- 04/07/2025
A gripping journey into a controversial event from World War II. In 1942, Churchill allowed the US to bring its racially-segregated army to Britain, provoking conflict across the country.
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00:00It feels strange that I'm the one reading this because I'm sure Churchill never expected me or anyone like me to be perusing his records.
00:14There's a lot of Whitehall back and forth about what to do with the black troops coming over with the Americans.
00:20You're fighting the Nazi regime, which has already instituted this system of yellow stars and pink triangles.
00:28And one of the suggestions put forward is to give black people badges as a way of distinguishing themselves from the African-Americans who are living by a different set of rules.
00:40And that to me is mad. It's completely mad.
00:44The idea that I would be handed a little Union Jack, everyone I know would be given a little Union Jack,
00:50so that we are not, you know, forced out of places, insulted, segregated by the Americans on these shores.
01:00The past is full of secrets, but you don't know what they are until you start to look.
01:12I was investigating a hidden secret from World War Two.
01:18I traveled back to 1942.
01:22The Germans were on the march.
01:28Britain was next.
01:30Now America was coming to the rescue.
01:34Almost three million Americans would land on our shores, joining the fight against the Nazis in the name of freedom and liberty for all.
01:44But there was a side to our ally that's uncomfortable to remember.
01:50The Nazis believed in white supremacy.
01:56So did many Americans.
01:58They called their official policy of racial discrimination, Jim Crow.
02:04We would call it apartheid today.
02:08As an empire, we had our own far away version of white supremacy.
02:14But now, in 1942, along with chewing gum, nylons and the jitterbug,
02:20the US Army was bringing its Jim Crow racial policy to Britain, whether we liked it or not.
02:26I traveled the country, investigating what happened next,
02:30and uncovered a secret history about Britain and race that I never expected to find.
02:37I was in Cardiff, in a place called Tiger Bay.
02:57I spent time here when I was writing a book about a black sailor framed for a murder in the 90s.
03:06I thought I knew a lot about the Port Stark secrets.
03:16Then I heard rumors of a mysterious World War II incident that I knew nothing about.
03:22How four black American soldiers, or GIs as they were known, had died here, at the hands of fellow white soldiers.
03:32Rebecca, a local historian, filled me in.
03:36So we discovered four GIs were actually shot here, all along Bute Road.
03:44Wow.
03:45And we were shocked, you know, with such a large community.
03:47You know, how could that be forgotten?
03:49Nothing at all came up in the record, whatsoever.
03:51At all?
03:52At all.
03:53For four men.
03:54For four men.
03:55For four men.
03:56Four deaths.
03:57I thought I knew a lot about Tiger Bay.
03:58I've done a lot of research about what it was like in the 1940s and 50s.
04:03So I was really shocked.
04:04Do you know where it took place?
04:06And we believe it was on Bute Street at the bottom, going towards the docks, which is by the Colonial Club.
04:11So we believe there was a checkpoint sort of in that area.
04:14That the military, American military police put up?
04:16Yes.
04:17You know, maybe there's more than we don't know, and maybe there's a reason we don't know it.
04:22The story told locally was that the men had been shot by the American Army's own military police.
04:29Beyond that, Rebecca had hit a dead end.
04:34How could the death of four men leave no record?
04:38It didn't make sense.
04:41The old Tiger Bay was long gone, torn down in the 1960s.
04:46But I wanted to see where Rebecca thought the shootings had happened.
04:51I think the Colonial Club was here.
04:56There's nothing to mark it, but I think it was here.
04:58It's strange to think that something so terrible happened here and you would never know.
05:05That's the thing about the past.
05:10The further you get away from it, the more the truth fades.
05:15What were these black GIs doing in Tiger Bay?
05:25Who were they?
05:28And why were they shot at by their fellow soldiers?
05:34The more soldiers?
05:50I'm just not finding anything in the Welsh newspapers
06:11about the shootings in Tiger Bay.
06:13It's possible that it's suppressed because of wartime censorship,
06:17but something happened.
06:21It's very strange, quite tantalising for me, I think, as a writer.
06:26A lot of my stories, novels, emerge from real-life historical experiences
06:30that have kind of just been forgotten or lost or intentionally suppressed.
06:37And I want to, and I feel like an obligation, actually,
06:40to find out more about what happened.
06:42When America entered the war in late 1941,
06:49the US Army enlisted large numbers of black soldiers for the first time.
06:54But white and black troops would be kept apart in segregated units.
