Page 20 - RAF Magazine

MASS MIGRATION 1948 ONWARDS

BUILDING

BLACK BRITAIN

The skills gained by those who served in the RAF played
a big part in establishing some of the key developments
that helped to shape black British communities. The
world-class training and development programmes
available through the RAF provide the technical and
tactical skills to enable their people to operate in the
most hostile of environments. This is of course steeped
in character-building qualities such as discipline,
teamwork, accuracy, leadership and the additional
education opportunities, which would give anyone an
edge. Unsurprisingly, some former personnel went on
to make an undeniable mark in society, and in doing so,
broke down barriers which helped to lay the foundation
for many of the positive staples of Britain’s black
communities today.

Sam Beaver King MBE where
20 February, 1926 - 17 June, 2016 a group
Years of service: 1944-1947, 1948-1953 of people
contribute
ome of the veterans who were returning to money to a
S civilian life acted as ‘pathfi nders’ for the black pot each month,
community. and each person
The RAF Museum’s Pilots of the Caribbean exhibition takes their turn to
notes that Sam King MBE, who was born in Jamaica take the full amount - one
in 1926, also came back to the RAF on the Windrush in each month, an effective way to
1948. He has been recognised for helping to establish save a lump sum of cash. Sam soon became the go-to
the ‘partner’ scheme in South London that helped black man for immigrants. Later, he became a member of the
families buy their own properties. Labour group in Southwark Council and in 1983 he was
In the late 1940s, when the mass immigration of West elected as the borough’s fi rst black Mayor.
Indians started, it was common to see signs such as Sam originally joined the RAF after responding to
“No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs”, including on houses an advert in The Gleaner that called for volunteers to
that were open to rent, so fi nding accommodation was fi ght in World War II. He completed his initial training
hard for black people. Buying a property wasn’t much in Kingston and was posted to an RAF training centre
easier, with banks openly refusing to give black people at Filey, Yorkshire, and then to RAF Hawkinge, a
mortgages. However, Sam saved some money from his fi ghter base near Folkestone, Kent, where he worked
job as a postman and added this to a loan he got from as an engineer until 1947 when he was demobilised
the RAF and put it down as a deposit, becoming only the and returned to Jamaica. In 1948 he rejoined the RAF,
second West Indian in London to buy his own home. leaving again in 1953. Of his time in the service, he said:
Knowing how diffi cult it was inspired Sam to set up the “The RAF taught me two things: the importance of
‘partner’ house buying scheme adopted from Jamaica, discipline and the importance of honesty.”

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