LouiseB Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Hi. I am doing research for an author on the history of black volunteer aircrew in the RAF during WW2. Can anyone tell me anything about this or point me somewhere? I can’t find a lot online but we know that over 400 of these men existed! Thanks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce90 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Hello. I have a book entitled 'Experiences of War. The British Airman' written by Roger A Freeman. One of the photographs in it shows a black officer and the information under the photo states that it is of 'Pilot Officer Peter Thomas the first Nigerian to be commisioned in the RAF'. The book is largely a collection of the rememberings of RAF personel and concerning Pilot Officer Thomas, a man named James Double says," On 1 October 1941 I was posted to No. 3 EFTS at RAF Watchfield near Swindon Wiltshire and on arrival was allocated the top bed of a double bunk. It was late in the afternoon and I found the bottom bed was occupied by a Nigerian who was fast asleep. He proved to be a distinctive character! He was Peter Thomas, son of a Nigerian chief who had,I learned from Peter sponsored several Spitfires."...... Double goes on to say that Peter was 'passed down' from several flying courses and had crashed a few Spitfires usually in ploughed fields but if it was suggested to him that he might get 'washed out ' of flying altogether his reply was always.. " My Father will buy some more". Double says that while he was transferred to the USA to continue training, Peter Thomas remained in the UK and eventually got his 'wings' and was commisioned but was later killed in a Spitfire in a flying accident. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalins Organ Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 There's film of him flying here - from about 9.20 on - not in a Spitfire tho!! An illustration of the role of African servicemen in the Second World War. The King's African Rifles and the Royal West African Frontier Force are seen on manoeuvres in Ceylon, the Gold Coast regiment are shown building a ferry, and the Nigerian Artillery Regiment are seen carrying and assembling their weapons. In Freetown, Sierra Leone, anti-aircraft crews practise firing their weapons and sailors are shown receiving their preliminary training in physical exercise and squad drill. Pilot Officer Peter Thomas, the first African pilot with the Royal Air Force, is seen taking off, flying and landing his aircraft. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce90 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 No definitely not a Spitfire. A Havard trainer maybe? Bit of a bumpy landing too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 "The British Empire and the second world war", by Ashley Jackson. "Our war", by Christopher Somerville In the New Zealand contingent with the Royal Air Force there was to be a significant contribution from the Maori people, whose representatives flew in each of the principal theatres of war. Flying Officer Pohe,[1] who arrived in May 1941, was the first Maori pilot to reach the United Kingdom. He was posted to a bomber squadron and had the distinction of being the first of his race to bomb Germany. He also dropped parachutists in the famous raid on Bruneval. Pohe failed to return from a mission to Hanover on the night of 22 September 1943, and was taken prisoner. He took part in the famous escape from Luft III towards the end of March 1944 and was one of the fifty Allied airmen who were afterwards shot by the Germans. Among Maori fighter pilots, Flight Lieutenant Wetere[2] flew with distinction in Hurricanes and later in Typhoons. In two tours of operations he made many attacks against German airfields, military installations, transport and shipping. Warrant Officer Wipiti[3] shared in the destruction of the first Japanese aircraft shot down over Singapore in December 1941. He later lost his life while flying with a New Zealand fighter squadron in Britain. In the Middle East Flight Lieutenant Bennett,[4] brother of Lieutenant-Colonel C. M. Bennett, DSO, commander of the Maori Battalion in 1942–43, served in the Desert Air Force and was also prominent in ground strafing attacks over Italy. 1 Flying Officer P. P. Pohe; born Wanganui, 10 Dec 1914; farmer; joined RNZAF Sep 1940; prisoner of war 22 Sep 1943; shot after attempting to escape from Stalag Luft III, 25 Mar 1944. 2 Flight Lieutenant J. H. Wetere, DFC; Wellington; born Hoe-o-Tainui, 16 Aug 1918; civil servant; joined RNZAF Nov 1940. 3 Warrant Officer B. S. Wipiti, DFM; born New Plymouth, 16 Jan 1922; refrigerator serviceman; joined RNZAF Jan 1941; killed on air operations, 3 Oct 1943. 4 Flight Lieutenant E. T. K. Bennett; Dunedin; born Hastings, 16 Mar 1920; labourer; joined RNZAF Mar 1941. From here http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1RAF.html (page 21) What do you mean by "black"? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalins Organ Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 No definitely not a Spitfire. A Havard trainer maybe? Bit of a bumpy landing too. Found it - Miles Martinet - a purpose built target tug. the Martinet page lists the squadrons that used it, but a quick look through doesnt' have any of htem in Africa...which is perhaps unsurprising. The a/c in the film appears to be HP120 - which ties in with the RAF Serial numbers page where Martinets are listed from HN861894 to HP528 This page of "The Flyer: British culture and the Royal Airforce 1939-45" notes him and other non-white RAF flyers - an award of a DFC, the loss of one chap who had 4 kills, Jamacians, Maori, Indian, etc. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalins Organ Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 the twin engined a/c in the background look like they are Blackburn Botha's - according to that page some of them were converted to target tugs, so I wonder if the location of that movie can be narrowed down to whichever places used TT Bothas as well as Martinets? Edit: found a reference here: The Botha went on to be used by twenty training units, nine schools of technical training and the Target Towing Unit at Abbotsinch. Even here the Botha had a short lifespan – all the nine training units to receive the Botha in 1941 had replaced it by the end of 1942 (all but two by July 1942), and off the eight training units to receive the Botha during 1942, all but No.11 Radio School at Hooton Park had replaced their aircraft by the end of 1943. But the movie looks a little too sunny to be Scotland??!