Bamber Bridge, England — The village of Bamber Bridge in north-west England is proud of the strike it took against racism in the US military during World War II.
When an all-black truck regiment was stationed there, the residents refused to accept the segregation inherent in the US military. Ignoring pressure from British and American officials, pubs welcomed GIs, local women chatted and danced with them, and English soldiers drank with men they saw as allies in the war.
But rising tensions between black soldiers and white military police erupted on June 24, 1943, when a brawl outside a pub turned into an overnight shootout. Private William Crosland was killed and dozens of truck regiment soldiers faced court martial. When Crosland’s niece learned of the circumstances of her uncle’s death, she demanded a new investigation to find out how he died.
The community has decided to focus on its stand against segregation as it commemorates the 80th anniversary of the battle now known as the Battle of Bamber Bridge and its last stand with black men and women in the US armed forces. Re-evaluates behavior.
“It’s a matter of pride that there was no bigotry towards (the soldiers),” said Valerie Fell, who was only 2 years old in 1943 but whose family ran the 400-year-old thatched roof pub, Ye Olde Hob Inn , where the struggle was initiated. “He deserved respect for the uniform he wore.”
export segregation
Black soldiers made up about 10% of American soldiers in Britain during the war. Most were transferred to non-combat roles such as truck driving, serving in separate units led by white officers. US officials tried to push those policies beyond their bases, asking pubs and restaurants to segregate the races.
Bamber Bridge, which was home to around 6,800 people at the time, was not the only place to protest. In a country that was almost entirely white at the time, there was no tradition of segregation.
What sets it apart is the desire of local people to preserve their story, said Alan Rice, co-director of the Institute for Black Atlantic Research at the University of Central Lancashire.
Rice said, “If you’re fighting fascism, which these guys were, then it’s ridiculous, downright ridiculous, that the American military was encouraging a form of fascism – segregation.”
Clinton Smith, head of a black history group in nearby Preston, wants people to look more closely at what happened. History cannot be allowed to “dry on the vine.”
Battle of Bamber Bridge
Despite their friendship with the GIs, the villagers were not able to avoid violence when black soldiers, frustrated with their treatment and angered by racial riots in Detroit, encountered military police armed with batons and weapons.
On that warm June night, Private Eugene Nunn was sitting at the Hobb Inn bar when a white military police officer threatened to arrest him for wearing the wrong uniform. British soldiers and civilians intervened.
“Everyone was saying, ‘Leave him alone. He just wants a drink. It’s a hot day,'” Fell told his mother’s story. ”
When the nun left the pub, the police were waiting. Anger increased. A bottle broke on the windshield of the police jeep. The matter worsened and order could not be restored till 4 am.
Military officials demanded harsher punishment – 37 black soldiers were charged with mutiny, riot and illegal possession of arms. About 30 received prison terms of three to 15 years, which included loss of pay and dishonorable leave. As the Allies prepared for D-Day, many had their sentences commuted to allow them to rejoin the war effort.
While the court martial criticized the white officers for poor leadership, no records indicate that they or the military police were disciplined.
long standing change
Ken Werrell, a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and retired professor of history at Radford University in Virginia, studied the proceedings and reviewed military records for an article published in 1975. He told the Associated Press that black soldiers were treated poorly.
But the wider story is that senior generals immediately ordered a change in treatment of black soldiers, focusing on improving morale and performance. Many of the officers commanding black units were replaced, and the military deployed more racially mixed police patrols.
Verrell wrote, “The Bamber Bridge affair was much more than a minor incident in World War II.” “It was one of many incidents in the ongoing crusade for black and American freedom.”
In 1948 President Harry Truman ordered the end of segregation in the military, although it took several years to fully achieve this. Lloyd Austin, a black man and retired four-star general in the Army, is now Secretary of Defense.
This progress was too late for Crosland, a former railroad worker who was 25 when he died. Court martial evidence stated only that he was found seriously wounded, with a bullet wound near his heart. Authorities said they believe he was caught in a crossfire between two groups of black soldiers.
reappraisal of history
Nancy Croslan Adkins, the daughter of one of William’s brothers, said she was never told the circumstances of her uncle’s death. The family later changed the spelling of their last name.
Adkins, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, wants to know more about what happened.
She said, “After dealing with the direct discrimination and racial injustice my parents faced by integrating the school system in North Carolina, I would prefer an investigation.”
Aaron Snipes, a spokesman for the US embassy in London, said he could not prejudge any military decisions, but that President Joe Biden’s administration has shown a willingness to “right the wrongs of the past”.
Earlier this month, the US Navy made a formal apology to the families of 15 black sailors who were dishonorably discharged in the 1940s after complaining that they were forced to wait tables.
Meanwhile, Snipes will pay tribute to the people of Bamber Bridge at an event to mark the anniversary.
“Part of this story is about their reluctance to accept the isolation orders or rules imposed on them,” he said. “He pushed back.”
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Associated Press Writer Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia, and Researcher Rhonda Schaffner in New York contributed to this report.
