British Guiana during World War II The history of British Guiana during World War II begins in 1939 , following the outbreak of war in Europe and the United Kingdom ' s declaration of war on Nazi Germany . Like all the other British colonies in the West Indies , Guiana gave full support to the Allied war effort by providing personnel for the British Armed Forces , land for an American military base , and raw materials for war production . Although the Guianese economy initially suffered as result of the war , large - scale infrastructural projects were undertaken , in order to optimize the production of goods for the war effort , and by the war ' s end in 1945 the Guianese economy had more than recovered . There were also significant changes in the country ' s political system during the same period , such as the legalization of political parties and the enfranchisement of women . History . Economics . The outbreak of World War II put the economy of British Guiana into a state of decline , due to a decrease in trading activities , which initially led to a rise in unemployment . The war also resulted in a shortage of imported goods from Britain and North America , since many merchant ships were now being utilised for military transport . The effects of the shortage of imported goods were felt throughout the country . For example , there were no new bicycle tires or inner tubes , so owners of bicycles had to improvise by using discarded pieces of rubber to patch holes in existing tires . There was also a severe scarcity of flour and petrol for vehicles , and kerosene for domestic use was rationed . The government controlled the prices of goods , especially food items , and provided subsidies for necessary imports . However , the people quickly readjusted to the situation and there was no serious lack of food since Guianese farmers produced large quantities of food crops , including rice , cassava , plantains , sweet potatoes and eddoes , as well as vegetables . Despite the economic constraints caused by the war , infrastructural projects were carried out in various parts of the country . In 1940 , for example , drainage and irrigation projects valued at $ 8 million began on the East and West Coasts of Demerara , in West Berbice , and on the Corentyne coast . Large - scale rice production by the government also began at Burma in the Mahaicony - Abary area . The use of farm machinery was introduced at this location , and work began on the building of a modern central rice mill . British Guiana was a major supplier of high - grade bauxite to the United States during the war years . The aluminium produced from this bauxite was used by the American military for the production of aircraft . Significantly , roughly two - thirds of all Allied aircraft manufactured during the war years used aluminium made from Guianese bauxite . As a result of the demand for Guiana ' s bauxite , exports increased from 476 , 000 tons in 1939 to 1 , 902 , 000 tons in 1943 . This enabled the Guianese economy to benefit greatly from the revenue obtained through these exports . The monetary worth of bauxite exports rose from approximately $ 2 . 9 million in the early 1940s to $ 6 . 7 million in 1947 . This resulted from the developments in the Demerara Bauxite Company when it opened two mines at Mackenzie , thus creating more jobs in that sector for the Guianese people . At the end of the war , the Guianese Treasury had a surplus of more than $ 6 million , mainly due to the revenues earned by the bauxite industry . In Guiana , for the purpose of defence , the government organised two militia companies , a garrison , and a Voluntary Civil Defence Organisation . By the end of 1941 , ninety - five Guianese had joined the British Armed Forces , of whom twenty - two were in the Royal Air Force and forty - two were in the Royal Navy . The remaining thirty - one were recruited for other specialised work . Scores of Guianese were also working in the merchant navy . In 1943 , thirty - two Guianese enlisted in the British military , twenty travelled to the United Kingdom to serve as munitions workers in factories , and forty - eight joined the Trinidad Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve . Military affairs . Although the first batch of Guianese received training in Britain , others were trained in Canada . Six men were sent to Canada between 1942 and 1943 , followed by five others in September 1943 . Some Guianese students in Britain also volunteered for military service . Among them was E . R . Braithwaite , author of the classic " To Sir , With Love " , who served as an air crew member in the Royal Air Force . When the war ended in 1945 , some Guianese in the military decided to return home , but many chose to remain in Britain . The United States at first remained neutral in the war but agreed in September 1940 to provide fifty old World War I - era destroyer s to Britain . In return , Britain leased to the United States a number of sites stretching from Newfoundland in the north to Guiana in the south . These locations , which were to be used as American military bases , were leased for a period of ninety - nine years . Even before the United States entered the war in December 1941 , the Americans commenced the building of an air base at Hyde Park on the east bank of the Demerara River , twenty - five miles south of Georgetown . The forest was cleared , hills were levelled , and a long concrete runway was constructed in 1941 . The air base was soon named Atkinson Field , after the base commander Major Atkinson . Later in the year , the American 44th Reconnaissance Squadron was stationed there to protect the base , and to make regular air patrols between Panama and Guiana . Around the same time , a huge cigar - shaped American blimp passed along the coast of Guiana daily to keep a lookout for German U - boat s . Shortly after opening , American aircraft began arriving at Atkinson with munitions and other goods , which were then ferried by other planes across the Atlantic Ocean to West Africa . From there the supplies were transported to North Africa for the British forces fighting against the Germans . War planes purchased by the British from the Americans were also ferried to North Africa through Atkinson Field .