Wikipedia

Billy Strachan

William Arthur Watkin Strachan(16 April 1921 – 26 April 1998) was a British communist, civil rights activist, and pilot. He is most noted for his achievements as a bomber pilot with theRoyal Air Force(RAF) during theSecond World War,and for his reputation as a highly influential figure within Britain's black communities.

Billy Strachan
Black and white upper body photograph of a young adult black man wearing a British Royal Air Force uniform. He stands with the help of crutches visible under both his arms.
Strachan in 1942
Born
William Arthur Watkin Strachan

(1921-04-16)16 April 1921
Kingston,Colony of Jamaica,British Empire
Died26 April 1998(1998-04-26)(aged 77)
Other namesBill Steel (pseudonym)
Caliban (pseudonym)
EducationWolmer's Boys' High School,Kingston
Diploma in Administration with Education and Administrative Law.
Bachelor of Law degree from theUniversity of London
Occupation(s)Civil servant,RAF bomber pilot, newspaper publisher, Chief Clerk of Courts
Organization(s)Caribbean Labour Congress
Movement for Colonial Freedom
Seretse KhamaFighting Committee
Known forCommunistactivism
Human rightsactivism
Wartime service in the RAF
Notable workFounder ofCaribbean News
Political partyCommunist Party of Great Britain(CPGB)
Spouse(s)Joyce Smith (m. 1942; div. 1970s)
Mary Collins
​
(m.1983)​
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/ branchRoyal Air Force,No. 99 Squadron RAF,No. 101 Squadron RAF,No. 156 Squadron RAFof thePathfinder squadron
Years of service1940–1946
RankFlight Lieutenant
Battles / warsSecond World War

As a teenager in Jamaica at the outbreak of the Second World War, Strachan sold all his possessions and travelled alone to Britain to join the RAF. He survived 33 bombing operations againstNazi Germanyduring a time when the average life expectancy for an RAF crew was seven operations. He survived numerous life-threatening situations including being shot by the Nazis, a training crash, the Nazi bombing of the hotel he was staying at during his honeymoon, and a near mid-air collision withLincoln Cathedral.Rising to the rank offlight lieutenant,an extremely rare achievement for a Black person in Britain during the 1940s, he was charged with investigating incidents of racism on RAF bases throughout Britain, boosting the morale of many Caribbean men in the British military.

Postwar, Strachan became a communist and a human rights activist, campaigning for universal suffrage and worker's rights, and promoting anti-colonial and anti-imperialist politics. He was a leading member of theCommunist Party of Great Britain (CPGB),an admirer of both theCuban Revolutionand theViet Minh,and a committed communist activist for the rest of his life.[1]His communist beliefs saw him become the victim of political persecution, once kidnapped by the United States for his communist politics, and being banned from legally travelling to multiple countries, including British Guiana, St Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad, and even his home country of Jamaica.

Between 1952 and 1956, Strachan published the newspaperCaribbean News,one of the first monthly Black newspapers in Britain. He was a mentor to many leading black civil rights activists in Britain, includingTrevor Carter,Dorothy Kuya,Cleston Taylor,andWinston Pinder,and was a close personal friend of the president ofGuyana,Cheddi Jagan.In later life, Strachan was called to the bar, becoming an expert on British laws regardingdrink drivingandadoption.He also helped found a charity that taught disabled people how to ride horses. He is recognised by numerous historians, activists, and academics as one of the most influential and respected black civil rights figures in British-Caribbean history, and a pioneer of black civil rights in Britain.

Early life (1921–1938)

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Billy Strachan was born inJamaicaon 16 April 1921 to a family of former slaves and was raised within a predominantly white and wealthy area ofKingston.[2]Strachan recalled in interviews during his later life that his family had all been admirers of the British monarchy and the British Empire, all standing up in salute whenever the national anthem "God Save the King"was played.[3]As a young boy, Strachan once stole his father's car, before his father then reported him to the police.[4]During his school days, Strachan played the saxophone in a band with his friends.[4]

Family background

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Billy was raised alongside two sisters: Dorothy who migrated to Britain, and Allison who migrated to Canada.[4]Cyril Strachan, Billy's father, was a black man who worked as a manager at a tobacco company.[3]Although Cyril was far wealthier than mostblack Jamaicansduring this time, he received lower wages in comparison to the white company directors, who worked far less intensely yet received enormous profits.[3]Cyril admired the British Empire, believing that the British monarchy would protect them against the injustice of the colonial authorities in Jamaica.[3]Despite not always being able to afford an elite lifestyle, Cyril would often attempt and fail to emulate the wealthy strata of Jamaican society.[3]

Orynthia, Billy Strachan's mother, was (like most black Jamaicans) a descendant of enslaved African people.[3]Billy's paternal grandfather was a wealthy Scottish man who fathered many illegitimate children with black women; however, he favoured Strachan's father Cyril, who never met his half-siblings.[3]

Education

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Strachan attended preparatory school between 1926 and 1931. From 1931 to 1938, he attended one of Jamaica's most prestigious yet racially divided schools,Wolmer's Boys' High School,in Kingston.[4][5]His father often struggled to pay the school fees. Despite being described as a rebellious student, Strachan graduated.[4]

Strachan would later describe the wealth and racial divide in the school, noting that more than half the boys were white fee-paying students who arrived in expensive cars such aslimousines,while the rest were black or mixed-race who arrived either on foot or by bicycle. Although Strachan believed there was no physical violence between the children, there was very little social mi xing between different races of children outside school hours.[4]

