Filey memorial plaque for Caribbean WWII RAF crew unveiled

The plaque was unveiled at a ceremony on Saturday

A plaque to remember 4,000 Caribbean men who trained on the North Yorkshire coast after joining the RAF in World War Two has been unveiled.

The men trained at RAF Hunmanby Moor camp, near Filey, in the 1940s.

Campaigner Glenn Parsons said a three-year battle to create the memorial made him feel the event was "bittersweet".

More than 200 people attended the ceremony on Queen Street in Filey. Among them were veterans of Caribbean descent.

Some of the recruits were white but most were of African descent, said the Africans in Yorkshire project

"My main concern is that the servicemen have been rendered invisible over time, their contributions are simply not noted," said Mr Parsons.

"That was something that I felt I could not allow to continue and that's why we desperately needed this plaque."

Mr Parsons's uncle, Gilmour Westcarr, trained at Hunmanby Moor, which had previously been a Butlin's holiday camp, in 1944 and 1945.

The Caribbean men had travelled "thousands of miles to help" and volunteer, well before the Windrush, Mr Parsons said.

The plaque was placed on a house on Queen Street

Veterans of Caribbean descent attended the ceremony on Saturday

He said it was only right they were recognised for their contribution.

"The history books have really omitted this or have erased it," he said.

"There are young people, and maybe some older people, who just have no idea that people of colour have fought alongside British servicemen, both in the First and Second World War.

"It is a glaring omission in history, and something that I think needs to be put right sooner rather than later."

After Filey Council said it could not install a plaque in the town's memorial garden, Mr Parsons put out a plea to find another home for it and a woman who owned a property on Queen Street came forward to offer a space for the wall memorial.