[ARCHIVED CONTENT] We Were There

(left) Flying Officer Arthur O Weeks, from Barbados, and Flight Sergeant Collins A Joseph of Trinadad, photographed while serving as pilots with No.132 Squadron RAF Fighter Command in 1943.

(right) Men of the Royal Indian Navy at Stamshaw Training Camp, Portsmouth, 8th July 1942.
Courtesy: Imprial War Museum.

Thousands of personnel from the Empire and Commonwealth were posted to the UK during the Second World War. Many were in the RAF, having been recruited through the Overseas Recruiting Scheme, introduced in 1940 to encourage overseas British subjects to apply to join the Service. Several hundred ethnic personnel were recruited under the Overseas Recruiting Scheme; more than 400 of these were accepted for aircrew training and approximately 70 were subsequently commissioned. In addition, a further 5,500 West Indian personnel were enlisted for groundcrew duties in the UK between 1943 and 1945.

The integration of overseas recruits into RAF units placed great emphasis upon the need to stamp out any sign of discrimination. An Air Ministry Confidential Order issued to commanding officers in June 1944 stated that

“All ranks should clearly understand that there is no colour bar in the Royal Air Force. Colonial personnel who come to this country are volunteers. They feel a close tie with the Mother Country and the mainspring of their desire to serve is a strong sense of loyalty…. Any instance of discrimination on grounds of colour by white officers or airmen or any attitude of hostility towards personnel of non-European descent should be immediately and severely checked.”

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West Indies Calling

Naval forces from the Empire also visited the UK. The UK built six sloops and several minesweepers for the Royal Indian Navy during the war. After commissioning, they joined Royal Navy vessels in patrolling the waters around the British Isles before sailing for the Mediterranean and Far East. A number of overseas personnel were also sent to attend special courses here. The first Indian service woman to visit the UK was Second Officer Kalyani Sen of the Women’s Royal Indian Naval Service (WRINS).

A number of Britain’s resident ethnic minority population were enlisted or called up into the Army. Overseas personnel also came to the UK to work in industry, many as skilled technicians, and a number of these volunteered for the Home Guard.