Early experience of racism

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Before he was old enough to attend school, Billy would only socialise with white children as a result of his relatively privileged upbringing.[3]He experienced a traumatic racist incident when at the age of 11 while playing with a white girl, he was forced to hide under a bed from her racist father.[6]This incident had a profound effect on Billy's worldview, leading to a lifelong hatred of racism.[6]

Witnessing political unrest in Jamaica

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In 1938, Jamaica experienceda wave of labour unrestas a result of theGreat Depression;in January of the year, a strike by Kingston workers resulted in riots and 46 deaths, and further labour unrest occurred from May to June. These riots resulted in the British government dispatching aroyal commission,which included English politicianStafford Cripps,to investigate the causes behind them.[4]Strachan was taken by his father to listen to Cripps speak at a political meeting.[7]During this meeting, Strachan witnessed the founding of thePeople's National Party.[2][8]

Military career (1939–1946)

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Travelling to Britain

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In 1939, after leaving school, Strachan gained employment as a civil service clerk in Jamaica.[8]In response to theBritish declaration of war against Germany,he left his job in the civil service to join the BritishRoyal Air Force(RAF).[2]In order to fund his voyage to England, Strachan sold his bicycle and saxophone.[2][9][10][11]Struggling to afford the trip to England, he became the only passenger on a merchant ship which had previously arrived in Jamaica full of wealthy passengers escaping the war in Europe for the safety of the Caribbean.[9]Strachan risked the long and dangerous journey inU-boat-infested waters,[12]spending his time smashing tin cans to provide metal for Britain's war effort against Germany.[13]He was the only passenger on the entire ship during the approximately month-long trip, being given a first-class cabin and the honour of dining with the ship's captain.[13]

Joining the Royal Air Force

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Adastral House,later renamed "Television House", where Strachan attempted to join theRoyal Air Force(RAF).

Strachan arrived inBristolin March 1940, with little money and a suitcase containing only one spare change of clothes.[8][11]Struggling to understand British culture, Strachan saluted a porter at a train station in Bristol, believing that he was an admiral because of his work uniform.[9][13]He then travelled to London, arriving atPaddington station,and spent a night at theYMCAnearTottenham Court Road.[8][13]The next day he met a Jewish refugee at a TMCA meeting who told Strachan about theNazi Partyand her reasons for fleeing Europe.[13]Strachan said this experience was the first time he had ever heard about what was happening inNazi Germany.[13]After another night at the YMCA, Strachan travelled to theAir Ministrybased inAdastral House (Television House),believing that this was where he was supposed to enlist in the RAF.[8][9][13]The airmen on guard duty at the Air Ministry racially abused Strachan, telling him that "his sort" should "go back to where they came from".[11]Some sources say that the guard told Strachan to "piss off".[13][14]

After this exchange with the guard, a sergeant passed by and told Strachan that Adastral House was not the correct place to enlist in the RAF. When the sergeant asked where he came from, Strachan told him he was from Kingston in Jamaica.[9]However, the sergeant mistakenly believed that he meantKingstoninSurreyand told him to travel there to enlist.[9][14][15]

Strachan's flying helmet and goggles

Eventually, a young officer came to Strachan's aid, telling Strachan that he was educated and knew that Jamaica was inWest Africa.[9][11][16]Strachan decided it was best not to correct the young officer on Jamaica's actual location. Later in life, he described the young officer as a"Hooray Henry type",a pejorative British term for an arrogant upper-class man.[14]Strachan was taken inside the building and introduced to a Flight Lieutenant.[9]He underwent health, education and intelligence tests; passing all these tests, he was given an RAF uniform.[11]He was sent on a train toBlackpoollater that evening for military training.[14]

Air force training

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Aged 18, Strachan arrived at the RAF base in Blackpool for training.[2][16]He was the only non-white recruit, and many of his fellow recruits accused him of being crazy when he told them he had left the peace of the Caribbean to travel to wartime Britain.[14][16]Strachan and the men he trained alongside were taught by a corporal who happened to be a former circus clown forBertram Mills.[16]He told his men that he would choose the most physically fit recruit to be his deputy, which happened to be Strachan, and the corporal told Strachan: "Darky, you are my deputy."[14]Strachan was emotionally torn by the racial insult, which he had never been called before as he was relatively light-skinned in comparison to the majority of black people in Jamaica.[14]Despite his conflicted feelings, he was glad to have been promoted to squad deputy.[14][16]

Bombing missions against Nazi Germany

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Strachan (standing far right) poses with fellow allied pilots during WW2.

Strachan was trained in aircrew skills and his first bombing mission was over Nazi-occupied Europe in June 1941.[14]He was initially a radio operator, then he became a gunner, flying a tour of operations inRAF Bomber Commandas an air gunner onVickers Wellingtonbomber aeroplanes withNo. 156 Squadron.[2][11]After completing his first tour of 30 operations Strachan retrained as a pilot,[11]flying solo after only seven hours of training.[17][18]He undertook 15 operations as a pilot withNo. 576 Squadron,flyingAvro LancastersfromRAF Fiskertonin Lincolnshire.[10]

Strachan shared his advice on how he managed to survive being targeted by German aircraft: "The trick," he explained, "was to wait until the enemy was right on your tail and, at the last minute, cut the engines, sending the aircraft into a plunging dive, letting the fighter overshoot harmlessly above."[17]He also vividly recalled seeing four-engined Soviet bombers during a bombing mission over Berlin in 1941. He was greatly impressed by the Soviet aircraft, realising that their chances of returning to the Soviet Union were extremely slim.[14]During a night raid over Germany in October 1941, he was wounded in the left leg by a Nazi fighter aeroplane, a wound that caused him medical problems throughout his life.[19]

Tiger Moth aircraft,similar to the one Strachan crashed during a training accident.

