The St Albans Black History Research Group has been working hard to pull together their research for our upcoming exhibition and publication, Our Stories. One of the researchers, G. Robinson, shares some of her research here:
Cyril Charles Alcindor was a Jamaican British man born in London in 1914. Having served as a soldier in the 1930s, he fought in World War Two at the age of twenty-five, from 1939 onwards. He was serving with the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment. He served when the allies landed in France in June 1944, and had been appointed a 2nd lieutenant on the 24 March 1944 (on page 1596 of the Army List Alcindor is listed as a "2nd Lieutenant, appointed 24 March 1944" for the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment, according to Green). In an article in The London Gazette dated 16th May 1944, Alcindor’s name is also listed under a '24th Mar 1944 - Infantry’. By the end of the war, Alcindor had been made a captain.
Black men and women who wanted to sign up for the war effort, both in the military and on the home front, were often turned away because of racist prejudice. Still, many like Alcindor were determined to sign up and served bravely throughout the war. His brother, Roland, is also thought to have served in the RAF. The crucial role that Black British soldiers, nurses, and home guard played during the war is often forgotten by history books.
Sadly, at the age of 31 or 32, Alcindor died in 1946 of pneumonia. District of Stepney, London registered his death and Alcindor is buried beside his father in St Mary’s Cemetery, Kensal Rise, Paddington. Cyril Charles Alcindor died in 1946 after World War Two had ended, but he is remembered on the Roll of Honour in St Nicholas Church. This military memorial plaque is in Canvey Island, a town near Southend-on-Sea. It is uncertain why he is listed on the Canvey Island memorial plaque, but one thing is for sure: Alcindor's life gives us an important insight into the lives of Black people serving in World War Two.