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 This page of "The Flyer: British culture and the Royal Airforce 1939-45" notes him and other non-white RAF flyers - an award of a DFC' date= the loss of one chap who had 4 kills, Jamacians, Maori, Indian, etc.That also mentions the 422 number, but that's only for "Coloured" folk - West Indians, West Africans, and South Asians. I suspect that Louise's enquiry isn't restricted to personnel from only those areas. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce90 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 The photo at the top left of this webpage is Peter Thomas http://www.caribbeanaircrew-ww2.com/ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouiseB Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 Hello. I have a book entitled 'Experiences of War. The British Airman' written by Roger A Freeman. One of the photographs in it shows a black officer and the information under the photo states that it is of 'Pilot Officer Peter Thomas the first Nigerian to be commisioned in the RAF'. The book is largely a collection of the rememberings of RAF personel and concerning Pilot Officer Thomas, a man named James Double says," On 1 October 1941 I was posted to No. 3 EFTS at RAF Watchfield near Swindon Wiltshire and on arrival was allocated the top bed of a double bunk. It was late in the afternoon and I found the bottom bed was occupied by a Nigerian who was fast asleep. He proved to be a distinctive character! He was Peter Thomas, son of a Nigerian chief who had,I learned from Peter sponsored several Spitfires."...... Double goes on to say that Peter was 'passed down' from several flying courses and had crashed a few Spitfires usually in ploughed fields but if it was suggested to him that he might get 'washed out ' of flying altogether his reply was always.. " My Father will buy some more". Double says that while he was transferred to the USA to continue training, Peter Thomas remained in the UK and eventually got his 'wings' and was commisioned but was later killed in a Spitfire in a flying accident. Bruce - many thanks. That's really valuable! We already have Peter Thomas listed (one of 53 West African aircrew and 500 West Indians). The West Indians were highly decorated (over a third) and almost half were killed on operations. We didn't have much background on Thomas though, so this really helps. Thanks again. Best regards, Louise 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Yes what I have read and seen mainly concerns West Indians in Bomber Command. I recall. It will be a tough research job because I would think that race would not be marked in the records. You'd have to rely on POB, which would not be a given. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouiseB Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 Yes what I have read and seen mainly concerns West Indians in Bomber Command. I recall. It will be a tough research job because I would think that race would not be marked in the records. You'd have to rely on POB, which would not be a given. Luckily the Air Ministry organised a series of special recruitment drives for black and coloured volunteers, so there were specific contingents taken from each Island at certain periods. This has allowed us to positively ID a large number of black aircrew, and we've located numerous photographs to support these findings. We have a list of 500 names and although it is true that some of them will have been white dominion subjects, the evidence shows the majority to have been black or coloured. It has been a ten year project so far, but we hope to publish this year. I got involved in 2012 and my enquiry is aimed at finding any new leads available and all comments or ideas are very valuable. Thanks! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 The one specific mention I saw was a book about a Bomber Command crew. They had a couple of West Indian AGs, but I guess you would today call them 'mixed race'. The implication seemed to be that they were somehow 'of the establishment' rather than cane cutters or something. Can't recall the book. Perhaps it might have been The Eighth Passenger by Miles Tripp. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Affentitten Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Also, go to The Australians at War Film Archive and search WW2 and some keywords like "Jamaican". I just found about four or five references to Jamaican aircrew there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseltaylor Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Indian_Air_Force I had no ideea it was of 1932 origin!. If the author wishes to stray into seniority territory vis a vis The Navy and Army I would mention that both had fairly senior officers and indeed a colonial governor. I have a copy of the 1939 "Flying Reference Book" which has nothing useful on colour but is intriguing for being pre-war guide to aviation. The BBC had its own flying club at Redhill!!. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseltaylor Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 "The longest operator of the Lysander in the Indian Air Force was No.4 Squadron. About the time No.1 Squadron was involved in the thick of the battles over the retreating battle at Burma , No.4 Squadron, IAF was officially raised at Peshawar on 1 February 1942 as the third operator of the Lysander. The core of the squadron was made up of the pilots who returned via the middle east after an year long stint with the RAF fighter command in 1941 in the UK. Plt Offrs MM Latif, Edwin Nazirullah and MS Pujji were the first to report from this lot, they were followed in later days by Plt Offrs Ranjan Dutt , Shiv Dev Singh and OP Sanghi. Habib Ullah Khan, a Cranwell trained officer formally took command on the 12 February. " http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1940s/Lysander02.html But are Indians relevant to the book?? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 LouiseB, Welcome aboard! Congratulations on bringing a new (to me, at any rate) WW II topic to the GDF (General Discussion Forum). This looks to be most interesting already. That said, given time we will convert you to the True Faith, wargaming, whose acolytes sacrifice much in pursuit of recreation, enlightenment and international cameraderie. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 LouiseB, A small contribution to your war effort! Includes video. http://www.caribbeanaircrew-ww2.com/ Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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