Exploring History
Four Untold Stories: Black Individuals In The Armed Forces
Posted on: October 6, 2024
This Black History Month, we are taking a moment to recognise the service and sacrifices of Black individuals in the armed forces throughout history. Read some of their stories below.
James Frazer
(1770-1800)
James Frazer was amongst the first Black musicians in the Household Division. These musicians formed part of ‘The Turkish Craze’ that overtook Western Europe at the time. Turkish music was growing in fashion across the courts of Western Europe, where Black performers were specifically sought out to preserve the ‘character’ of this style. They would dress in Ottoman Janissary attire, and play new and expensive instruments with significant visual theatrics. This included exaggerated movement and facial expressions, playing their instruments around their bodies (from side-to-side, spinning, or even under their legs), all while maintaining perfect time. It took hours of practice to achieve such high standards.
Frazer performed for the first time in January 1789, accompanying the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards on Horse Guards Parade, alongside two other Black performers – John Johnson and George Smith.
Mezzotint by Mrs. Ross, London, 1789.
All three men were African-American, having crossed over to England for various reasons. Frazer is most well known today by the above portrait of him. It was created and sold in the print shops of W. Ross, accompanied by a poem which spoke favourably of Frazer. The portrait was popular, selling in the thousands, illustrating how Frazer and his fellow musicians were newsworthy amongst contemporary London.
Frazer remained in the band until his death, on April 10th, 1800. His funeral was attended by the society of Freemasons, which may have seemed unusual practice for the passing of an African-American man of the time. However, it was necessary for a Coldstream musician to be able to attend Masonic engagements as part of the band.
Read below the accompanying poem to Frazer’s portrait:
“Oh had I but more space and leisure,
To sing the worth of honest Fraser.
Tho his complexion’s far from mine,
Yet both from the same hand divine.
Respect him therefore as a Brother,
Tho black his skin he has no other.
Poem accompanying Mrs. Ross’s portrait of James FrazerStaunch to our good King and Laws,
Firm to his noble Prince’s cause.
In manners gentle and with mind serene,
Sings well and plays his Tambourine.
The Likeness strong, the Painting neat,
By Mrs. Ross, St. Alban’s Street”
James Slim
(born c.1892)
James Slim was Jamaican born, but began his military career in the First World War where he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion. He spent four months in the trenches, and was eventually wounded. In February 1915, he transferred to the British Army, enlisting in the Coldstream Guards. Upon his recruitment, he noted that he was previously a fireman by trade, declaring his age as 24 years and 150 days.
Whilst training with the regiment, it was reported that “he is very cheerful and willing… and hopes to be sent out (to France) with the next draft”.
Though The Berks and Oxon Advertiser, (12th March 1915), reported that he was “the first gentleman of colour to enlist in that famous regiment”, this discounts the Black soldiers who served in the band as far back as the 1790s. Nonetheless, his presence was noted by several other publications as significant, with broad statements such as “the British Army is sweeping away old prejudices” and “obliterated the colour line” (Leeds Mercury, 5th March 1915; Hamilton Daily Times, 26th March 1915).
However, Slim’s service with the Coldstream Guards came to an end later that year. It is not know why, beyond his discharge being noted as “a special case”, while his military character was “good”. Unfortunately, his life and story is unknown beyond this point.
Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, 6th March 1915
John Lewis Friday
(born c.1794)
John Friday was a man of African origin, though much of his early life is unknown. However, he made his mark on the historical record as one of the few Black soldiers explicitly known to have received the Waterloo medal. This record is sparse, as ethnicity was not often recorded.
Nonetheless, Black soldiers were certainly present in the British Army at the time. Most often, they served as military musicians, being part of the fashion for ‘Turkish music’, which involved the performance of Black musicians (as discussed in James Frazer’s story above). However, these soldiers did not just have an ‘at home’ role; they would go on campaign and serve on the battlefield. As a musician, their role would often be communication during a battle. Drums and trumpets were used to relay orders across battlefields that were too loud and vast for verbal commands to be heard. Secondary roles could also include acting as medics or serving in the ranks.
By the time of the Waterloo Campaign, most regiments had some Black presence.
Despite this, it is rare to find Black individuals represented in the imagery related to this campaign. One famous example is a painting by David Wilkie, commissioned by the Duke of Wellington in 1816, which features a Black military musician in the centre (The Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Waterloo Dispatch). Similarly, the above image from the collection of Leslie Braine Ikomi is a rare example of a Black trumpeter of the period, playing a role in recruitment.
At the time of writing, there is no such image of John Friday. However, he is known to have enlisted in the 33rd Regiment of Foot in 1813. His birth date would have made him approximately 21 years old during his action in June 1815, for which he received the Waterloo Medal. There was a suggestion that some men of his regiment had broken ranks and fled on the battlefield, and therefore the Commanding Officer only awarded the medal to those considered exceptionally brave – those who stood and fought.
In 1817, Friday married Mary Woodall, and in 1819 their son John was born. Following this, Friday was discharged from the 33rd at the end of his seven year service. Black soldiers of the period were more likely to re-enlist than white soldiers. Likewise, Friday re-enlisted in the Grenadier Guards in 1821. Sadly, he fell ill later that same year and died in the regimental hospital. Little is known of the life of his wife and son after his death.
Mary Seacole
(1805-1881)
Mary Seacole was a British-Jamaican nurse who encountered the Guards during the Crimean War (1853-56). She had been practising from a young age, being taught by her mother who was also a healer. She travelled the world with her nursing, spending time in London, the Caribbean, and Central America.
After the outbreak of war, she was moved by the stories of wounded soldiers overseas in the Crimea, and the poor medical facilities they were enduring. She approached the British War Office, asking to be sent to their aid as an army nurse. However, her request was denied.
Determined, she resolved to fund her own trip to the Crimea. Once there, she set up a hotel where she could provide care for the soldiers and sell them necessities. She was warm and kindly, becoming very well liked amongst the troops.
She made a point of wearing bright colours and ribbons, and her reputation, according to a British Medical Officer, was that: “She did not spare herself if she could do any good to the suffering soldiers”.
As such, she became important for her medical assistance, but also for keeping morale – earning herself the affectionate title of Mother Seacole. Seacole would even visit the battlefront to aid the soldiers with her work, bringing food, drinks, and bandages. It was dangerous work, that once resulted in a dislocated thumb as she threw herself to the ground to avoid gunfire.
The Times War Correspondent wrote of Seacole in 1857, “I trust that England will not forget one who nursed her sick, who sought out her wounded to aid and succour them”. However, after her death in 1881 her name was sadly lost to history. A century later, her story was rediscovered. Vital work has been done since to re-ignite her legacy, including a memorial statue in the gardens of St Thomas’s hospital. It is the first in Britain to honour a named black woman. Engraved alongside the statue are words from her autobiography: “Wherever the need arises on whatever distant shore I ask no higher or greater privilege than to minister to it”.