Mark Johnson was at the National Archives today talking about African and 
African-Caribbeans who served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He described his 17 years research into the lives of the 495 Black aircrew from the Caribbean and West Africa. His extensive experience into this hidden history enable him to help curate the “Pilots of the Caribbean” exhibition at the RAF Museum Hendon (which will move to their museum in Cosford later this year) and write Caribbean Volunteers at War. The Forgotten Story of the RAF’s ‘Tuskegee Airmen’ (Pen and Sword, 2014); a sample chapter is available online at Pen and Sword.
The book describes the history and experience of Caribbean aircrew using personal accounts and archival sources. There is an appendix which lists the men who flew as pilots, navigators, wireless operations and air gunners; the list is also available on his website. The list includes Jamaican-born Colin Patrick Haworth Grannum (born Eisner) DFC, who will be the subject of a later post.
Update (8 July 2014): Mark’s talk is available as a National Archives podcast.
Caribbean Roots 