As we gear up to commemorate the arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury on 21st June 1948 (the passengers disembarked on 22nd) spare a thought for the contribution of an earlier generation of black men to the history of Britain.
On the morning of 18th June 1815 black men stood shoulder to shoulder with their white comrades-in-arms in open countryside nine miles south of Brussels. This was the start of the Battle of Waterloo, a battle that shaped British history, European history in fact, for generations to come. Napoleon’s last throw of the dice ended in the defeat of his army and on 21st June he returned to Paris and abdicated (for the second time). A famous British victory but, in the words of Arthur Wellesley (the 1st Duke of Wellington), commander of the troops facing Napoleon, it was ‘the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life.’
Trumpet Major James Goodwin was just one of the Black soldiers who was in the thick of the action at Waterloo. You can read about him here:
http://www.historycalroots.com/trumpet-major-james-goodwin-a-black-hero-of-the-battle-of-waterloo/
But he was not the only ‘man of colour’ to see action that day. John Ellis has also written for Historycal Roots about a selection of them:
- Peter Bishop
- William Afflick (Affleck)
- George Rose, and
- Thomas James
You can use the website’s index to read about them:
https://www.historycalroots.com/a-z-index/
Anyone who has visited the south coast of England will have seen defences set up to repel invasion, many date from the Second World War but there are also plenty of traces of the earlier threat of invasion by Napoleonic France – Martello towers dotted along the coast are the most obvious. That Napoleon posed a threat is beyond doubt. That black soldiers played a part in defending these shores is equally certain.
Unlike the Windrush passengers, who undoubtedly changed the nature of modern Britain, the contribution of black soldiers (and sailors) during the existential struggle against Napoleon, goes unremarked. So, while we celebrate Windrush Day let’s also remember ‘Waterloo Day’!