Keep Smiling Through: Black Londoners on the Home Front 1939-1945
Check out Keep Smiling Through: Black Londoners on the Home Front 1939-1945 at the Cuming Museum
This new exhibition from the Cuming Museum pays tribute to the work done by black Londoners during the Second World War.
From Air Raid Precaution wardens to popular entertainers, Black Londoners carried out a variety of tasks on the Home Front during the Second World War. This exhibition will uncover stories from South London and beyond, exploring both the positive and negative experiences of Black Londoners from 1939 to 1945 through rare photographs, music and film clips.
The exhibition will reveal the voluntary roles on the Home Front of ordinary Black men and women. It will tell stories of wartime courage, hardship and service to the community. It will also show how bombing, evacuation and rationing affected Black people.
Discover the story of community leaders such as Dr Harold Moody, a Peckham-based doctor, who became an ambassador for Britain's Black community and a founding member of the League of Coloured Peoples. Learn about the role musicians and singers like Adelaide Hall and Ken "Snakehips" Johnson played in keeping up London's morale during the Blitz. The exhibition will also reveal how Caribbean and African Commonwealth countries contributed to the war effort.
The exhibition runs from Tuesday April 1st to Saturday November 1st and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm.
Find out more about events at the Cuming Museum.
How to get there
The closest tube station is located at Elephant and Castle.
If travelling by bus the 1, 12, 35, 40, 45, 53, 63, 68, 100, 133, 138, 155, 168, 171, 172, 176, 188, 196, 333, 343, 344, 360, 363, 415, 453, 468, C10 and P5 all serve Elephant and the 12, 35, 40, 42, 45, 68, 148, 171, 176, 468 and P5 all serve Walworth Road.