Training flight crash

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Recalling his youth, Strachan described himself during the war as being at his peak of both physical and mental health, and very self-assured and cocky.[19]He was prone to "joyriding" and attempting dangerous tricks despite the disapproval of his instructors. During a training flight in aTiger Moth aircraft,he crashed the aeroplane and was sent toEly HospitalinWales.He had damaged his face and hips,[20]suffered a broken nose, broken cheekbones, a fractured right hip, and was in a semi-coma for three weeks.[19]

Strachan with his first wife Joyce Smith

Wartime marriage

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Despite ongoing recovery from his plane crash, 1942 saw Strachan tie the knot with Joyce Smith, a Londoner he'd met before the accident.[19]They married while he was still using crutches and recovering from his injuries.[19]For their honeymoon, the couple visited the Palace Hotel inTorquay,where they were almost killed when theLuftwaffebombed the hotel.[19]

Near collision with Lincoln Cathedral

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Having survived more than 30 missions, Strachan's nerves were finally shattered by a near collision withLincoln Cathedralduring a flight in which he was the pilot. This incident occurred while he was piloting an aeroplane carrying a bomb weighing 12,000lb (6,000kg) intended to be dropped on German ships.[21]He recalled the events of this incident, the stress of which ended his ability to continue his career as a pilot:

I asked my engineer to make sure we were on course to get over the top of the cathedral, He replied 'We've just passed it.' I looked out and suddenly realised that it was just beyond our wing-tips. It was sheer luck. I hadn't seen it at all – and I was the pilot. There and then my nerve went. I realised I couldn't go on. This was the last straw. I knew it was the end of me as a pilot. I flew to a special 'hole' in the North Sea where no allied shipping ever went near and dropped my 'big one'. Then I flew back to the airfield.[22]

Following this incident, Strachan was sent to a large country house inCoventrywhere he stayed for 48 hours.[21]A psychiatrist who interviewed him attributed his behaviour to war weariness.[21]

Racial advisor to the RAF

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Strachan's log book during his service with the RAF

Many Caribbean men who had travelled to Britain to join the RAF found themselves being given lowly jobs despite wanting to fight the Nazis.[22]Racial tensions arose across RAF bases between black and white personnel.[22]On the recommendation of political writerUna Marsonand cricketerLearie Constantine,both of whom advised the British government on black racial issues, the Royal Air Force dispatched experienced Afro-Caribbean officers to investigate racial issues in RAF military installations.[22]Strachan, now a Flight Lieutenant at the age of 23, was sent to an RAF base in Bedfordshire to investigate racial tensions between Black and white military personnel there.[22]During his time at the Bedfordshire RAF base, a riot broke out in the canteen between black and white servicemen. He ordered them all to stop fighting and most of the personnel obeyed except for two white men, who advanced towards him. Strachan then ordered a white corporal to arrest the two approaching men, which the corporal did, giving a great boost of morale to the black RAF personnel on the base.[22]Strachan considered this incident an important moment in his life.[22]

At the request of Una Marson, whose ideas on race and politics would heavily influence Strachan's worldviews,[22]he was made an RAF liaison officer charged with investigating incidents of racial discrimination within the RAF.[23]During this time, he once sat as a member ofcourts-martial,and in incidents he worked as an advocate on behalf of black servicemen – experiences that his biographer, David Horsley, theorised inspired Strachan's future career in law.[24]Another influential moment for him during his time in the RAF was when a fellow Caribbean RAF member gave him a copy ofCapitalism and Slavery,written byEric Williams.[24]

Summary of Strachan's wartime achievements

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Strachan rose to the rank of flight lieutenant within the RAF, a rare achievement for a black person in 1940s Britain.[2][10][25]He completed 33 missions against Nazi Germany when statistically most bomber crew did not survive their (30 operation) tours.[2][19]During his career, he took part in missions over the skies ofAuxerre,Rotterdam,theRuhr,andBerlin,among many other locations throughout Europe.[14]His rise within the ranks of the RAF earned him a personal servant known as a "batman".[20]His batman had previously been the servant of the BritishKing George VI.[20]Once, while stationed inYorkshirenearHull,Strachan visited a dentist in an underground surgery, returning to the surface to find that all the buildings above ground had been destroyed by bombs.[11]

By the end of his military career, Strachan had served with bothNo. 99 SquadronandNo. 101 Squadronas an air gunner/wireless operator, before becoming a pilot forNo. 156 Squadrona squadron of the RAF's elitePathfinder Force.[26]Strachan was demobilised from the RAF in 1946.[24]

Political activism

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Brief return to Jamaica (1946–1947)

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By 1946, Strachan had become the father of three sons: Christopher, Jeremy, and Mark.[24]Strachan, his wife Joyce and their children, all briefly moved to Jamaica in 1946, and he resumed the civil service job that he had held prior to the war.[2][24][25]Racism continued to plague his civilian career, as he was denied promotions in the civil service based on his race.[25]Outraged at the racism that blocked him from promotion, Strachan wrote multiple letters to news media, although he signed the letters in his wife's name since he was not allowed to openly criticise the authorities as a civil servant.[24]Many of these letters were noticed by Dr David Lewis, a communist activist who worked in a nearby leper colony inPort Royal.[24]Strachan and Lewis began to meet one another frequently and Lewis introduced Strachan toMarxist political theory,inspiring him to become a lifelong communist. Lewis admired Strachan's leadership skills and invited him back to Britain to help create the London branch of theCaribbean Labour Congress,an organisation dedicated to promoting worker's rights and universal suffrage in the Caribbean.[25][27]

