Caribbean Migration to Britain during World War 1

Some contemporary commentators estimated the Black population at the height of the slave trade during the last quarter of the 18th century was 20,000 in London alone. However the latest estimates are much lower figures, between five and ten thousand across the whole country

By the mid-19th century, however, the Black population had probably declined, although there were still sizeable communities in the major seaports, including London, Liverpool, Bristol, Cardiff and Glasgow.

These seaports accommodated diverse populations of Indians, Chinese, West and East Africans, Arabs and West Indians, and they provided a significant proportion of the manpower for the maritime trade which was essential to Britain's industrial growth. Many of the Black population lived in poverty and, as a result, Parliament established a committee in 1910 to enquire into the circumstances of Distressed Colonial and Indian Subjects.

Joining Up

The Black population in Britain increased again at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, as Black men travelled to this country to enlist in the army and navy. In come cases they travelled by desperate means. In May 1915, nine men from Barbados stowed away on the SS Danube in order to come to Britain and volunteer. When they were discovered on board ship, they were arrested and appeared at West Ham Police Court and were subjected to taunts from the magistrate.

The armed forces were not the only employment opportunity linked to the war effort. Recruitment for the front reduced the supply of labour in industrial areas and workers were needed to produce munitions and other military supplies.

Types of Military Service

The Black men who came to Britain to volunteer met with a mixed response, as did Black residents. The Manual of Military Law classed these men as 'aliens', even those that were British subjects, and the number of aliens who could enlist in a regiment was limited to one for every 50 British subjects. As a result, some Black men successfully enlisted, whereas others were turned down by recruiting officers.

"Any person who is for the time being an alien may, if His Majesty think fit to signify his consent through a Secretary of State, be enlisted in His Majesty's regular forces, so, however, that the number of aliens serving together at any one time in any corps of the regular forces shall not exceed the proportion of one alien to every fifty British subjects, and that an alien so enlisted shall not be capable of holding any higher rank in His Majesty's regular forces than that of a warrant officer or non-commissioned officer." A special provision as appears in The Manual of Military Law

Egbert Watson, a Jamaican, settled in London's Camden Town before the war, and worked as a leatherworker. In January 1916 he enlisted as a gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery and served in France for two months, until he was invalided out at the end of 1917 suffering from epilepsy and myalgia. You can read more on Egbert Watson in the catalogue record (PRO) WO 364/4505 available at The National Archives.

Another Jamaican, Alonzo Nathan, was a seaman who lived in Cardiff before the war, and enlisted in the Army Service Corps. In May 1916 he transferred to the British West Indies Regiment which was formed in October 1915 in response to pressure from the West Indian colonies. After the war, Nathan returned to sea. You can read more in the catalogue record (PRO) WO 364/2665 available at The National Archives.

His compatriot, James Slim, was not so successful, despite enlisting in the Coldstream Guards, and was discharged on War Office instructions after only 48 days' service. As he was physically fit and his conduct was good, it seems likely that objections were raised about the recruitment of Black men into this prestigious regiment. You can read more in the catalogue record (PRO) WO 364/3753 available at The National Archives.

Black men were allowed to become privates in the army, but military regulations barred Black men from becoming commissioned officers. GO Rushdie-Gray, the Jamaican government veterinary officer, was recommended by Governor Manning for a commission in the Army Veterinary Corps. Despite his qualifications and his endorsement by the Jamaican governor, the army rejected him, the official explanation being that he was 'too Black'!

But there was one notable exception to the exclusion clause. Walter Tull, a professional footballer for Tottenham Hotspur and Northampton Town and the son of a Barbadian carpenter, served as a 2nd lieutenant in the Middlesex Regiment until he was killed in action in March 1918. However, in 1915 a Royal Proclamation resulted in the formation of the British West Indies Regiment, and most Black men who enlisted in Britain, whether of West Indian origin or not, were allocated to the regiment. Some Black men already serving in other British regiments were also transferred to the BWIR. The Colonial Office compiled regular lists of these men, and these provide important information about their countries of origin and residence in Britain before enlistment.

Racial Discontent

The increasing visibility of Black people in industrial areas and seaports led to some press hostility. The Daily Dispatch complained that the sizeable Black presence in Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham was a 'menace to local women and moral standards'. The Salvation Army was so concerned about mixed-race relationships that it commissioned a study into what it called 'the coloured invasion'.

Some newspaper correspondents suggested that laws, similar to segregation legislation in South Africa, should be introduced to prevent Black men and white women forming relationships. Such articles were clearly calculated to stir up hatred towards men who had often risked their lives to serve the war effort.

Other newspapers featured articles that were less hostile, but were still written in ways that would cause ill-feeling. As Britain faced increasing hardship and shortages, suggestions that Black men were well-paid and well-dressed were bound to cause resentment.

The trades union movement, which had already campaigned against the use of Asian labour in the shipping industry, raised fresh concerns about the introduction of Black labour into Britain. Will Thorne, leader of the Municipal Workers' Union and a Labour MP, asked the Secretary of State for War to postpone the use of South African labourers on the Western Front.

In December 1916, the Miners' Federation, the National Union of Railwaymen, and the National Transport Workers' Federation passed a joint resolution opposing 'the sinister movement to import coloured labour into this country'.

In 1919 and 1920, racially motivated riots and attacks took place in many seaports, and the victims were usually Black seamen and ex-servicemen. Discontent over post-war unemployment may well have increased the antagonism towards the Black population, but, even before these major disturbances, there were instances in which Black people came under attack.

Canning Town was the centre of one such riot. A dock community in East London, it was home to one of the largest Black communities in Britain before it was dispersed by urban redevelopment in the late 1930s, and in July 1917 several Black seamen were attacked in their lodging houses and on the street.