Kenneth Roberts: a mixed race British pathfinder at the Battle of Arnhem

During a visit to the Airborne Museum in Hartenstein in the Netherlands, our Director, Dr Chamion Caballero, came across a photograph of Private Kenneth Roberts, a WW2 British soldier she suspected was of mixed race heritage. Looking into his story, she discovered that Kenneth, born in Staffordshire to a Sierra Leonean father and white British mother, was not only present at Operation Market Garden - the largest airborne landing in military history, which took place in the Netherlands - but belonged to the 21st Independent Parachute Company, an elite ‘pathfinder’ unit tasked with being first on the ground in Arnhem.

Kenneth’s story is one of many ‘hidden in plain sight’ accounts of Black British and mixed race soldiers who served their country during WW2. In this post, we discuss some of these alongside Kenneth's story. We also share photos taken by our ‘Mapping Black GI bases’ research partner Charlotte Marchant, who attended the 80th anniversary commemorations of Operation Market Garden at Arnhem in September 2024.

Photograph of Private Kenneth Roberts. Underneath the photo, typed text in Dutch and English reads Private Kenneth 'Darkie' Roberts of the 21st Independent Parachute Company.
Photograph of Private Kenneth Roberts with accompanying text at the Airborne Museum, Hartenstein, the Netherlands.

Private Kenneth Roberts at the Airborne Museum in Hartenstein, the Netherlands

The Airborne Museum in Hartenstein tells the Second World War story of the Battle of Arnhem, which took place in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands in September 1944. During Dr Chamion Caballero’s trip to the Netherlands in September 2024, the title of a photograph in a display case caught her eye. Next to the image of a man in soldier’s uniform was the title: 

Photo of Kenneth ‘Darkie’ Roberts, of the 21st Independent Parachute Company.

Knowing that ‘Darkie’ was a popular nickname and racist slur directed at Black people during the twentieth century, Chamion suspected that Kenneth Roberts might be of Black heritage. Embarking on a short research project, she found a fascinating story of a Black mixed race soldier from Staffordshire who was not only present at one of the most well-known operations of WW2, but who was also part of an elite parachute unit.

Kenneth Roberts: from North Staffordshire to Operation Market Garden

Through Census, military and newspaper records, Chamion learnt that Kenneth, born in October 1922 in the English town of Hanley in Staffordshire, was the son of Annie and John Mathania Roberts. John, a Sierra Leonean who had settled in Staffordshire after fighting in WW1, married Annie Baker in 1920, and the pair had three children together: Gaby, Kenneth and Leslie. When war broke out again in 1939, John was not only working as a miner but also volunteering as an Air Raid Precautions Warden, helping to protect his neighbourhood during blackouts. Kenneth, then working as a brass moulder, had had a career as a professional boxer before the outbreak of war.

DID YOU KNOW?

It has long been assumed that Ita Ekpenyon -who volunteered in London - was the only Black Air Raid Warden in Britain. Now we can add John Roberts in Staffordshire to this list.

In time, might we learn there were others?

Display at the Airborne Museum showing the plan for the Airborne Division
Display at the Airborne Museum showing the plan for the Airborne Division

Enlisting in the Royal Army Service Corp in 1942, Kenneth would go on to volunteer to become a ‘pathfinder’, one of the elite 21st Independent Parachute Company. Formed in 1942, the Company was tasked with the dangerous job of being the first dropped on the ground to clear and protect drop points ahead of the main force. The Company served the 1st Airborne Division and were deployed in Sicily and Italy in 1943. Kenneth was parachute jump trained on Course 94/95 in December 1943, his instructor notes reading ‘Keen physically showed good parachutist.’ 

In April 1944, Kenneth married Margaret Benetez (formerly Hulme) in Stoke. Six months later, he parachuted into Arnhem in the Nazi-occuped Netherlands as part of Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne landing in military history. He appears in the memoirs of Sergeant Ron Kent - First In: The  Airborne Pathfinders - where he is mentioned several times, including alongside two other Bren gunners as ‘having a particular hand in silencing [the] new menace’ of ‘some sort of field gun’ which had inflicted many casualties.

The John Frost Bridge which the Allied troops were ordered to capture as part of Operatiaon Market Garden. Only 750 of the planned 10,000 Allied soldiers made it to the bridge.
The John Frost Bridge which the Allied troops were ordered to capture as part of Operatiaon Market Garden. Only 750 of the planned 10,000 Allied soldiers made it to the bridge.

