So, the far right – in this case the Traditional Britain Group – is getting all upset about a new TV series that features people of colour working during the Blitz.

If we are being generous, we can attribute this to a lazy, mistaken view that Britain was 100% white in the 1930s and 1940s. But it wasn’t. Long established communities of Chinese, Africans and Jews were to be found in our major cities and many notable figures are recorded in British history. Just read Black Tudors by Miranda Kaufmann for an excellent look at the situation in the 1500s. So it is indeed the racist right who are seeking to change history and obscure the truth that that these isles have been truly multiracial for the longest time.

As is well documented, many thousands of black and brown people joined the fight against Nazism and fascism in World War 2. And, specifically, there is nothing historically inccurate about portraying black people also working during the Blitz: take the case of George Roberts (above, right) who fought in the British Army in the World War 1, then served in the fire service in London during the Blitz. In 1944, he was awarded the British Empire Medal, in part for outstanding service in his firefighting duties. A man who did far more for the country than the useless gobshite keyboard warriors who populate the TBG social media feeds.

You can read more at:

Black ‘Front Liners’ and Fire Service personnel during the London Blitz | London Fire Brigade

and: Lives that mattered – the black experience of WW2