Communist and black activism in Britain (1947–1998)

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Returning to Britain in 1947, Strachan joined theCommunist Party of Great Britain (CPGB)and quickly became an active member, holding weekly street meetings and selling theDaily Worker.[10][25][28][29]Strachan would from then on support the communist movement for the rest of his life and was an avid supporter of both theSoviet Unionand theChinese Communist Party.[25]With his wife and his family, he moved toBrondesbury,London, where the couple sold theDaily Worker.[29]While in Brondesbury, Strachan gave weekly political speeches every Saturday at number 3, Brondesbury Villas, and often wrote on issues of poverty and immigration for local newspapers.[29]Come the1950 United Kingdom general election,the CPGB qualified to run and Strachan held his radio out of his house window and turned up the volume, so as to let the entire street hearHarry Pollitt's election broadcast.[29]Strachan and his wife, who was at this time also a committed communist activist, held CPGB meetings in their house inKilburn,London.[29]The Strachan family later moved toColindale,which also happened to be the home of leading communist activists Harry Pollitt,Reg Birch,andPeter Kerrigan,where the Strachans became close to other families with communist political beliefs.[29]

When the Afro-Caribbean communist and civil rights leaderTrevor Cartermoved to Britain, he began living with the Strachan family and stayed with them for several years.[29]Carter was the cousin of famous Black-British civil rights activist and communist leaderClaudia Jones,who founded one of Britain's early black newspapers, theWest Indian Gazette,which both Carter and Strachan helped to launch.[30]Carter in later life recalled the Strachan family fondly, saying that he felt "a true affection in the Strachan family."[31]Cleston Taylor,another Caribbean communist who worked closely with Strachan, claimed that Strachan would visit local cinemas and would stand on the stage and denounce the movie to the audience if the film showed a racist scene.[32]Among other black civil rights activists and communists Strachan knew, includedWinston Pinderand Phil Sealey.[32]

Between the late 1940s and 1990s, Strachan had written articles for many newspapers and journals, many of which were openly communist. He often wrote them under the pseudonyms "Bill Steel" or "Caliban". Examples of communist publications for which Strachan wrote include theDaily Worker,Comment,Caribbean News,andLabour Monthly.[33]In 1954, Strachan wrote the chapter "Terror in the West Indies" for theReport of the Second Conference of Workers Parties Within the Sphere of British Imperialism,from their conference held in London.[34]

In 1954, a cartoon titled "Family Portrait?" appeared in theDaily Sketch,mocking Strachan for his anti-colonial and anti-imperialist beliefs, depicting him with devil horns representing the Caribbean Labour Congress, and posing withHewlett Johnson,Paul Robeson,all posing with a portrait of Stalin.[35]

Following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Strachan helped to organise a fleet of buses to be sent to Cuba.[30]During the 1970s, he was involved with theAngela Davis Defence Committee's London branch.[33]

As more West Indians arrived in Britain, the more radical elements of the black community also joined the CPGB, with many of them seeing Strachan as their leader.[25][28]His activism as a CPGB member put him into contact with many influential British communists and socialists includingKay Beauchamp,Palme Dutt,andCheddi Jagan.[28]Culturally, Strachhan also came into contact with the works of communist musicians, includingAlan Bush,A. L. Lloyd,Ewan MacColl,and with the dramas ofBertolt Brecht.[28][31]Strachan became an important member of the CPGB's International Committee and their West Indian Committee.[28][29]According to theMorning Starnewspaper, Strachan told one of his sons: "Because of the way my life was to go if I hadn’t discovered Marxism I would have undoubtedly ended up in a mental institution."[36]

Caribbean Labour Congress (CLC) (1948–1956)

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In 1948, Strachan helped to found the London branch of theCaribbean Labour Congress(CLC), a socialist organisation dedicated to promoting worker's rights and universal suffrage in the Caribbean.[10][28][37]The CLC sought to create an alliance of left-wing nationalists and communists across the British Empire, and was associated with theWorld Federation of Trade Unions.[37]Strachan was elected to serve as the secretary of the London branch from its founding in 1948 to 1956.[10][25][28][32]

As the leader of the London Branch of the CLC, Strachan directed the organisation's political efforts into a number of different issues, including supporting Kenyan independence fighters during theMau Mau rebellion,[38]supportingSudaneseandEgyptianindependence,anti-Apartheidactivism, expressing solidarity with the victims of racist American courts such as theMartinsville SevenandWillie McGee,and supporting theViet Minhin theirwar of national liberationagainst the French Empire.[39]They also campaigned against British foreign policy towardsSaint Vincent,Grenada,andBritish Guiana.[39]In 1950 Strachan wrote a letter to the editor ofThe Manchester GuardiandefendingSeretse Khama,a Black African man who had been persecuted for marrying a white woman, and naming himself as the Joint Secretary of the Seretse Khama Fighting Committee.[40]

Under Strachan's leadership, the London branch of the CLC held regular educational classes for its members, reading books such as Eric William'sNegro in the Caribbean,Cheddi Jagan'sForbidden Freedom,Harold Moody'sNegro Victory,Andrew Rothstein'sA People Reborn,Learie Constantine'sColour Bar,and Richard Hart'sOrigin and development of the People of Jamaica.[41]

