Flight Lieutenant Cy Grant

PEOPLE PROFILE BATTLE OF THE RUHR Flight Lieutenant Cy Grant The Battle of the Ruhr was a five month long campaign of strategic bombing of a major industrial Cy Grant moved from and his fellow prisoners area of Germany called the Ruhr. The targets British Guiana to the were forced to march in included armament factories, synthetic oil plants, coke plants, steelworks and dams. UK to join the RAF, as deep snow, with little rations, sleeping in barns and then the year before the being transported in cattle Operation Chastise was part of this battle and the RAF had removed its trucks to Lukenwalde, just official name for attacks on Germans dams on 16-17 bar and allowed blacks south of Berlin. By the end May 1943. The RAF Squadron that carried out the of the war, they were freed attacks were known as the ‘Dambusters’ and they Cy Grant published his from the colonies to by the Russians who ripped used specially developed ‘bouncing bombs.’ memoirs under the title join its ranks. down the fences with their ‘A Member of the RAF of tanks. Indeterminate Race*’. He got Operation Chastise: Fact File By 1943 Grant had received the attack on the Moehne, the title from a caption below D.O.B 8 November 1919 a commission and was one After the war he studied law Eder and Sorpe Dams by a picture of him in a German P.O.B British Guiana and qualified as a barrister No. 617 Squadron RAF of the few black officers in on the night of 16/17 May Newspaper in July 1943 “Ein Years of Service the RAF. March 1943 was but went onto become an 1943. No. 617 Squadron Mitglied der Royal Air Force von 1941-1945 the start of the Battle of actor and entertainer. In the practice dropping the unbestimmbarer Rasse!” This Rank Flight Lieutenant the Ruhr and whilst he was 1970s he founded Drum the ‘Upkeep’ weapon at Reculver bombing range, Kent. was shown as propaganda London based black arts Branch Royal Air Force on third mission Grant’s Second launch sequence for the German war machine, (RAF) Lancaster Bomber was shot centre and was the director (4): the bomb rises from the implying that the RAF had to Engagements down over Holland on its of the Concord Multicultural water after its first ‘bounce’. World War II return to England. Festivals in the 1980s. resort to recruiting people of Awards Honorary Fellow an unknown race to fight their University of Surrey He managed to bail out, wars for them. Other Work escaping serious injury and A publisher of books, papers Tonight programme in the Barrister landed in a field. A local *Published by Woodfield Publishing (2007) and poems he wrote his 1950s singing the news in Author farmer took him to his farm war memoirs in 2006. Cy calypso, BBC’s sci-fi show Chairman/co- and gave him a hot meal. Grant currently lives in North Blake’s 7 in the 1970s. founder of A local policeman was Dutch author Hans Klootwijk London. Cy Grant was the He also provided the voice Drum Arts Centre informed of Grant’s presence wrote a book called first black person to appear of Lieutenant Green in Gerry Director of Concord and handed him over to the ‘Lancaster W4827: Failed to regularly on British television Anderson’s Captain Scarlet Multicultural Arts Germans. He was taken to Return’ which told the story of with appearances on BBC’s and the Mysterons. Singer an interrogation camp in Cy Grant and his crew after Broadcaster Amsterdam before being their plane was shot down transported with other POWs over Holland. The book is to Stalag Luft III. Later he based on research carried An aerial photograph taking during a out by Hans’ father Joost who was sent to another daylight raid on an oil refinery in the Ruhr. was just 11 years old when compound for MC, MP (Secretary of State for Officers a few miles the Colonies) and Air Marshal the bomber crashed into a away. Sir Arthur Barratt, KCB, farmhouse in his village. (Air Officer Commanding in Chief Technical Training For Grant the worst part of Command) inspect new West Klootwijk and Grant have his imprisonment were the Indian recruits to the RAF. since teamed up and Thousands of West Indian created a website dedicated last few months of the war, volunteers were trained and as the Russian army employed as ground crew. to the Caribbean aircrew who served in WWII at advanced the Germans Stalag Luft III prisoner of war camp, scene evacuated the camp. Grant of the ‘Great Escape’ in 1944. www.caribbeanaircrew-ww2.com 96.-.. .- --. ..- . Section 4 West Indies 97.

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