Page 13 - RAF Magazine

Flight Lieutenant Arthur Wint
25 May, 1920 - 19 October, 1992 the BBC’s Newsday
Years of service: 1942-1947 programme,
a former
efore there was Usain competitor of
B Bolt, there was Arthur Arthur’s – John
Wint (pictured centre), Parlett – recalled
who won Jamaica’s fi rst Olympic how Arthur’s
gold in 1948, equalling the world wife, Norma, was
record of 46.2 seconds in the 400m in a supermarket
fi nal at Wembley Stadium. He was in Kingston and saw
28 years old. He also won a silver Usain Bolt.
medal in the 800m and missed out on a “She introduced
third medal when he pulled a muscle in the herself and he knew the
4x400m relay fi nal and was unable to fi nish. name and he gave her a great
In 1952, he won an additional gold medal as part hug,” he shared.
of the Jamaican team in the Helsinki Olympics, with a After the war, Arthur won a scholarship
world record in the 4x400m relay, as well as another to train as a doctor and surgeon at St. Bartholomew’s
silver in the 800m. He was awarded the MBE in 1954. Hospital in London.
A very tall man at 6ft 5½ins, Arthur was known as He returned to Jamaica in 1955 where he had a
the ‘gentle giant’ and prior to his Olympic success, he distinguished career as a doctor in the Hanover parish.
served in the RAF during World War II, where he also He later served as Jamaican High Commissioner in
competed in athletic competitions. London and ambassador to Sweden and Denmark
In 1944, he won his ‘wings’ and saw active service from 1974 to 1978. After this he returned to his medical
fl ying Spitfi res. He left the RAF in 1947 having reached practice in Jamaica.
the rank of Flight Lieutenant. He died in October 1992, but his memory lives on,
It seems Arthur was an inspiration to the current including a street in Kingston which was renamed
fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt. In an interview with Arthur Wint Drive in his honour.

Johnny Smythe OBE undertook 27 bombing
30 June, 1915 - 9 July, 1996 missions against
Years of service: 1941-1945 Germany and
Italy. During his
ohnny Smythe was a last mission on
J celebrated lawyer who November 1942,
was appointed Solicitor his plane was shot
General of the newly independent down and he was
nation of the Republic of Sierra wounded.
Leone in 1961, having been a German troops
Queen’s Counsel for several years. eventually found him
In 1953, he represented the Sierra hiding in a barn and,
Leone Naval Volunteer Force at the despite his black skin often
coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. He added being a barrier to progress in
lecturer to his list of accomplishments while the RAF, it proved to be his saving
teaching in the eastern United States in 1963, and grace in this terrifying moment.
his achievements earned him an Order of the British He said: “The Germans couldn’t believe their eyes. I’m
Empire (OBE) in 1978. sure that’s what saved me from being shot immediately.
Johnny was born in Sierra Leone in 1915 and prior to “To see a black man – an offi cer at that – was more
his decorated law career he also made an impact with than they could come to terms with. They just stood
the RAF. there gazing.”
In 1939, he enlisted in Sierra Leone’s Local Defence In 1951, Johnny became a practicing barrister,
Corps, eventually attaining the rank of sergeant. He married Violet Wells Bain in London, and moved back to
volunteered for the RAF in 1941, having been sponsored Freetown. He later retired from public service in Sierra
by the Sierra Leone government. As a navigator, he Leone, and in 1993 moved with his family to Britain.

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