A Blue Plaque has been unveiled to commemorate the 4000 servicemen who travelled from the West Indies and Caribbean during World War II to train near Filey to join the Royal Air Force.
The unveiling ceremony occurred on 1st April in Filey, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, not far from the former site of RAF Hunmanby Moor where the 4000 volunteers received their training. A further 2000 volunteers joined the RAF and trained at other locations.
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More than 100 people attended the unveiling including five World War Two veterans, the Mayor of Filey – Councillor Jacqui Houldon-Banks – and Air Commodore Sansom who spoke prior to the unveiling to thank the organiser Glenn Parsons and say a few words.
It takes a special kind of person to volunteer to put themselves in harm’s way for a war taking place on the other side of the world. As a nation, we were indeed fortunate that such men and women were prepared to come to help us in our fight.
This plaque commemorates those that came over to help in our moment of greatest need. It is also a celebration of the warm welcome that they received from the people of Filey and the support that the town gave to all those who underwent training at RAF Hunmanby Moor.
Air Commodore Sansom
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In total, more than 6000 volunteers travelled from the Caribbean to join the RAF, and of those that became aircrew nearly one-third were killed in action. After the war, some rose to great prominence such as Flying Officer Errol Barrow who became Prime Minister of Barbados, and Flight Lieutenant Michael Manley who became Prime Minister of Jamaica. Many returned in later years to the UK as part of the Windrush generation.
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