Celebrating Black History Month in the UK Armed Forces
Black History Month has become an international opportunity to recognise the voices of black people in different walks of life. Here are the stories of three people who work in different areas of the RAF.
Elloise Messam has been a member of the RAF Police for five years and is looking forward to her deployment to the Middle East next year. One of her highlights has been the opportunity to snorkel and explore the Maldives while on a stopover with the RAF. She was inspired to join by her ex-Army father and feels there is no barrier for people of West Indian heritage to fulfil their potential in the Forces.
Senior Aircraftman Courtney Ubank currently works as a Technician on Chinook helicopters, and was honoured to compete in front of the Queen at the Royal Highland Games. He draws inspiration from Trevor Edwards, who, like him, grew up in Woolwich to West Indian parents before joining the RAF. However, his main inspiration is his family:
I was inspired to join up by my family. Both my uncles, my grandma and my grandad were all in the Forces. They’ve been really supportive, asking me what I’m doing, how my career’s going, and sharing their own stories.
Wing Commander Ayodeji Oluwatosin Talabi works in Occupational Medicine. He transferred from the NHS to the RAF 19 years ago, and has since travelled to Afghanistan, the Falkland islands and Iraq. The highlight of his career was being able to offer medical services to the local population while serving in Afghanistan. He says Black History is important in the Forces because:
We need to always remember the sacrifices that were made… It’s important to celebrate their achievements and give hope and ambition and inspiration to the younger ones… celebrate past achievements and inspire future achievements.
Most importantly, he says:
I do not want to be defined by being black. I want people to know that most of us got to where we are through sheer hard work.
