parents. However, plans to create a children's home for them came to nothing, leaving Constantine frustrated. He remained in his post until the summer of 1946, latterly concerned with the repatriation of the West Indian workers at the end of the war. For his wartime work he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1947. During the war, at the request of the British government, Constantine made radio broadcasts to the West Indies, reporting on the involvement of West Indians in the war effort. As a result, he was often asked to speak on BBC radio about his life in England. His radio performances met with critical acclaim, and he became a frequent guest on radio panel shows; he also took part in a film documentary, West Indies calling, in 1943. Constantine v Imperial London Hotels In August 1943 Constantine played in a charity cricket match at Lord's and had booked rooms for himself, his wife and daughter at the Imperial Hotel, London for four nights. He had been specifically told that his colour would not be an issue at the hotel. When he arrived on 30 July, he was told that they could only stay for one night because their presence might offend other guests. When Arnold Watson, a colleague of Constantine at the Ministry of Labour, arrived and attempted to intervene, he was told by the manager: "We are not going to have these niggers in our hotel," and that his presence might offend American guests. Watson argued, to no avail, that not only was Constantine a British subject, he worked for the government. Eventually Watson persuaded Constantine to leave and stay at another hotel which, owned by the same company as the Imperial, proved to be welcoming. The Imperial Hotel incident affected Constantine deeply, both because of the involvement of his family and also because he was due to play cricket for a team representing the British Empire and Commonwealth. In September questions were asked in the House of Commons about the incident, by which time Constantine had decided to take legal action. In June 1944 Constantine v Imperial London Hotels was heard in the High Court. Although there was no law against racial discrimination in Britain at the time, Constantine argued that the hotel had breached its contract with him. Constantine informed the court that the attitude of the hotel