British village marks 80th anniversary of US Army’s fight against racism in World War II

The village of Bamber Bridge in North West England is proud to have struck a blow against racism in the US military during World War II.

If all-Black a cargo regiment was stationed there, residents refused to accept the segregation that had taken root in the US Army. Ignoring pressure from British and American authorities to welcome the soldiers, local women chatted and danced with them, and English soldiers drank with men they considered allies in war.

But simmering tensions between black soldiers and white military police escalated on June 24, 1943, when an argument outside a pub turned into a nighttime shootout. Private William Crosland was killed and dozens of soldiers from the truck regiment were court-martialed. When Crosland’s niece learned the circumstances of her uncle’s death, she called for a new inquest to find out how he died.

The community has chosen to focus on its stance against segregation as it marks the 80th anniversary of what is now known as the Battle of Bamber Bridge, and America revisits its past treatment of black men and women in the armed forces.

“It’s a sense of pride that there was no bigotry towards (the soldiers),” said Valerie Fell, who was just 2 years old in 1943 but whose family ran the Ye Olde Hob Inn, a 400-year-old thatched pub. where the conflict began. “They earned respect for the uniform they wore.”

EXPORT SEGREGATION

Black soldiers made up about 10% of American troops in Britain during the war. Serving in segregated units under white officers, most were relegated to non-combat roles such as truck driving. US authorities tried to extend the policy beyond their bases by asking pubs and restaurants to segregate the races.

Bamber Bridge, then home to about 6,800 people, was not the only site of resistance. The country, which was almost entirely white at the time, had no tradition of segregation.

The difference was the local people’s desire to preserve their history, said Alan Rice, co-director of the Institute of Black Atlantic Studies at the University of Central Lancashire.

“When you’re fighting fascism, which these people were, it’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous, that the U.S. military would encourage a form of fascism — segregation,” Rice said.

Clinton Smith, head of a black history group in nearby Preston, wants people to look more closely at what happened. Stories “just can’t be allowed to wither on the vine.”

THE BATTLE OF BAMBER BRIDGE

Despite their friendship with the soldiers, the villagers were unable to stop the violence when black soldiers, frustrated with their treatment and angered by race riots in Detroit, confronted the military police with batons and guns.

On that hot June night, Private Eugene Nunn was sitting in the bar of the Hob Inn when a white military police officer threatened to arrest him for wearing the wrong uniform. British soldiers and civilians intervened.

“Everyone said: leave him alone. He just wants a drink. It’s a hot day today, Fell said as she recounted her mother’s story. “People just didn’t understand this depravity.”

When Nunn left the pub, the police were waiting for him. Moods rose. A bottle smashed against the windshield of the police jeep. Everything escalated, and order was restored only at 4 am.

The military authorities demanded severe punishments — 37 black soldiers were accused of mutiny, mutiny and illegal possession of weapons. About 30 received sentences ranging from three to 15 years in prison, along with forfeiture of wages and dishonorable discharge. As the Allies prepared for D-Day, many had their terms shortened so they could be returned to combat.

While the court-martial criticized the white officers for poor leadership, no records indicate that they or the military police were disciplined.

Long-standing CHANGES

Ken Verell, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and retired professor of history at Radford University in Virginia, studied materials and reviewed military documents for an article published in 1975. He told the Associated Press that black soldiers were mistreated.

But the larger story is that senior generals, focused on boosting morale and productivity, quickly ordered changes in the treatment of black troops. Many of the officers commanding black units were replaced, and the Army deployed more racially mixed police patrols.

“The Bamber Bridge affair was more than just a minor incident in World War II,” Verell wrote. “It was one of a series of incidents in the continuing Black and American crusade for freedom.”

President Harry Truman ordered an end to segregation in the military in 1948, although it took years to fully achieve it. Lloyd Austinblack and retired four-star general, now secretary of defense.

That progress came too late for Crosland, a former railroad worker who was 25 when he died. The court-martial revealed only that he was found seriously wounded, with a bullet near his heart. Officers said they believe he was caught in the crossfire between two groups of black soldiers.

A REASSESSMENT OF HISTORY

Nancy Croslan Adkins, daughter of one of William’s brothers, said she was never told the circumstances of her uncle’s death. Later, the family changed the spelling of the surname.

Adkins, of Upper Marlboro, Md., wants to know more about what happened.

“Having personally dealt with direct discrimination through an integrated school system in North Carolina and the racial injustice my parents faced, I would like to investigate,” she said.

Aaron Snipe, a spokesman for the US embassy in London, said he could not predict a military solution, but President Joe Biden’s administration had shown a willingness to “right the wrongs of the past”.

Earlier this month, the US Navy issued a formal apology to the families of 15 black sailors who were dishonorably discharged to the reserve in 1940 after complaining that they were made to wait tables.

Meanwhile, Snipe will pay tribute to Bamber Bridge residents at an anniversary event.

“Part of that story has to do with their reluctance to accept the segregation orders or the rules that were imposed on them,” he said. “They pushed back.”

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Associated Press writer Ben Finley in Norfolk, Va., and researcher Rhonda Schaffner in New York contributed to this report.