07:00100,000 African-American GIs were to be sent to the UK
07:04at a time when there were only about 8,000 black Britons.
07:08The plan did not go down well with the British government,
07:12as I uncovered in a letter from Anthony Eden, Churchill's foreign minister.
07:20Anthony Eden makes clear that sending black troops to Britain
07:24is not something that the UK government wants.
07:26So they're trying to think up different reasons why this is a bad idea,
07:31and it's the climate.
07:32It's the damp British climate.
07:34I think, considering everything else that African-Americans had lived through,
07:48I think they could live through the damp British climate.
07:51And there's pushback from the Americans who think this is a bit ridiculous,
07:54and they're bringing these troops, whether the UK likes it or not.
07:58Back in the States, African-American recruits suffered violence from whites,
08:07outraged at the sight of them in uniform.
08:09There were widespread reports of beatings, police shootings,
08:21even lynchings.
08:24And these were the soldiers who were coming to Britain
08:27to fight against Nazism.
08:29The British public were told that America's G.I.s were coming to the rescue.
08:43But when I met historian Dr. Graham Cross at Churchill's Old Gentleman's Club,
08:48I learned there was a price to be paid.
08:51Britain's been fighting the war since September 1939,
08:54and we're pretty much bankrupt by the time that the Americans join in.
08:58So we are reliant on their finance and their supplies to keep going.
09:02So Churchill's really in a tough spot,
09:05and now he's got pressure from the Americans
09:07to accept African-American troops in the UK,
09:10accept the American system of segregation.
09:13So what you're saying is that the price of having American troops here
09:18was to allow a kind of apartheid segregation?
09:23Being segregated units in segregated camps.
09:26A Jim Crow segregation, as it's known in the States.
09:29Well...
09:30There is this alien system that we haven't got any experience of
09:33that's likely to cause social disruption.
09:36How are we going to deal with this problem?
09:43I went to the National Archives, looking for an answer.
09:48And I found one in files recording the once highly secret deliberations
09:53of Winston Churchill's war cabinet in autumn 1942.
09:59There's a lot of Whitehall back and forth about what to do
10:03with the black troops coming over with the Americans.
10:05And there's a real split in attitudes between the Americans
10:10and their customary segregation of African-Americans
10:14and the British with their much more flexible segregation
10:19of people in their empire
10:21and their desire to look very egalitarian in this country.
10:26But British imperial racism
10:28is not so far from American racism.
10:32They're working out the nuances rather than the bigger picture.
10:34So we'll defer to you because you're helping us in this big war effort.
10:41It is desirable to understand the American background on this matter
10:46as not to give cause for offence, misunderstandings or quarrels on this subject
10:50may well have serious results
10:52and may even affect the efficiency of the Allied fighting machine.
10:56It is therefore, in my view, essential that we should follow
11:00the general lead given by the USA authorities.
11:06In the end, the war cabinet landed on a classic British compromise.
11:10We wouldn't directly enforce the US Army's extreme race policy
11:14but wouldn't ask any awkward questions about it either.
11:18This is a really interesting piece of history, a slice of history right here.
11:25This is Winston Churchill's copy of the minutes of the war cabinet meeting
11:29and he's left a note saying,
11:33share it with Eisenhower before it's circulated.
11:36But one thing that grabs my attention
11:37is the fact that this decision is not to be disseminated openly.
11:42So they'll let things happen through whispers and silence.
11:47They're not confident in going out to the British public and saying
11:50we are going to discriminate or turn a blind eye
11:54to the discrimination of African-American troops.
12:04As more GIs landed in Britain,
12:07Winston Churchill's plan to quietly submit to the Americans on race
12:10was about to be tested.
12:13As I would discover,
12:14when black and white GIs went to war
12:17on the streets of Britain.
12:20Not against the Nazis,
12:22but each other.
12:23By spring 1943,
12:36black GIs had been stationed in Britain for a year.
12:40The U.S. Army believed they weren't suited for battle.
12:45So while the white troops prepared for combat,
12:48the black soldiers were confined to support roles
12:50such as laborers, truck drivers, and cooks.
12:56The official U.S. policy
12:57was to keep the races as separate as possible
13:00in order to limit clashes between them.
13:03But it wasn't long
13:04before the Army's policy unraveled.
13:07On June 22nd, 1943,
13:10white and black GIs
13:11faced off against each other
13:13in a night-long gun battle
13:15on the streets of a quiet northern village.
13:31The Battle of Bamba Bridge
13:33is a significant piece of local history
13:37and I'm thrilled to be asked
13:39to come and open this event today.
