LONDON—Gilbert Clarke leans back on the seat of his mobility scooter, cranes his neck and gazes into the bright blue skies over East London, remembering the moment 80 years ago when he knew the invasion of France was under way.
GILBERT CLARKE, a D-Day veteran, smiles as he is interviewed near his home in east London on May 15, 2024. Clarke, now 98, is one of more than 3 million men and women from South Asia, Africa and the Caribbean who served in the British military during World War II.
Clarke, now 98, is one of more than 3 million men and women from South Asia, Africa and the Caribbean who served in the British military during World War II. Citizens of what was still the British Empire, they volunteered to fight for “king and country” just like recruits from the British Isles, but their service is often overlooked.
That includes ground crew members like Clarke, who had the unglamorous but vital job of maintaining the aircraft that were crucial to the success of the Normandy campaign. “We were all in a situation where someone’s gotta do something to end what was going on,” Clarke said, speaking softly, with a Jamaican lilt still in his voice. “And proud to know I did my little bit.”
“The Black volunteers had learned a lot about Britain at school and most considered that they were in a real sense ‘coming home’ to the mother country,” according to an exhibit at the RAF Museum. “On arriving here, however, many experienced culture shock” due to the cold weather, lack of Caribbean food and the fact that most white Britons had never met a Black person.
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