Mother Country: Britain's Black Community on the Home Front, 1939-45

by Stephen Bourne

Overview

Very little attention has been given to black British and West African and Caribbean citizens who lived and worked on the 'front line' during the Second World War. Yet black people were under fire in cities like Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool, London and Manchester, and many volunteered as civilian defence workers, such as air-raid wardens, fire-fighters, stretcher-bearers, first-aid workers and mobile canteen personnel. Many helped unite people when their communities faced devastation. Black children were evacuated and entertainers risked death when they took to the stage during air raids. Despite some evidence of racism, black people contributed to the war effort where they could. The colonies also played an important role in the war effort: support came from places as far away as Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana and Nigeria. Mother Country tells the story of some of the forgotten Britons whose contribution to the war effort has been overlooked until now.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780752456102
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	08/10/2010
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Stephen Bourne is a leading authority on black history, and is the author of 10 books on the subject, including A Ship and a Prayer, Black in the British Frame, and Speak of Me as I Am.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Author's Note 8

Introduction: 'Let Us Go Forward Together' 9

Chapter 1 Dr Harold Moody 15

Chapter 2 Leading and Inspiring the Community 25

Chapter 3 Keep Smiling Through 36

Chapter 4 Esther Bruce 49

Chapter 5 The Evacuee Experience 56

Chapter 6 'Front-liners' in Civilian Defence 63

Chapter 7 When Adelaide Hall Went to War 75

Chapter 8 Keeping the Home Fires Burning 82

Chapter 9 London Calling 93

Chapter 10 Front-line Films 105

Chapter 11 For the Mother Country 113

Postscript If Hitler Had Invaded Britain 127

Endnotes 135

Further Reading 149

About the Author 153

Index 155