13:41This unusual World War II remembrance
13:47was celebrating
13:48how the villagers had sided
13:50with the black soldiers
13:51against the white military police.
13:53It was a forgotten story,
13:55rediscovered in large part
13:57thanks to Clinton Smith.
13:59So right at the heart of all this
14:01were a group of people called briggers,
14:04politely telling the Americans,
14:07and sometimes not quite as politely,
14:08that this is our backyard.
14:11You don't come in here
14:12and tell us briggers
14:14what to do,
14:16who to like,
14:16who to dislike.
14:18And I will always strive
14:20to make sure
14:22that this story
14:23is not forgotten.
14:26Clinton took me to see
14:28how he had first stumbled
14:29across the Battle of Bamba Bridge.
14:32So for me,
14:33the story began with a colleague.
14:35I made a flippant comment
14:37about the size of the termite holes,
14:39only to be slapped down
14:40by my colleague,
14:41who then says to me,
14:43they're not termite holes.
14:45These are bullet holes
14:46from the war.
14:47So he gave me a brief summary
14:49of what went on,
14:51but right from that initial telling,
14:53the story resonated with me
14:55and I wanted to know more.
14:57When you started learning more
14:58about what happened here,
15:00how did the wider community react?
15:02There's a level of pride
15:03that the briggers have
15:04about the stance
15:06that their foreparents took.
15:08Because Bamba Bridge
15:10was a quiet little northern village.
15:13These were just regular people
15:15who came into contact
15:17with black people
15:18that they've had virtually
15:19no contact with.
15:20You've probably seen
15:21the odd black person on film.
15:23Yeah.
15:23But in terms of walking past
15:24one in the street,
15:26it's not going to happen.
15:28What they say
15:29is that here are people
15:31who have the same issues
15:33that we have
15:34and until they do something
15:36to cause offence
15:37or upset,
15:39they will be treated
15:40as one of us.
15:40They're on our side.
15:41They're almost
15:42an adopted brigger.
15:45Like in Tiger Bay,
15:47this was a moment in history
15:48that was hidden
15:49and almost lost.
15:51It only survives
15:53thanks to locals like Clinton
15:54and the memories
15:56of those left from that time,
15:58like Valerie,
16:00whose family ran
16:01the village pub.
16:04The pubs have been warned
16:06not to serve
16:07the black soldiers.
16:08Really?
16:08And this black soldier
16:10went in
16:11and they said,
16:12sorry, we can't serve you.
16:13We've just called town.
16:14So my grandmother said,
16:16give him a bottle
16:16to take out.
16:18There was a jeep
16:19on the front with MPs
16:20and they were prodding him
16:21with the batons
16:22and what are you doing, boy?
16:25My grandmother said,
16:26if it was my son
16:27away from home,
16:28I would want people
16:29to treat them well.
16:31So they're welcome here.
16:32Do you think
16:33it took a lot of guts
16:34for your grandparents
16:35to say that
16:36or do you think
16:36it was the way
16:37everyone saw it?
16:38Well, I think
16:39it just seemed
16:40the right thing to do.
16:42Why should be again
16:43someone who was here
16:44to help us?
16:45The colour of the skin
16:46wasn't important.
16:48I joined Clinton's
16:49history tour
16:50to find out
16:51what happened
16:51after the confrontation
16:52at the pub.
16:54And what we'd like
16:55to do this afternoon
16:56is take you
16:57back along the route
16:58that was taken
17:00by the soldiers
17:01on that fateful night
17:03in 1943.
17:08Clinton explained
17:09how the military police
17:10began harassing
17:12the group of black GIs
17:13leaving the pub.
17:14One thing led to another.
17:29The military police
17:30opened fire.
17:36Panic spread back
17:38at the base.
17:38Fearing a massacre,
17:50the black GIs
17:51fought back.
17:57Locals came out
17:58to help the wounded.
18:03The Battle of Bamber Bridge
18:05raged all night.
18:0632 GIs
18:13were convicted
18:14of mutiny
18:14and other related crimes
18:16following the battle,
18:17all of them
18:18African-American.
18:21But all these years later,
18:23the people of this
18:24Lancashire village
18:25were still on their side.
18:27I will always be
18:29proud of the stance
18:31that the brigas
18:32took in 1943.
18:33Sadly,
18:35there was one fatality,
18:37Private William Crossland.
18:39If I can ask
18:40to have
18:40a minute's silence
18:42to pay reverence
18:44to the loss
18:45of this man's life.