Aside from political events, Strachan encouraged the CLC to host social events such as dances, which were advertised in the bothDaily WorkerandCaribbean News.[41]These events not only helped to spread Caribbean culture to local British people and provide entertainment and friendship to newly arrived Caribbean immigrants, but also provided funding for the CLC andCaribbean News.[41]

Among the organisations known to have kept close contact with the London branch of the CLC were theLeague of Coloured Peoples,World Federation of Democratic Youth,theYoung Communist League,theNational Assembly of Women,theElectrical Trades Union,and theAmalgamated Engineering Union.[41]

During a 1951 meeting inLambeth Town Hall,Brixton,hosted by Labour Party MPMarcus Lipton,Strachan expressed his anger at the British government's attempts to scapegoat black immigrants for their failure to solve the post-war housing crisis.[42]

One issue that particularly bothered Strachan and the CLC was the British government's removal of the administration of Cheddi Jagan in British Guiana in 1953.[39]Strachan took up this issue and mobilised the CLC to campaign against the removal of Jagan's government, mobilising all his contacts, Communist party activists, left-wing Labour Party members, and trade unionists, to ensure that the issue was brought up in the British Parliament.[39]This began a life-long friendship between Strachan and both Jagan and his wife, Janet Jagan.[39][43]

In 1956, the London branch of the Caribbean Labour Congress reformed into a new organisation called the Caribbean National Congress, without Strachan serving as secretary.[35]However, without his leadership, both this new organisation andCaribbean Newssoon collapsed.[35]Afterwards, he dedicated his efforts to the Communist Party of Great Britain and became a founding member of theMovement for Colonial Freedomunder the leadership of Labour Party politicianFenner Brockway.[35]

Windrush generation (1948)

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With the 1948 arrival of the HMTEmpire Windrushto Britain transporting hundreds of West Indians, Strachan and the London branch of the Caribbean Labour Congress established a committee to help them and arranged a welcoming event at Holborn Hall in July of that same year.[42]Strachan soon began receiving letters, primarily from men, expressing their difficulties in securing employment and accommodation, many of these letters being written to him due partly to his reputation as a war hero, and others because he was the secretary of the London branch of the Caribbean Labour Congress.[42]These letters requesting aid from Strachan and the CLC put him at the forefront as an early pioneer of Black civil rights in Britain.[42]

Caribbean News(1952–1956)

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Strachan came to believe it was necessary to create a regular newspaper that could reflect the views of the London branch of the Caribbean Labour Congress (CLC).[31]His initiative produced a socialist andAnti-imperialistnewspaper calledCaribbean News,which was published between 1952 and 1956.[25][28]This paper became the first Black British newspaper dedicated to socialism, anti-imperialism, and Caribbean independence.[31]David Horsley describesCaribbean Newsas "the first Black British monthly newspaper dedicated to the ideals of Caribbean independence, socialism, and solidarity with colonial and oppressed people throughout the world."[10]

Caribbean Newsoften carried a column called "Billy's Corner", dedicated to articles written by Strachan.[31]The paper also published articles by Birmingham civil rights leader and fellow Communist activistHenry Gunter,[44]most famous for helping to desegregate Birmingham's transport. Articles published inCaribbean Newsoften stressed the importance of trade unions for all British workers.[42]Another topic thatCaribbean Newsoften dealt with was racism in British society, highlighting the racist banning of the African American blues singerBig Bill Broonzyfrom a hotel inNottingham,[45]and in 1954 publicising an instance where white coal miners inDerbyshirerefused to accept the colour bar (segregation) used against a Jamaican miner.[41]At a meeting in 1953, Strachan reported thatCaribbean Newshad a circulation of 2,000 copies, half of which were sent to the West Indies and the rest circulated across Britain.[41]The final issue ofCaribbean Newscontained an interview with Claudia Jones.[30]

Caribbean tour and political persecution (1952)

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In 1952, reactionary conservative leaders in the Caribbean, led byGrantley AdamsofBarbados,turned on their left-wing and anti-colonial allies, persecuting all whom they believed to be communists. Adams ordered Strachan and the London branch of the Caribbean Labour Congress to disband; however, the branch voted overwhelmingly in favour of continuing their activities and ignored this demand.[39]There was also an attempt by reactionary leaders to ban copies ofCaribbean Newsfrom being sent to the West Indies.[39]

In defiance of Adams and his persecution of leftist activists, Strachan planned a speaking tour of the Caribbean alongside fellow communist Caribbean activistFerdinand Smith,[39]who was most notable for co-founding the first desegregated union in the history of the United States.[46]In 1952, Strachan and Smith embarked on their speaking tour of the Caribbean, organised by theWorld Federation of Trade Unions,an organisation in which Smith was a leading member.[46]They first stopped at Strachan's birthplace, Kingston, Jamaica, but following harassment from customs authorities the pair immediately travelled to Trinidad.[46]Upon arriving in Trinidad, Strachan and Smith were arrested and deported for being "undesirables".[46]Also banned from staying in St. Vincent, Grenada, and British Guyana, the pair returned to Jamaica.[46]

Again arriving in Jamaica, Strachan and Smith were welcomed by Jamaican politicianRichard Hart,who toured Jamaica with them and even wrote acalypsosong for Smith and Strachan titled "The Ferdie and Billy Calypso".[47]The tour of Jamaica was a success; however, when Strachan and Smith attempted to return to Europe via the United States, they were kidnapped by the United States government and were imprisoned onEllis Island,before being deported.[42]

