World War 2: The importance of the Caribbean. Online talk

Join us online to uncover the Caribbean and Africa’s crucial role in shaping the outcome of World War Two

Join Us Online!

Get ready for World War 2: The Importance of the Caribbean – an exciting online book launch you won’t want to miss. Discover untold stories and the crucial role the Caribbean played during the war. We will also hear details of Africa’s contribution.

This online book talk with author Colin Douglas highlights the pivotal role of the Caribbean in the Second World War. Without the contribution of Caribbean territories to the Allied war effort in the form of raw materials and personnel, the fate of Britain’s struggle to avoid German invasion would have been uncertain, and an Allied victory significantly delayed. In turn, the conditions created by the Second World War facilitated the Caribbean’s struggle for independence from its colonial rulers, and set in motion a new flow of migration to postwar Britain that has shaped Black British history since.

The Caribbean and the Second World War situates the tense relationship between the Caribbean and its colonial powers in a longer historical context. Drawing on hundreds of archival files and first-hand interviews, Douglas uncovers British racism and the colour bar in the armed forces before, during and after the war. He illustrates how the war directly affected the Caribbean through U-boat attacks, rationing and increased US army presence, as well as exploring the role of West Indians in the RAF, army and naval services. In the postwar period, he traces the link between West Indian military service and the rise in Caribbean migration to a Britain in need of rebuilding

Plus extract from Black History Walks on their Pearson GCSE History exam text book and its Black History coverage and Volume 1

Coming events from www.blackhistorywalks.co.uk Join mailing list HERE

  • Black History Helicopter tour
  • Black History bus tour
  • Black history river cruise
  • Black history steam train tour
  • Mayfair, Hackney,Soho, Theatreland,Trafalgar Square,Regents Canal,St Pauls walks
  • African Superheroes Day
  • Frantz Fanon all dayer
  • Kung fu Street Fighters and Black British Civil Rights
  • An evening with Esther Anderson

Fighting racism at the BFI (British Film Institute) 17,400 signed petition to save African Odysseys add your voice HERE

Book Now

Visit our Eventbrite page to book your place, or get in touch to find out more information.