19:03The villagers' refusal
19:11to accept the segregation
19:12allowed by Churchill's
19:14government
19:14had me questioning
19:16my own assumptions
19:17about the British
19:18during the war.
19:20Despite being the subjects
19:22of an empire
19:23which believed
19:23in white supremacy,
19:25were they more open-minded
19:27than I had ever imagined?
19:28Or was Bamba Bridge
19:32just an exception?
19:38I looked for answers
19:39in a 1943 questionnaire
19:41at the Mass Observation Archive
19:43asking the British public
19:45about their attitudes
19:46to what the survey called
19:48coloured people.
19:50So this lady replies,
19:51The war has had no effect
19:53upon my attitude
19:54except to increase
19:55my consciousness
19:56of the extreme strength
19:58of feelings
19:58the Americans have
19:59about the colour bar.
20:01It makes me feel sorry
20:02for the coloured folk
20:04and rather ashamed
20:05of the attitude
20:06of the whites.
20:10There are obviously
20:11decent coloured folk
20:12and bad ones
20:13just the same
20:14as there are whites.
20:16Taken by a large,
20:17I don't see any justification
20:19in putting them
20:20in a different category.
20:21The US troops' attitude
20:23towards black people
20:24is revolting.
20:27It is every bit
20:28as justifiable
20:29as jubating.
20:31So that person
20:32is clearly drawing
20:33a parallel
20:34between what the Americans
20:35are doing
20:36and what Nazi Germany
20:37is doing.
20:38I think living
20:40in the heart
20:41of a massive
20:42colour-based empire
20:44like British people did,
20:46they were bound
20:47to be raised
20:48with racist attitudes.
20:49but there was
20:51something different
20:52about seeing
20:53black American troops
20:55harassed,
20:56humiliated,
20:57degraded
20:58right there
20:59in front of you.
21:00Clearly,
21:01it wasn't just
21:01Bamba Bridge.
21:03There was this
21:04movement happening
21:06amongst the British
21:07population
21:07of people having
21:09their eyes opened
21:10to what it means
21:12to be segregated
21:13by race.
21:14The Churchill government
21:23had hoped
21:23to quietly
21:24rub along
21:25with America's
21:26racial policy,
21:27but it seemed
21:28many British people
21:29had their own ideas.
21:30The U.S. Army
21:40was worried
21:40about how
21:41its white troops
21:42arriving in Britain
21:43would react.
21:45So it turned
21:46to Hollywood
21:47to encourage
21:48soldiers to accept
21:49the new ways
21:50of this foreign land.
21:52Get a load of this.
21:53Well, this looks
21:58like an interesting
21:58corner.
22:00Hiya, babe.
22:01I'll have a slug
22:02of bourbon.
22:05Is this stuff
22:06any good?
22:06Well, it's supposed
22:07to be.
22:08I got a million
22:09of them, honey.
22:10That's bad.
22:11Don't throw your money
22:12around like that.
22:15But a key section
22:16of the film,
22:17Welcome to Britain,
22:19tackled British
22:19attitudes towards race.
22:23Well, goodbye,
22:25ma'am.
22:25Goodbye.
22:26It's been very
22:27nice meeting you
22:28both.
22:28Glad to have met
22:28you, I'm sure.
22:29Have you come
22:30to my home
22:30and have a cup
22:32of tea with me?
22:32Both of you.
22:33Thank you, we will.
22:34Goodbye, and good luck.
22:35Goodbye.
22:35Bye-bye.
22:37Well, where are you going?
22:38Well, I think
22:39I'll get some cigarettes.
22:40I'm sure, too.
22:41Well, I'll get some.
22:42Good.
22:43Now, look, men,
22:44you heard that conversation.
22:46Now, let's be frank
22:46about it.
22:47There are colored soldiers
22:48as well as white here,
22:50and there are less
22:51social restrictions
22:52in this country.
22:53This is quite a
22:54surprising film,
22:55I think,
22:57because it seems
23:00a bit ashamed
23:01of the segregation
23:03of the U.S. army
23:04and the awkwardness
23:06of it being placed
23:07in a new environment,
23:09this small country
23:10of England.
23:12They get out
23:12of this small carriage
23:13where they've had
23:14to share the space
23:15while in the U.S.
23:16most places
23:16would have had
23:17segregated carriages,
23:19and the old English lady
23:21wants to shake their hands
23:22and invite them both
23:23to tea,
23:25which,
23:25that's the thing
23:27that makes the
23:28American soldier
23:29look to camera
23:30and say,
23:31we're not in Kansas anymore.
