Life of African American GIs in Britain in WWII: A War Within A War

When African American GIs in the segregated US military came to Britain they faced the same racism, rough military justice and violence from white American GIs that they suffered in the States. What made their British posting so different was that away from their bases they were shocked to find there was no segregation. They received a warm welcome from civilians who generally treated them as equals and were appalled at the treatment from their fellow Americans. Black GIs were able to form friendships and romances with white British people which would have been unthinkable in America. Forbidden by the US military from marrying their white girlfriends they left behind many broken hearts and an estimated two thousand 'Brown Babies'. Using material from American military archives, personnel records, court martial papers and a trove of a family archives, including personal letters, this book highlights the lives of some of the African Americans who served in Britain. It follows a typical Quartermaster Truck Company as it criss-crossed the country encountering both American racial violence and British affection. Relationships between Black GIs and local women were at the heart of much of the fighting in Britain between GIs as they fought a war within a war with their white compatriots. Black Quartermaster Louis Edmead and his English girlfriend Patricia, who feature on the front cover, met while Louis was stationed in the port city of Bristol, their love affair flourished and they married in England in 1947 in a union that was illegal in many American states. This book highlights how the experience of Black GIs in Britain fighting for equality during the Second World War was an important element of the post war civil rights era in the United States. This previously hidden history is being increasingly told in film, television and local history across the country. AUTHOR: Liam McCarthy is an Honorary Fellow in the Department of History, Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester. His research into the life of African America GIs in Britain was triggered by stories of wartime race riots between white and Black Americans in his home city of Leicester and learning that a long-time friend in the city was the son of a Black Quartermaster GI. This research has also previously featured in UK television documentaries. Before joining the University of Leicester he was a journalist for more than 25 years with the BBC as Managing Editor of three local radio stations in the English cities of Nottingham, Leicester and Sheffield. 5 b/w illustrations