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BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833)
Pic: HistoryPress/BNPS
Pictured: Ramsay and Lilian Bader on their wedding day in 1943. He took part in the D-Day landings and she was part of the WAAF.
The remarkable little known story of a hero black soldier who became a firefighter during the Blitz can be told on 80th anniversary of the bombings.
Rifleman George Roberts, of the Middlesex Regiment, was born in Trinidad but enlisted for service with his 'mother country' in World War One.
He took part in some of the fiercest fighting during the conflict, seeing action at the Somme, Loos and in the Dardanelles. The courageous George was known for chucking back grenades that the enemy had thrown over.
He settled in Britain after the war and was too old to serve on the frontline at the advent of World War Two, so instead volunteered for the London Fire Service when the German bombs started falling in September 1940.
George's tale and that of other heroes of the black community in wartime are highlighted in historian Stephen Bourne's new book, Under Fire. It includes the inspiring stories of married couple Ramsay and Lilian Bader. British-born Ramsay was a mixed-race soldier in the 147th Field Regiment who took part in the D-Day landings, while Lilian joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
Pic: HistoryPress/BNPS
Pictured: Ramsay and Lilian Bader on their wedding day in 1943. He took part in the D-Day landings and she was part of the WAAF.
The remarkable little known story of a hero black soldier who became a firefighter during the Blitz can be told on 80th anniversary of the bombings.
Rifleman George Roberts, of the Middlesex Regiment, was born in Trinidad but enlisted for service with his 'mother country' in World War One.
He took part in some of the fiercest fighting during the conflict, seeing action at the Somme, Loos and in the Dardanelles. The courageous George was known for chucking back grenades that the enemy had thrown over.
He settled in Britain after the war and was too old to serve on the frontline at the advent of World War Two, so instead volunteered for the London Fire Service when the German bombs started falling in September 1940.
George's tale and that of other heroes of the black community in wartime are highlighted in historian Stephen Bourne's new book, Under Fire. It includes the inspiring stories of married couple Ramsay and Lilian Bader. British-born Ramsay was a mixed-race soldier in the 147th Field Regiment who took part in the D-Day landings, while Lilian joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
©HistoryPress 29 Dec 2011 1661x2249 / 1.3MB