African sailors and local troops in British naval service

What part did African navies and African personnel play in the Second World War?

African personnel served in naval forces and especially merchant shipping, while local army units could supply detachments for boarding parties.

African personnel served in naval forces during the Second World War, although the discussion places larger numbers in merchant service. Many sailors recruited locally for Royal Navy crews came from settler populations, with some recruits from the colonized population as well. The balance varied between ships. Warships short of troops or marines could obtain detachments from local army units. Those men were especially useful when hunting surface raiders required boarding parties.