George Arthur Roberts
During the First World War, George Arthur Roberts enlisted in the Trinidad Army and then volunteered for Service with the British Army and joined the Middlesex Regiment, where he served as a rifleman. He was wounded at the Battle of Loos and later during the Battle of the Somme. He gained a reputation for throwing back at the enemy and became known as the ‘Coconut Bomber’. After the war, he settled in London. He and his family first lived in Peckham before moving to Camberwell. He found a job as an electrician and found himself up against racism because of his colour and was involved in a peaceful civil rights organisation.
When the Second World War was declared in 1939, he was too old to enlist for combat and joined the fire brigade and served at New Cross Fire Station. He was active throughout the Blitz, fighting fires and rescuing people from their bombed-out houses. Roberts became a Section Leader and in 1944 was awarded a BEM, then a Leading Fireman No.47 London Area, National Fire Service. He was later awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and in 1953 the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.
Roberts was noted for being passionate about ex-servicemen and found a local branch of the British Legion. He led thousands of ex-servicemen, including those wounded who were unable to walk, in a march demanding improved rights and higher pensions.
After his death in 1970, he was widely forgotten until Stephen Bourne wrote Black Poppies: Britain’s Black Community and the Great War, published in 2018. There is now a Blue Plaque at his former home at Lewis Trust Buildings in Warner Road, Camberwell, London. On 1 May 2025, there was a Royal Mail first class postage stamp honouring his work during the Blitz as part of the Valour and Victory series during WW2.
Alan Malcher.
