Witness History
Witness History
The WW2 airman from Sierra Leone
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February 25, 2021
10 minutes
Available for over a year
Johnny Smythe was one of very few West Africans to fly with Britain's air force during WW2. Recruited in Sierra Leone in 1941 he was trained as a navigator and flew 26 missions on RAF bombers before being shot down over Germany and taken prisoner in 1943. His son Eddy Smythe spoke to Tim Stokes about his father’s story.
Photo: Johnny Smythe in his RAF uniform. Copyright: Eddy Smythe.