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After returning to Britain from his tour of the British West Indies, Strachan began to self-study law, while also raising his young family.[10][25]He had wanted to study law earlier but could not afford to do so, due to the combined weight of his family commitments, his political work, and his fulltime employment, first as a cost-accountant in Kilburn for a baker's and confectioners, then later as a clerical assistant forMiddlesex County Council.[30]His study of British laws was supported byD. N. PrittandJohn Platts-Mills.[30]

Strachan intensely studied law using books he borrowed from the library, and in 1959 he was called to the bar.[25][28][48]He earned his Bachelor of Law degree from theUniversity of Londonin 1967. He worked as Clerk of Court and held several important positions as the Chief Clerk at Clerkenwell Magistrates' Court, and he then held the same position at Hampstead Magistrates' Court, becoming the Clerk to the Betting and Gaming Committee.[48]Strachan was elected the President of Inner London Justices' Clerks' Society.[48]

Pansy Jeffrey, a civil rights activist and a founder of thePepper Pot Centre,said that Strachan once advised her to become a magistrate.[48]

Due to the political persecution of communists in Britain,[citation needed]he could no longer continue to be an open communist, so it was decided by the CPGB leadership that he should no longer hold a party card but could still support the party in other ways.[28]In 1971, Strachan was elected president of the Inner London Justices Clerks Society,[25]before becoming involved inLord Avebury's investigation into the death ofWalter Rodney,a political leader in Guyana.[33]

Riding for the Disabled Association

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Despite suffering terrible pain from an injury he sustained during the Second World War, Strachan greatly enjoyed horse riding. He became a key figure in the creation of theRiding for the Disabled Association,a British charity that provides horse-riding lessons to disabled people. Strachan served as the secretary of the Harrow Branch of the charity.[49]According to theMorning Star,Strachan strategically allowed the Britishprincess Anne,daughter of BritishQueen Elizabeth,to serve as the charity's president, while he himself served as the charity's vice-president.[36]During the 1970s, Strachan and his wife Joyce divorced.[25]During the 1980s, while horse-riding, he met a woman called Mary Collins, who in 1983 became his second wife, this marriage lasting for the rest of his life.[25][49]

Later life

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Aside from chasing a career in law, Strachan continued to be politically active in anti-colonial and socialist politics for the remainder of his life, and supported the British communist movement until his death. He was also one of the founders of theMovement for Colonial Freedom.[28]He was a supporter of Grenada'sNew Jewel Movementand opposed both American intervention inHaitiand the UK Labour Party's intervention in Anguilla in 1969.[33]In 1977, Strachan condemned thenHome SecretaryDavid Owenfor refusing to halt the execution of two Black people inBermuda.[33]Strachan then became a founding member ofCaribbean Labour Solidarity(CLS), an organisation formed in London by his friends Richard Hart and Cleston Taylor in 1974.[33]

Strachan contributed to a programme that allowed students from the Caribbean to study in the Soviet Union free of charge, using his connections with politicians in the Caribbean to find men and women from working-class backgrounds who otherwise would never have been able to afford a university education.[48]

During the 1980s and 1990s there came a growing awareness of the contribution of Caribbean people in Britain's war efforts against Germany during the Second World War, and Strachan used his skills in public speaking to give countless interviews to television and radio shows concerning this topic, and was featured in articles by theDaily MailandThe Timeson his war experiences.[33]

Strachan was a close friend of both Cheddi Jagan,[50]the first chief minister ofGuyanaand the first person of Indian descent to become the leader of a country outside Asia, and Guyana's president and wife of Cheddi,Janet Jagan.[28]During one trip to Guyana in 1996 as a guest of the Jagans, Strachan began to feel ill and upon his return to Britain it was discovered that he was suffering frommotor neuron disease.[51]Strachan was cared for by his wife during his final years, and died on 26 April 1998.[28]

Legacy

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Funeral

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A memorial meeting for Strachan was held on 5 July 1998, attracting a large number of influential political leaders and activists includingTrevor Carter,Richard Hart,John La Rose,Cleston Taylor,Phil Sealey, Clem Derrick,Ranjana Sidhanti Ash,Norma Gibbs, and Raymond Kudrath.[citation needed]

Legacy and influence

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A display dedicated to Strachan in the WWII galleries of theImperial War Museum,London (2022).

Strachan is recognised by numerous historians, activists, and academics as one of the most influential and respected black civil rights figures in British-Caribbean history, and a pioneer of black civil rights. Journalist John Gulliver described him as having lived a "life of sheer heroism".[52]Strachan's biographer, David Horsley, characterises him as a "civil rights pioneer", and a "remarkable and often overlooked figure in British Caribbean history".[10]Strachan was held in high regard by many leading British black civil rights activists, includingTrevor Carter,Claudia Jones,Cleston Taylor,andWinston Pinder,the latter describing Strachan as "our father".[10]Communist activist Bob Newland, a member of theLondon Recruitswho travelled toapartheidSouth Africa to support theAfrican National Congress,called Strachan his mentor.[53]Strachan was also praised by many Caribbean leaders whom he had known during his life, among themRichard Hart,John La Rose,and Cheddi Jagan.

