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A local museum in Thame is celebrating the life of a hero of World War Two, who was one of 60 West Africans to serve in the RAF. Johnny Smythe’s story is to be shared in a permanent exhibition due to officially launch on Thursday. Despite being shot down and captured, Lt Smythe went on to become Britain’s first black barrister, Sierra Leone Attorney General and was also an important figure in the Windrush generation. Both his service in the RAF and his career have been honoured in a special exhibition at Thame Museum.
Eddy Smythe, Lt Smythe’s son, has been talking about his father’s role during WW2 since the exhibition was designed by the museum. Eddy explained that his father never discussed the war in great detail, stating “it wasn’t until the year before he died that I really started to understand and managed to get him to talk a bit more. He spoke about his experiences in a very unemotional way.” Flt Lt Smythe was buried in Thame after retiring in 1996. After his death, Eddy learnt a “lot more about his experiences.”
Smythe became an RAF navigator at the age of 29, after The British Empire reached out to other countries to solicit assistance when the war began. He quickly volunteered, joining 623 squadron in 1943. On his 27th and 5th mission, he was shot down and suffered wounds to his groin and abdomen. After landing and hiding his parachute, he stole a bicycle to get “as far away as possible” and eventually ended up in a barn. Despite making a significant mistake by lighting a cigarette, he survived his encounter with German guards after being captured.
After being interrogated, Smythe spent 18 months in Stalag Luft 1, a prisoner of war camp in Barth, Germany, before being liberated and flown back to Britain. He continued to serve with the RAF in the colonial office and was mainly responsible for the welfare of Caribbean men. He later boarded the Empire Windrush, a ship taking a large contingent of demobilised Caribbean men back home and helped the men find work in Britain.
Johnny pursued a law career after the war, becoming attorney general of Sierra Leone and meeting President John F Kennedy in the White House. The exhibition celebrates his service in the RAF and his career which paved the way for other Black Britons to make a significant contribution to British society and should serve as a reminder to all of us of the outstanding and often unsung role of Black servicepeople in fighting for equality and democracy
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