Under Fire

Overview

During the Second World War all British citizens were called upon to do their part for their country. Despite facing the discriminatory ‘colour bar’, many black civilians were determined to contribute to the war effort where they could, volunteering as air-raid wardens, fire-fighters, stretcher-bearers and first-aiders. Meanwhile, black servicemen and women, many of them volunteers from places as far away as Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana and Nigeria, risked their lives fighting for the Mother Country in the air, at sea and on land. 

Author Biography

STEPHEN BOURNE is the author of BLACK POPPIES and several other books on the subject of black history. He is a graduate of the London College of Printing and received a MPhil from De Montfort University. In 2008 he worked as a historical consultant on the Imperial War Museum's FROM WAR TO WINDRUSH exhibition. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by London South Bank University in 2017. He lives in South London.