23:32But in the real world,
23:44most black and white soldiers
23:45weren't sharing cigarettes.
23:47as preparations for D-Day
23:52intensified,
23:53so did racial tensions
23:55between American GIs.
23:57And they were about to explode
23:59in the center
24:00of a major British city.
24:02In 1942,
24:15Winston Churchill
24:15had secretly acquiesced
24:17to American segregation
24:18in Britain,
24:19prioritizing the war effort
24:21above everything.
24:23But by spring 1944,
24:26racial tension
24:27inside the U.S. army
24:28was at an all-time high,
24:30often fueled by white GIs
24:33enraged by British women
24:34socializing with black men.
24:37Something unthinkable
24:38back home.
24:46These letters home
24:47from white GIs
24:49speak with a lot of contempt,
24:52I think,
24:53and some anger
24:54towards the casual openness
24:57that particularly British women
25:00have towards black GIs.
25:02One here says,
25:04English women
25:04don't draw the color line.
25:06It is not unusual
25:06to see an English girl
25:08walking down the street
25:10arm in arm
25:10with a big buck N-word.
25:14In some cases,
25:15they actually prefer N-words.
25:18So he sounds mad mad.
25:20He's really angry.
25:22Another one writes,
25:23It really is disgusting
25:25and has lowered
25:26every American boy's ideas
25:28about the English people.
25:30Before we came here,
25:31I thought of them
25:32as gallant people
25:33standing up against
25:34the rush of oppression.
25:36But when they openly
25:37fraternize with the blacks,
25:39well, you know
25:40what I think of them now.
25:42I think something
25:43at the back of the mind
25:44of the white GIs
25:45must be,
25:47what will these
25:48black young men
25:50think and do
25:51when they go back
25:52to the U.S.?
25:53They're wondering,
25:55fearing that their
25:56own sweethearts
25:56might end up
25:57running off with
25:58black men
25:59like the English girls are.
26:00It feels as if
26:01the more time
26:03they spend in England,
26:04the more they are raging
26:06about this particular
26:07issue of race mixing.
26:09And, yeah,
26:10it's a very
26:11combustible situation.
26:15And some of the
26:16most combustible incidents
26:18were in Leicester,
26:19a series of riots
26:21that have been
26:21almost completely forgotten.
26:25At the time,
26:26a number of
26:27African-American
26:27support units
26:28were based in
26:29villages surrounding
26:30Leicester
26:31and warmly welcomed
26:33by the locals.
26:38Then,
26:39in February 1944,
26:41the all-white 82nd
26:43Airborne
26:43arrived in Leicester.
26:45They were shocked
26:46to see black GIs
26:47mixing with white women.
26:52Leicester-born historian
26:53Dr. Leah McCarthy
26:54was determined
26:56to uncover
26:56the true,
26:57hidden story
26:58of the riots
26:58that followed.
27:00This is where
27:02it all began
27:02in Leicester.
27:03The Three Cranes Hotel.
27:04The Three Cranes Hotel.
27:05And this was the first
27:07pub
27:08that black soldiers
27:10made their own.
27:11So they used to bring
27:12white girls here.
27:14Okay.
27:15And that probably
27:15would have annoyed
27:16the white GIs.
27:17Absolutely.
27:19And as we go
27:19around the corner,
27:20you'll see how close
27:21it is to places
27:22frequented by the
27:23white GIs.
27:24Okay.
27:27The white troops
27:28had taken over
27:29Leicester's main
27:29dance hall nearby,
27:31the Palais de Dance.
27:32Then,
27:35one liquor-fuelled
27:35Saturday night,
27:37they went to war
27:38against black GIs
27:39in the city centre.
27:41So you've got
27:41largely black soldiers
27:42based there.
27:43Yep.
27:44You've got the 82nd
27:45Airborne base there.
27:47Just here,
27:48on this corner,
27:49there was a huge fight
27:50with hundreds of soldiers.
27:52Hundreds?
27:52Hundreds.
27:53People being stabbed.
27:55There's reports
27:56of shooting.
27:57Right.
27:57And what you end up with...
27:58A brawl.
27:59A brawl.
27:59More than a brawl,
28:00a riot.
28:01And what you end up
28:02is with the British
28:03police trying to stop
28:04local people getting
28:05involved,
28:06but be under no
28:07illusion,
28:07this was a war
28:08between Americans
28:10on British streets.
