“The camp was divided into black and white areas”
I was a pupil-teacher in Jamaica when I took the RAF exam aged 19. Winston Churchill inspired me to join; I followed all his speeches and can still recite some from memory.
I was selected to be a wireless operator/air gunner because of my good English, and I went to Port Royal. This was 1944. A lot of others from all over the British West Indies joined us there.
A ship took us to Camp Patrick Henry in Virginia, America. That was the first time I encountered racial discrimination. The camp was divided into black and white areas but, as we were RAF, we were designated as ‘honorary whites’, and weren’t allowed anywhere near the areas designated for black American servicemen. They even paid us the same as the white Americans, so I was loaded with money.
Soon after, we crossed the Atlantic. When we arrived in Liverpool we were met by a white West Indian admiral. The first thing he asked was whether George Headley, the West Indies cricketer, was among us.
We went to Filey in Yorkshire for initial training. In the evenings we would play cricket and, as we started, thousands of aircraft would fly overhead, and would still be going by the time we finished. All were heading to France as part of the invasion.
It was at Filey that I was reclassified as a motor transport driver. I was disappointed as I wanted to shoot down German aircraft, not drive a tanker. I took a 14-week course and when we finished I could drive anything from Coles cranes to Bren gun carriers.
I was posted to Lincolnshire and became the personal chauffer of 617 Squadron’s chief technical officer. In my down-time while waiting for the boss I was able to start a correspondence course in bookkeeping and accountancy.
The war in Europe ended a year after I joined the RAF. I was sent on a course to recognise Japanese aircraft, as the grapevine said that 617 Squadron was being sent to Okinawa. While on the course I heard the atom bomb had been dropped, so that was scrubbed. I was so young and foolish that I felt disappointed I wouldn’t go.
I was offered a 15-month scholarship to finish my studies. It was a programme set up for ex-servicemen, and the RAF paid for the course plus my wages and accommodation. I came second out of 20 students, despite missing the final day’s exam because I was late back from Boston after seeing my girlfriend – who later became my wife.
In 1948 I went back home to Jamaica on the Windrush, via West Africa and Trinidad. In Trinidad we tried to get into a club but were told it was members only. When we asked to join, the doorman said it was exclusively for white American soldiers. So of course we pushed past him, and inside was full of white Americans and black Trinidadian woman. Sensing trouble, an officer asked what unit we were from.
“We are members of the Royal Air Force,” we replied indignantly, “and we want a drink.” After that they made us their guests, and we didn’t have to pay for anything!
Ralph Ottey joined the RAF in 1944 and is now 100 years old. After going home to Jamaica post-war, he soon returned to the UK to marry his girlfriend. He settled in Boston, Lincolnshire, and is a member of the Association’s Boston Branch. Air Mail is indebted to theforgotten generations.com for conducting this interview.