Despite their fierce fighting, Operation Market Garden was a disaster for the Allies. Their forces were completely overwhelmed and eventually trapped within the Oosterbeek Perimeter. Kenneth was one of a small band of soldiers who reached one of the main operation objectives - to make it to the bridge at Arnhem (now known as John Frost Bridge) - but was severely injured in the relentless onslaught there. He was taken to hospital at Jonkerbos but, sadly, died of his wounds on 29 September 1944. He was 23 years old.

Buried at Jonkerbos War Cemetery, Kenneth is one of 1485 British and Polish airborne troops who died at Arnhem. Overall 17,000 Allied soldiers were killed, captured, or wounded during Operation Market Garden. Although the operation failed, the determination and courage shown by the British, Polish and American Allied forces made Market Garden one of the Second World War’s most famous battles. Operation Market Garden has become familiar to many through the film A Bridge Too Far (1977).

Bridge_too_far_movieposter

Kenneth Roberts: the story further unfolds

Building on the information found in records and books, Chamion then began to search more widely for additional information to supplement Kenneth’s story. Discussions on the forum WW2 Talk about the presence of Black British and mixed race soldiers in the war linked to an excellent overview of their presence at Arnhem from Wargaming Girl, who has discovered several other Black and mixed race soldiers who fought there. Interestingly, she notes that in the military, the nickname ‘Darkie’ also appears to have been given to white soldiers. 

Using some of the images of Kenneth that appeared on the forums, an image search then led to a wonderful discovery: a personal account of Kenneth and his family from his nephew, Les Roberts (whose father was Kenneth’s brother, Leslie). Provided to Stoke Museums, Les’s account not only contains information about Kenneth’s boxing career, but also sheds light on how Kenneth was killed at Arnhem - by helping save a friend who was still on the bridge. 

Les’s account also highlights how his father Leslie also served during WW2, most notably as part of the D Day landings where he then went on to help liberate concentration camps. And, at the beginning of his account, Les shares an incredible image of his grandfather John in his WW1 army uniform.

Visit the page at Stoke Museum to read Les’s family account and see his wonderful family photos.

Video: Interactive experience of the Battle of Arnhem at the Airborne Museum.

Hidden in plain sight

Tracing Kenneth’s story highlights yet again how much of Black and mixed race history is hiding in plain sight. The inclusion of people of colour in fictional outputs - including those focusing on military or homefront presentations of WW2 - often results in accusations of ‘woke’ representation. Yet, the history shows that people of colour, including those from mixed racial backgrounds, are firmly there. As Chamion discusses in The Strangers’ Home - a film made recently by The Thames Festival Trust - many British port areas in the 1920s and 1930s had visible mixed race communities and families. As war approached, many of those in their teens and upwards would have enlisted or been drafted.

Jack Artis, a mixed race soldier in uniform, and his white wife Joan posing outside on their wedding day in 1944.
Joan and Jack Artis, on their wedding day in Kent, 1944. Source: WW2 People's War. WW2 People's War is an online archive of wartime memories contributed by members of the public and gathered by the BBC. The archive can be found at bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar

One problem in challenging perspectives is that the historical accounts of these families are often buried or scattered. The Mixed Museum was founded to create a space where histories relating to racial mixing in Britain could be easily seen or found. Kenneth - and Leslie - Roberts join others we know of from Black British or mixed race backgrounds who served in WW2. Some are well-known (such as Lilian Bader) and others less so, such as the St Clair family from Bristol: Reuben St Clair, a Homeguard Platoon Office and his son Raymond, a prisoner of war at Stalag XXB. Or Jack Artis - the son of a Black American who had settled in Britain before WW1 - and who was at Dunkirk and Normandy. 

Many of these histories have only become known because family members have shared details and photos publicly. We know that there are many similar stories out there in people’s family photo albums and memories - we hope TMM might be able to play a role over the next few years in working to help find and preserve these.

80th anniversary commerations of Operation Market Garden, Arnhem, 2024

Charlotte Marchant, one of our current collaborative partners, happened to be in Arnhem during the 80th anniversary commemorations in September 2024 for Operation Market Garden. Charlotte has very kindly provided some images of the commemorations. We hope these will give you a sense of the bravery shown by Kenneth Roberts, one of the first to drop into the Nazi-held Netherlands, one of the few to make it to the bridge - and one of many never to return home.

Learn more

Visit the website of the Airborne Museum, the place where Chamion first came across the photo of Kenneth Roberts

Explore some of the online sources Chamion used that discuss Kenneth or Black British and mixed race soldiers during WW2: WW2 Talk, Paradata, Special Forces Roll of Honour, Wargaming Girl, and of course Les Roberts’s discussion of his family at Stoke Museums.

Learn about Black American GIs experiences’ in Britain in our ‘brown babies’ of WW2 exhibition