28:12The 82nd
28:13and the black
28:14American troops
28:14would be involved
28:16in two more clashes
28:17in Leicester
28:17over the coming months,
28:19leaving at least
28:20two GIs dead
28:21and many seriously
28:22injured.
28:24But reports
28:25of these race riots
28:26would be suppressed
28:27by press censorship
28:28known as D-notices,
28:30official instructions
28:31sent by the government
28:33to newspaper editors.
28:37So this is a newspaper report
28:39of that fight.
28:43So what can you tell
28:45about that?
28:45Where did that incident happen?
28:47It just says
28:48a Midlands town.
28:49Now you know
28:50it's Leicester,
28:50but would you know that?
28:51No, not at all.
28:53I've just realised
28:53here they don't mention race.
28:54There was a specific
28:56D-notice
28:56which said
28:57you mustn't talk
28:58about friction
29:00between black
29:01and white soldiers.
29:02So you wouldn't know
29:03the context
29:04of what happened?
29:05There we are,
29:06that's part of the D-notice.
29:09Churchill's government
29:10had secretly agreed
29:11that the American military
29:13could practise segregation
29:14here,
29:15but they could not
29:16expect our police authorities
29:17to enforce it.
29:19But for British police
29:21on the front line,
29:21in reality
29:23it wasn't that simple
29:24as I discovered
29:26in a remarkable
29:27secret document.
29:30So I looked
29:31in the American archives.
29:32OK.
29:33And this is part
29:34of a file
29:34that they've produced
29:36about relations
29:37between white
29:39and black soldiers.
29:43And one of the papers
29:44in here is actually
29:45from a British police officer,
29:47a liaison officer
29:48between the Americans
29:49and the British police.
29:51OK.
29:51If you read it,
29:52it's quite astonishing.
29:54The question is being
29:55considered as to
29:56the advisability
29:57of white and coloured
29:57troops visiting Leicester
29:59for recreation purposes
30:00on the same nights.
30:02An effort is also
30:03being made to place
30:04Leicester out of bounds
30:06to coloured troops.
30:07So the whole city
30:08would be out of bounds.
30:10That's apartheid.
30:11That's segregation.
30:12It is.
30:13It is.
30:14So a whole city
30:15could be segregated.
30:16Whole cities could be.
30:17The Americans
30:17called them liberty towns
30:19where white troops
30:20only could go.
30:21Liberty towns.
30:22Liberty towns.
30:23Where did they use that?
30:23So near to Leicester
30:24is Kettering.
30:26Yeah.
30:26And that was a black town.
30:28So what was the name
30:28for that?
30:29That was an oppression town.
30:30Well, I don't know.
30:32So this British police
30:34liaison officer
30:35is trying to advise
30:37how to navigate
30:39a problem
30:39that the Americans,
30:40a race problem
30:41that the Americans
30:42have brought
30:42to this country.
30:43Yeah, exactly.
30:46But it wasn't just
30:47the police
30:48or the British public
30:49getting caught up
30:50in America's race problems.
30:54Black soldiers
30:55from the Empire
30:56stationed here
30:57were falling victim too.
31:04One was Sergeant
31:06Arthur Woolrond,
31:07an RAF tail gunner,
31:09flying dangerous missions
31:10over Europe.
31:11Arthur Woolrond,
31:21a volunteer
31:22in the RAF.
31:23He's come over
31:23from Barbados.
31:24He's 29 years old,
31:26married,
31:27and he's written
31:28to the Secretary of State
31:29for Colonies
31:30about a night
31:31of violence
31:32that he suffered
31:33in Bury St Edmunds
31:34at a dance
31:35at the hands of Americans.
31:36He says,
31:37without provocation,
31:38and quite suddenly,
31:39they attack him
31:40for inviting
31:40a local English girl
31:42to dance.
31:43And he's humiliated,
31:44he's degraded by this.
31:47I came to this country
31:48from the British West Indies
31:49as a volunteer
31:49for aircrew duties
31:51under the protection
31:52of the British government,
31:54and I demand,
31:55as far as humanly possible,
31:56that I get its protection.
31:58I therefore request strongly
31:59that the incident
32:00referred to
32:01be thoroughly investigated
32:02and taken up
32:03by the Colonial Office
32:04and the people concerned
32:05punished.
32:07That is really powerful
32:08because I think
32:09in America,
32:10this behavior
32:11is unpunished.
32:15The tragedy is
32:16the same night
32:18that he wrote this,
32:1929th of June,
32:201943,
32:21Sergeant Wurund
32:22went missing
32:24in a mission
32:25over Belgium
32:26and is presumed dead.
