Stories of those that passed through the Clyde during WW2: Here are some of the men of the British Honduras (now Belize) Forestry Unit, arriving in Greenock, Scotland in November 1942, after a cold and hazardous 14-day voyage via New Orleans and New York. #maritimehistory #blackhistory #WW2 1/... - ThreadSky

brianmackie.bsky.social • 36 days ago

Stories of those that passed through the Clyde during WW2:

Here are some of the men of the British Honduras (now Belize) Forestry Unit, arriving in Greenock, Scotland in November 1942, after a cold and hazardous 14-day voyage via New Orleans and New York. #maritimehistory #blackhistory #WW2

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franmackie.bsky.social•36 days ago

Unsung heroes, like so many who passed through the Clyde in WW2…so good to hear these stories.

kitncaboodle.bsky.social•36 days ago

You know they got to Clyde and said "what the fuck is this weather?"

brianmackie.bsky.social•36 days ago

Sam Martinez was recorded as saying that they sailed in the bottom of the ship, very cold across the North Atlantic. They were given 3 uniforms, and many men wore all 3 just to stay warm. Quite a shock after spending your entire life in Belize.

brianmackie.bsky.social•36 days ago

During the first years of WW2, supply routes for imported timber to Britain were under threat, as the Battle of the Atlantic raged. Home timber supplies needed to be harvested, used as a priority to repair bomb damage to railway lines and buildings, and for coal mine pit props.

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brianmackie.bsky.social•36 days ago

With many British lumberjacks serving in the military, the call for help went out. The 900 men of the British Honduras Forestry unit answered that call, arriving on the Clyde, Scotland in 2 tranches: in September 1941 and November 1942.

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brianmackie.bsky.social•36 days ago

The lumberjacks from British Honduras were posted across Scotland, in East Lothian, the Scottish Borders and all the way north in Sutherland and the western Highlands. Initial conditions were basic, but the men endured and took to their critical war work.

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brianmackie.bsky.social•36 days ago

Some members of local Scottish communities, who in 1941/2 had never seen a black man, initially ran away from the “coalmen”. But the British Honduran lumberjacks worked hard to be accepted and after some time, were largely welcomed.

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brianmackie.bsky.social•36 days ago

The British Honduras Forestry Unit was eventually disbanded in 1943, after having played a significant role in the war effort. Some men returned to British Honduras, others stayed and made a life in Scotland.

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brianmackie.bsky.social•36 days ago

Perhaps the most well-known member of the British Honduras Forestry Unit was Sam Martinez, who settled in Edinburgh after the war and became Hibernian FC’s oldest fan. He passed away in 2016, at the age of 106.

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