Cy Grant - Military Service

Military Service

In 1941, Grant joined the Royal Air Force, which had extended recruitment to non-white candidates following heavy losses in the early years of the Second World War. One of approximately 500 young men recruited from the Caribbean as aircrew, he was commissioned as an officer after training in England as a navigator. He joined 103 Squadron, based at RAF Elsham Wolds in Lincolnshire, becoming one of a seven-man crew of a Lancaster Bomber. In 1943, on his third mission, Flight Lieutenant Grant was shot down over the Netherlands during the Battle of the Ruhr. He parachuted to safety into a field but was captured by German forces and imprisoned in Stalag Luft III camp, 160 kilometres (99 mi) east of Berlin. He was liberated by the Allied Forces in 1945. In 2007, Grant participated in the filming of the documentary Into the Wind (2011), in which he discusses his experiences as an RAF navigator.