A Member of the RAF of Indeterminate Race: WW2 Experiences of a former RAF Navigator & POW

Cy Grant, born in British Guyana, was one of about 400 Caribbean men who joined the RAF as aircrew in the Second World War.

He came to Britain and joined the RAF in 1941, qualifying as a navigator, and was posted to 103 Squadron. As part of the crew of an Avro Lancaster, his plane was shot down during a raid on Gelsenkirchen in June 1943. It was only his third operational mission. Bailing out, he landed in Holland, where he was captured and sent first to Amsterdam - where his photo was taken by the Germans. It was later to appear in the newspaper Volkischer Beobachter, with the caption 'A member of the RAF of indeterminate race'.

Imprisoned in Stalag Luft III until 1945, the camp was evacuated before the invading Russians, and Cy and his fellow prisoners were sent to Stalag IIIA at Lukenwalde, where they were liberated by Soviet troops (although not actually release for a number of weeks!).

Cy Grant's memoir provides a unique perspective on the war, coming from a Caribbean volunteer with the RAF and POW. Cy states that the only racism he encountered while serving was the institutional form, from within some of the higher echelons of the RAF, and none from any of the rank and file Canadian and British airmen who he served with.

Obituary: Cy Grant (from The Daily Telegraph 15th February 2010)

Available from:
Woodfield Publishing

God, Honour and Country

Stanislaw Jozefiak escaped from Poland in 1939, travelling via Romania, Turkey, Greece, Eygpt and France to England. Arriving in 1940 as a member of the Polish Airforce, he continued his training and joined 304 Squadron as a WOP/AG in 1941. Shortly after he was forced to bail out of his damaged Wellington after a mission to Boulogne, landing near Tunbridge Wells. Badly wounded, his recuperation took nine months. 4 of his crew were killed, with only one other member, Sgt Nilski, surviving.

He returned to 304 Squadron, and continued with missions to places such as Essen, Cologne, Lubeck and St Nazaire. in May 1942, his squadron was transferred to RAF Coastal Command, patrolling the Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay for U-boats. In March 1943 he received the Virtuti Militari and during his career received the Krzyz Waleczny (Cross of Valour) four times.

In July 1943 he started training as a pilot, and in 1945 was posted to 317 Squadron, flying Spitfires. Very shortly after this, the war ended in Europe, although he continued to serve for a number of years.

This book provides substantial information on Stanislaw Jozefiak's service with the Polish Airforce, and this certainly makes the book work reading. There is also a fair amount of information on his post war experiences, which may not be of great interest to all readers, although his perspective on the changes in post-Cold War Poland make for interesting reading.

Available:
Believed to be out of print.
Amazon

Further reading:
Polish Air Force Operations Books: 304 Squadron
History of 304 Squadron