we had open wars, especially in dance halls and various places of entertainment, with the local whites as back-up on our side.

Ramisaminaidu, a Runner in the 11th Indian LAA in Burma

I started by asking my runner whose name was Ramisaminaidu (a Tamil who came from a village and was from a farming family), 'Why did you join the Indian Army?' His reply, which may astound you, went something like this: 'When the war broke out with Japan the family decided that it should pay back the Raj for being ma-bap and one of the family should serve. After a long discussion they decided that I could be best spared from the farm, so I came and joined up.'

Indian veterans have left very little information about what they did in those years for many reasons. The first of course is that very few could either read or write. Secondly, their life expectancy was short - in fact, I doubt if there are any left now. As the politicians wanted they got their Swaraj [a sacred word, Vedic word, meaning self-rule and self-restraint] but my feeling at the time was that these country people were not really looking forward to it.

Although lots has been written about the Indian Army in World War Two, I very much doubt if anybody will write a story on this website and tell about Great Grandfather Ramisaminaidu, a runner in the 11th Indian LAA in Burma - but he was there along with hundreds of thousands of others. His efforts for the country will never be forgotten.

The Brown Bomber: Meeting Joe Louis

Part of our delivery sometimes was to Abbotsinch Airport.The cookhouse there was manned entirely by black American Air Force personnel. This was the first time in my life I had ever met a black person. After making my deliveries of bread I was standing there, looking around, when I was lifted bodily by a giant of a man, an American sergeant. I was so small, he simply lifted me and put me on a table like a doll. Then he shook my hand and gave me some chocolate with a big smile and off he went. I was amazed at the size of him, so I asked some of the other airmen who he was. They looked at me as if I was mad. 'Sonny,' one of them said, 'don't you recognise him? He is the Heavyweight Champion of the World, that is the great Joe Louis himself, the Brown Bomber.'

The Dazzling Black American

He leaned down from his jeep and scooped me up into the passenger seat and I was dazzled. Gleaming white smile, flashing brown eyes, shining brown skin and a beautiful uniform. He was the first American that I ever saw in real life. ...

We loved those first American soldiers and did not even think about colour except that they were black and we were white, a natural state of affairs. ... There was a lot of resentment and jealousy among the local men and British servicemen because the Yanks were more confident, had more money and were much smarter. ...

Later this became more vitriolic if it was a black American soldier. I am sure this charge was imported by the white Americans, willingly adopted by our people because it gave more spice to the tale, as well as the apparent need to always have a group on which resentment can be focused. There was no resentment from us because the Americans were particularly kind to children. Where as most local adults had little or no time for children, there was always chewing gum, chocolate and friendliness from these attractive new friends. They were certainly different if only because they were patient with the many children who appeared as soon as they drove their jeeps into Bluetts Road.

Indian Troops in Scotland

The most memorable thing about these - to us exotic - [Indian] troops was their hospitality. Every so often they would organise an At Home and provide a feast of curries, rice, chapatis and naan bread, all cooked in the open air. We were allowed to look at their wonderful horses too. After the meal a display of horsemanship would be put on, including pig-sticking.

A Black Londoner at War

During World War 2, Aunt Esther worked as a cleaner and fire watcher in Brompton Hospital. She helped unite her community during the Blitz and having relatives in Guyana proved useful when food was rationed.

She said, 'Times were hard during the war. Food was rationed. Things were so bad they started selling whale meat, but I wouldn't eat it. I didn't like the look of it. We made a joke about it, singing Vera Lynn's song "We'll Meet Again" with new words, "Whale meat again!" Often Granny said, "We could do with this. We could do with that." So I wrote to my dad's brother in Guyana. I asked him to send us some food. Two weeks later a great big box arrived, full of food! So I wrote more lists and sent them to my uncle. We welcomed those food parcels.' ...

In the late 1980s I began interviewing Aunt Esther and in the course of many interviews I uncovered a fascinating life history spanning eight decades. Aunt Esther gave me first-hand accounts of what life was like for a black Londoner throughout the 20th century. A friendly, outgoing woman, my aunt integrated easily into the multicultural society of post-war Britain.

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