32:31So this intelligent,
32:33incredible person
32:34is lost.
32:36He's lost in the fight
32:37against Hitler.
32:38Maybe in that moment,
32:39that same night
32:40when he finished
32:41signing his name,
32:42he was demoralized.
32:44Maybe he was questioning
32:45why he'd even come
32:46to this country,
32:47why he was putting
32:47his life on the line
32:48for a country
32:49that was not protecting him.
32:50And nothing happens.
32:53The complaint goes nowhere.
32:56I think the fact
32:57that he's missing
32:58in action
32:58and presumed dead
32:59is even more reason
33:01to get justice for him.
33:03That's what he wanted.
33:04That's what the letter
33:05was demanding.
33:06And they refused to.
33:08And that's the end
33:09of Warren's story.
33:20Over the past months,
33:23I had learned
33:24there were many ways
33:25for history to disappear.
33:27Sometimes it was
33:28press censorship
33:29or government secrecy.
33:33Fire has been burning
33:34since shortly after midnight.
33:37And sometimes
33:37it was a fire,
33:39like this one,
33:40filmed in 1973,
33:42that reportedly destroyed
33:43most of America's
33:44World War II
33:45military personnel records,
33:47including those
33:48of many black GIs.
33:51But sometimes
33:52you get lucky.
33:54I obtained one file
33:55that survived the fire,
33:57an 80-year-old army document
33:59about the shooting
34:00in Tiger Bay,
34:01where my story began.
34:08I've got some information
34:10about what happened
34:10in Tiger Bay.
34:12It's one of the few documents
34:13that survived the fire,
34:15and it outlines
34:16the formal investigation
34:18into the shooting
34:19in Butte Street.
34:20and it wasn't four men
34:23that were shot.
34:24It was one man,
34:25one African-American man,
34:27and he was shot in the back
34:28by his own military police.
34:32A squad of black GIs
34:34were lost at night,
34:36returning to base.
34:38Hungry,
34:39they found a place to eat.
34:45Outside,
34:46two military police
34:47were confronting a GI
34:48watching their truck.
34:52The GI in charge
34:53showed them their passes.
34:58What happened next
34:59isn't clear,
35:01except that the police
35:04started shooting
35:05at the truck
35:05and that a private
35:08named John L. Hendricks
35:10was dead.
35:12John L. Hendricks
35:19dies as a result
35:21of a wound inflicted
35:22by a .45-caliber bullet.
35:26The record of one
35:28of the African-American soldiers
35:30involved that night
35:31is a very grim account.
35:33I said,
35:34John L. is shot.
35:36The shore patrol
35:37then made the remark,
35:39that's all right.
35:40I'll take care of him later.
35:42What I should do
35:43is kill all of you
35:44black sons of bitches.
35:46That's awful.
35:48It's so awful.
35:49The authorities
35:52quickly closed ranks
35:53to cover up
35:54a police killing.
35:57The recommendation
35:58is that no disciplinary action
36:00be taken against
36:01Stanley McKenna
36:02or Lewis Hardy.
36:04They get away with it.
36:05They've shot a man
36:06in the back
36:06and they get away with it.
36:08It's disgusting.
36:11The public
36:12would never hear
36:13the story
36:13of how the killers
36:14of John L. Hendricks
36:16walked free.
36:17But just weeks later,
36:23the Churchill government
36:24would be unable
36:25to suppress news
36:26of another case
36:27involving a black GI
36:28and American military justice.
36:30One that would outrage
36:32the British people.
36:34I found this
36:35really interesting case.
36:37This is from Somerset,
36:39a small place
36:39called Coombe Down
36:40near Bath.
36:42And an African-American
36:43truck driver,
36:45Leroy Henry
36:45from St. Louis,
36:47he's been accused
36:48of the rape
36:49of an English woman
36:51and he was arrested
36:52that very same night.
36:57Corporal Henry
36:58was interrogated
36:59for 15 hours
37:00throughout the night.
37:04He was found guilty
37:05at a court-martial
37:06despite his claims
37:07of innocence.
37:12Leroy Henry
37:13waited to die
37:14down the gallows.
37:20But there's something
37:21remarkable that happens.
37:23The local community
37:24somehow find out
37:25and they decide
37:26that this is not going
37:27to happen on their watch.
37:29Petition started
37:30in Coombe Down
37:31but it quickly spread
37:32to Bath, Bristol,
37:33across the west of England.