Strachan played a role in supporting the work ofDorothy Kuya,a Black British civil rights leader and communist activist; she was Liverpool's first community relations officer, and Strachan travelled to Liverpool to speak for Kuya when she was applying for the job of community relations officer in the city.[53]This helped kickstart Kuya's career, which led to her successful campaign for the eventual establishment of theInternational Slavery Museumin Liverpool.[53]

While Strachan has been recognised and celebrated by many of the above, some researchers note that many key texts and sources on black history in Britain made no mention of him, even when the authors were likely to have known him personally. David Horsley, who in 2019 published the biographyBilly Strachan 1921–1988 RAF Officer, Communist, Civil Rights Pioneer, Legal Administrator, Internationalist and Above All Caribbean Man,believes that historians have intentionally ignored Strachan, due partially to his communist beliefs.[54]In January 2020, theMarx Memorial Libraryin London held an event to piece together the facts of Strachan's life, with the event attended by historical researchers and members of the Strachan family.[55][56][57]

Television, radio, and fiction

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As a public and influential figure within Britain's black communities, Strachan made several notable appearances in British media. In 1955, Strachan was interviewed byPathé Newsfor a report titledOur Jamaican Problem,where he acted as a spokesperson for black people in Britain.[21][35]Then in 1989, Strachan appeared inBBC Radio 4'sThe Invisible Force,aired on 16 May that same year.[5]

According to the British newspaper theDaily Mail,British television presenterLenny Henrywas set to star in a biographical film based on Strachan's life, titledA Wing and a Prayer;however, the script was never turned into a movie.[33]Peter Frost, a researcher of British leftist history, wrote in theMorning Starthat he believed Strachan's communist beliefs were somewhat responsible for the movie not being created.[36]Though not making an appearance in the story,Andrea Levy's novelSmall Island(2004) contained two main characters which were inspired by Billy Strachan's life.[58]

Comments on his life

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Britain'sBlack History Month Magazinedescribed Strachan as "a World War 2 R.A.F. hero, a Civil Rights pioneer and leader, a life long Communist, a prominent law officer, and a gifted writer."[56]After Strachan's death, the former president of Guyana,Janet Jagan,said of him: "Billy was my friend, my comrade, my mentor for most of my adult life. He was a genuine Caribbean man always in the forefront of labour and political challenges of our region I will miss him very much. Life without Billy is not the same”.[28]TheCommunist Party of Britain,the continuation of the originalCommunist Party of Great Britain (CPGB)of which Strachan had been a member, said: "Billy Strachan was a true Communist dedicating his adult life to a better world for all, one without exploitation, poverty and racism."[28]

The president ofCaribbean Labour Solidarity,Luke Daniels, praised Strachan's life and commitment to fighting racism, recommending his biography as "essential reading for all Caribbean peoples and for those looking for inspiration in the fight for justice the world over as Billy was a true internationalist and engaged imperialism wherever it presented its ugly head."[59]Strachan's son, Chris Strachan, cited his father as an inspiration in the fight against racism in 21st-century Britain: "Himself a victim of prejudice and discrimination, he fought hard for a world of tolerance and equality. With the rise of the far-Right today, the work of Billy Strachan remains today an example but also largely unfinished business."[1]

Historical archives

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In 1987, London'sImperial War Museuminterviewed Strachan on his life and recorded and published the audio, which can be listened to by the public as a part of the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive.[60]The Imperial War Museum also holds physical items used by Strachan during WWII, including a leather flying helmet,[61]and flying goggles.[62]One display in the museum's Second World War galleries created by History ProfessorRichard Overyfeatured objects relating to Strachan.[63]TheUK National Archiveshold records relating to Trinidad barring Strachan from entering the country,[64]and further archival material relevant to Strachan's life, including 40 boxes from his personal collections, is held at theUniversity of London.[10][65]

