Unforgotten black Troops

Despite 1.2 million Black Americans enlisting in WWII, they faced severe segregation and hostility, resulting in their roles being largely restricted to service and supply, such as the Black construction engineers who built British airfields in 1942.

Extensive correspondence, between the UK and the US, where key Government reps expressed concern about the African-American troops in the war, questioning if they would fight adequately and perform at the same level as the White troops.

When Black people joined the fight, two different wars begun: one, against Hitler and the nazis, the other against the segregation, racism and discrimination. Black people joined a unified fight for Britain and our allies abroad, there was trouble on the streets at home.

We have spent more than 2,000 hours doing research in archives and records, in organisations both in the UK and in the US. Made all the more difficult due to accidental destruction, or improper, neglectful or zero effort for record keeping.

C.240,000 of the US troops that came to Britain and the North during WW2 were African Americans, who saw their participation in the war as a meanw to escape the extreme segregation and colour bar found in America.

The South of the country offered a better military position, in terms of defence, but they were also in constant alert due to the strong possibility of being invaded and attacked, so the North of the country offered hidden potential…

Throughout the many statements collected by us, it was noticeable that there was the remembrance of the surprise seeing Black troops suddenly arriving in a village and often referring that they had never seen a Black person before - dig into the community memories of these ‘pleasant’ encounters.

Testimonies from locals, including from people living near Edmondsley in a Chester-leStreet Rural District, not far from the American searchlight and radar camp, also featuring in recollections of the Americans that are in the booklet, Radar Warriors.

Where Black Troops and White Troops shared a military base or area, they were completely segregated, which means that they would not sleep in the same buildings, they would not walk on the same side of the street, they would not eat or drink in the same places.

Like in any other war, relationships were bound to happen. England was fascinated by the African-American men, and the troops were taken by the warmth and interest expressed by locals. There are several publications regarding ‘brown babies’ guessing how many of these children had been born as a result of relationships between White British women and African-American soldiers.

Relationships led to pregnancies and unwanted children. Since these cases not in a small number, Britain and the US were forced to ‘deal with the matter’, as Black men could not marry White women, becoming impossible to take a wife and a child back to America. Here’s what happened.

Many cases were reported regarding the racism and discrimination that some of these children endured, either because the colour of their skin was different, or because they could be a reminder of relationships during the war. The North had a duty of care, but the realities of the context we’re challenging for mixed-race children and young people.