First black British officer of First World War went to Eastbourne school

The first black British officer of the First World War was an Eastbourne student, new research has uncovered.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Lieutenant Euan Lucie-Smith is believed to have also been the first black officer casualty of the Great War.

He was killed in action on April 25, 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Lieutenant, who served in the 1st Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, has recently been discovered to have been a former student at Eastbourne College.

Euan Lucie-SmithEuan Lucie-Smith
Euan Lucie-Smith

His remarkable background was unearthed by former member of European Parliament, James Carver, who is a collector of medals relating to West African soldiers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Mr Carver found a Great War memorial plaque belonging to Lieutenant Lucie-Smith online, and has put it up for auction.

He said, “With this month being Black History Month, the timing of this discovery seems all the more poignant.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Until now, the best-known black soldier of World War One has been Walter Tull. However I now believe Lucie-Smith to be the first black officer.

The First World War memorial plaque beloning to Euan Lucie-SmithThe First World War memorial plaque beloning to Euan Lucie-Smith
The First World War memorial plaque beloning to Euan Lucie-Smith

“His background was quite different to Tull’s – coming from a privileged Jamaican family, he was undoubtedly from the so-called ‘Officer Class’, having attended two English private schools.”

Like Walter Tull, Euan Lucie-Smith had a mixed heritage background.

He was born at Crossroads, St. Andrew, Jamaica, on December 14, 1889 to John Barkley Lucie-Smith, the Postmaster of Jamaica, and Catherine ‘Katie’ Lucie-Smith.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

His father hailed from a line of white colonial civil servants, according to Mr Carver’s research.

The memorial plaque (photo by Jan Starnes)The memorial plaque (photo by Jan Starnes)
The memorial plaque (photo by Jan Starnes)

While his mother was a daughter of the distinguished lawyer and politician Samuel Constantine Burke – who campaigned for Jamaican constitutional reform in the late 19th century through his desire for Jamaica to have greater control over its own affairs than Whitehall.

Euan Lucie-Smith was educated in England, initially at Berkhamsted School, before going to Eastbourne College.

Returning to Jamaica, he was commissioned into the Jamaica Artillery Militia on November 10, 1911.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He appears as a Lieutenant in a later, pre-war, Forces of the Overseas and Dominions list.

Just six weeks after the outbreak of war, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the regular force of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, appearing in the supplement to the London Gazette of November 30, 1914.

Believed to have been the only name on this list from the Caribbean, or East and West Africa, he appears as the first of fourteen names, giving him seniority above the other men also commissioned from Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and New Zealand.

He landed in France on March 17, 1915, and just over a month later was confirmed as being killed in action on April 25, 1915, aged 25.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A statement made at Suffolk Hall Hospital said, “Lieut. Lucie-Smith - Was told by his servant that he was killed, and had seen him dead. Shot through the head.” He has no known grave and is commemorated on Panel 2 to 3 of the Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium.

He is also commemorated on the Berkhamsted School Memorial, the Eastbourne College Memorial and has an entry in ‘Jamaica in the Great War’.

The recently-discovered memorial plaque goes to auction online on November 12 this year.

To find out more, visit www.dnw.co.uk