A selection of books written by Strachan

Works written by Strachan

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  • The Story of a Colony: Sugar(1955)[53]
  • Natural Justice: Principle and Practice(1976)[53]
  • The Drinking Driver and the Law(1973)[53]
  • Matrimonial Proceedings in Magistrates' Courts(1982)[53]
  • Adoption(1992)[53]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abHorsley, David (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988 RAF Officer, Communist, Civil Rights Pioneer, Legal Administrator, Internationalist and Above All Caribbean Man.London:Caribbean Labour Solidarity.p. 1.ISSN2055-7035.Retrieved8 May2023.
  2. ^abcdefghiMeddick, Simon; Payne, Liz; Katz, Phil (2020).Red Lives: Communists and the Struggle for Socialism.Croydon:Manifesto Press Cooperative Limited. p. 194.ISBN978-1-907464-45-4.
  3. ^abcdefghHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 6.
  4. ^abcdefgHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 7.
  5. ^abBourne, Stephen(2012).The Motherland Calls: Britain's Black Servicemen & Women 1939–45(paperback).Stroud,UK:The History Press.p. 53.ISBN978-0-7524-6585-2.
  6. ^abHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.pp. 6–7.
  7. ^Horsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.pp. 7–8.
  8. ^abcdeHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 8.
  9. ^abcdefghBourne (2012).The Motherland Calls.History Press. p. 54.ISBN9780752465852.
  10. ^abcdefghijkHorsley, David (23 May 2019)."Billy Strachan's was a remarkable life".Islington Tribune.Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2023.Retrieved7 May2023.
  11. ^abcdefgh[unreliable source?]Dewjee, Audrey."West Indian RAF Aircrew: In East Yorkshire During WWII".African Stories in Hull and East Yorkshire.Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2023.Retrieved7 May2023.
  12. ^"The Caribbean, Indian And African RAF Pilots Of WW2".History.Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2023.Retrieved7 May2023.
  13. ^abcdefghLevine, Joshua (2006).Forgotten Voices of the Blitz and the Battle for Britain.London:Ebury Press.p. 107.
  14. ^abcdefghijkHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 9.
  15. ^Levine (2006).Forgotten Voices of the Blitz and the Battle for Britain.pp. 107–108.
  16. ^abcdeLevine (2006).Forgotten Voices of the Blitz and the Battle for Britain.p. 108.
  17. ^ab"Their own stories: Billy Strachan".Memorial Gates, London.Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2023.Retrieved7 May2023.
  18. ^Royal British Legion (2 March 2022)."Second World War Service and Sacrifice Billy Strachan (1921– 1998)".Black History Month.Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2023.Retrieved7 May2023.
  19. ^abcdefgHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 10.
  20. ^abcBourne (2012).The Motherland Calls.History Press. p. 55.ISBN9780752465852.
  21. ^abcdBourne(2012).The Motherland Calls.History Press. p. 56.ISBN9780752465852.
  22. ^abcdefghHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 11.
  23. ^Horsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.pp. 11–12.
  24. ^abcdefgHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 12.
  25. ^abcdefghijklmnHorsley, David (16 April 2021)."The centenary of a remarkable black communist".Morning Star.Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2023.Retrieved7 May2023.
  26. ^"The Second World War, 1939 to 1945: Bomber Command".Royal Air Force Museum.Archived fromthe originalon 8 May 2023.Retrieved8 May2023.
  27. ^Meddick; Payne; Katz (2020).Red Lives.pp. 194–195.
  28. ^abcdefghijklmnoMeddick; Payne; Katz (2020).Red Lives.p. 195.
  29. ^abcdefghHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 14.
  30. ^abcdeHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 25.
  31. ^abcdeHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 16.
  32. ^abcHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 15.
  33. ^abcdefghHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 27.
  34. ^Horsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.pp. 27–29.
  35. ^abcdeHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 23.
  36. ^abcFrost, Peter (31 March 2018)."Billy Strachan – just 'another bloody immigrant'".Frosty's Ramblings (reprinted from theMorning Star.Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2023.Retrieved7 May2023.
  37. ^abHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 13.
  38. ^Smith, Evan (August 2016)."National Liberation for Whom? The Postcolonial Question, the Communist Party of Great Britain, and the Party's African and Caribbean Membership".International Review of Social History.61(2).Cambridge University Press:297.doi:10.1017/S0020859016000249.JSTOR26394857.
  39. ^abcdefghHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 17.
  40. ^"Letters to the Editor: Seretse Khama".The Manchester Guardian.18 March 1950. p. 6.
  41. ^abcdefHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 21.
  42. ^abcdefHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 20.
  43. ^Ramharack, Baytoram (29 January 2023)."Janet Jagan: Marxist radical or Guyanese liberator? (Part One)".Stabroek News.
  44. ^Rublack, Argula (21 June 2021)."The view from the 'Motherland': Billy Strachan's fight for the Windrush generation".University of London.University of London.Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2023.Retrieved7 May2023.
  45. ^Horsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.pp. 20–21.
  46. ^abcdeHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 18.
  47. ^Horsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.pp. 19–20.
  48. ^abcdeHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 26.
  49. ^abHorsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 29.
  50. ^Persaud, Randolph B. (2023)."Cheddi Jagan and Walter Rodney: the intellectual and political practices of decolonization and anti-imperialism".Postcolonial Studies.26(1): 136–137.doi:10.1080/13688790.2023.2127667.S2CID253067428.
  51. ^Horsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.pp. 29–30.
  52. ^Gulliver, John (16 May 2019)."Thanks to Caribbeans like Billy".Camden New Journal.Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2023.Retrieved7 May2023.
  53. ^abcdefghHorsley (1991).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 28.
  54. ^Horsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 3.
  55. ^"Billy Strachan 1921–1998 Communist and Campaigner for Colonial Freedom".Marx Memorial Library.Archivedfrom the original on 12 May 2020.Retrieved11 May2021.
  56. ^ab"Billy Strachan 1921–1998: Communist & Campaigner for Colonial Freedom".Black History Month Magazine.15 January 2020. Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2023.Retrieved7 May2023.
  57. ^Horsley, David (2019)."Billy Strachan – Celebration of the life and achievements of this 'Caribbean Man'".Caribbean Labour Solidarity.Archived fromthe originalon 30 April 2023.Retrieved24 April2023.
  58. ^Andermahr, Sonya (15 July 2019)."Decolonizing cultural memory in Andrea Levy's Small Island".Journal of Postcolonial Writing.55(4): 558–559.doi:10.1080/17449855.2019.1633554.S2CID199255102.
  59. ^Horsley (2019).Billy Strachan 1921–1988.p. 2.
  60. ^"Strachan, William Arthur Watkin (Oral History)".Imperial War MuseumSound Archive.1987. Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2023.Retrieved11 May2021.
  61. ^"Flying Helmet, Leather, Type B: Royal Air Force".Imperial War Museum.Archived fromthe originalon 8 May 2023.Retrieved8 May2023.
  62. ^"Goggles, Flying, Mk VIII: Royal Air Force".Imperial War Museum.Archived fromthe originalon 8 May 2023.Retrieved8 May2023.
  63. ^"University of Exeter expert advises on Imperial War Museums' ground-breaking new Second World War and Holocaust exhibition".University of Exeter.11 October 2021. Archived fromthe originalon 8 May 2023.Retrieved8 May2023.
  64. ^"Refusal to allow Billy Strachan, Communist Secretary of the Caribbean Labour Congress..."The National Archives' catalogue.The National Archives (United Kingdom).Archived fromthe originalon 8 May 2023.Retrieved8 May2023.
  65. ^"Billy Strachan papers".Archives Hub.Archivedfrom the original on 11 May 2021.Retrieved11 May2021.

Further reading

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