37:36And in the end,
37:3733,000 people signed
37:39a petition
37:40saying that he should
37:41not be executed,
37:42that Leroy Henry
37:42should not be executed.
37:46This document
37:46is actually
37:47from the U.S. Army records
37:48and their voices
37:50have now become
37:52part of that official record.
37:54These housewives
37:54and teachers
37:55and milkmen,
37:56you know,
37:57ordinary people
37:58pushing back
37:59against the American
38:00military system
38:01and now they're
38:02part of that record
38:03and it's so,
38:03it's really moving.
38:10Leroy Henry
38:11probably had no idea
38:12that people across Britain
38:14were fighting
38:14to save his life.
38:18Supreme Allied Commander
38:20Eisenhower,
38:21busy with final preparations
38:23for D-Day,
38:24was drawn into
38:25what was becoming
38:26a national scandal.
38:29I returned to see
38:30Graham Cross
38:31to understand
38:32the problems
38:33the scandal
38:33was causing
38:34for the Allies.
38:36The whole south
38:37of England
38:38is packed
38:39with troops
38:40and equipment
38:41ready to go.
38:42There's this really
38:42feverish atmosphere
38:43in England.
38:44Everybody's hearing rumours.
38:45Is there going
38:46to be an invasion?
38:47Is it going
38:47to happen soon?
38:48When's it going
38:48to happen?
38:49At the same time,
38:50the Americans
38:51are really concerned
38:52about racial tensions.
38:54There's an Army Corps
38:55member
38:55in U.S. Army headquarters
38:58in London
38:59called Captain Susie Thurman
39:00and she's doing
39:01a weekly report
39:02for American authorities
39:04on morale.
39:05Literally five or six days
39:07before D-Day,
39:07she says if the invasion
39:08doesn't happen,
39:09then it looks like
39:10there's going to be
39:11real trouble.
39:12What does she mean
39:13by that?
39:13Well, she means
39:14an explosion
39:15of racial tension.
39:17I mean,
39:17the Americans
39:18are fearful.
39:18They've seen it
39:19before in Britain.
39:20They've seen
39:21Bamber Bridge.
39:21They've just had
39:22the events at Leicester.
39:23Could something
39:24like that happen again?
39:24Only much, much bigger.
39:26So Eisenhower
39:27is putting together
39:28this hugely complicated mission
39:30and Leeroy Henry
39:31and the tension
39:32surrounding that
39:33threatens to derail it.
39:34And it's days before D-Day.
39:35And it's literally
39:36days before D-Day.
39:41As the Allies
39:42were fighting their way
39:43off the Normandy beaches,
39:46General Eisenhower
39:46made a dramatic decision.
39:49He overturned
39:50Leeroy Henry's conviction.
39:52Corporal Henry
39:56returned to his unit
39:58to join the fight
39:59against the Nazis.
40:08I think what's
40:09really surprising
40:10is the massive swell
40:13of support
40:13that he received.
40:15I think there's
40:16genuine concern
40:17that he didn't
40:18get a fair trial.
40:20And then I think
40:20there's also
40:21the underlying tensions
40:22going on
40:23between the British
40:24and the Americans
40:24where they're kind of
40:26tired of being pushed around.
40:28Britain would lose
40:28its empire.
40:29The Americans
40:29would become
40:30the foremost power
40:32in the world.
40:32But they could say no
40:33to this
40:34on their own turf.
40:36And they said no.
40:37And in doing that,
40:38the British people
40:39saved Leeroy Henry's life.
40:42Leeroy Henry
40:43made it home.
40:45But one black G.I.
40:46who didn't
40:47was Private William Crossland,
40:49who was killed
40:50at the Battle
40:50of the Bamber Bridge
40:51and has never
40:52been exonerated.
40:57His niece, Nancy,
40:59had heard about
40:59the village's commemoration
41:01and had come to England
41:02to find out more.
41:05I didn't know
41:06any of the circumstances
41:07surrounding his death.
41:09My father's deceased
41:10and all of my aunts
41:11and uncles I've deceased
41:12so of course I couldn't.
41:13I have all these questions,
41:14right, and I wanted to ask them,
41:15but of course
41:16there's no one around
41:16to ask.
41:17I wish I knew more.
41:19It made me wonder,
41:20so what was my father told?
41:21What was my grandparents told?
41:23Exactly.
41:23How did they explain this?
41:24Exactly.
41:25Yeah.
41:25So I can imagine
41:26that my father
41:29or his parents
41:30were told
41:30that he was just killed
41:31in battle
41:32and then of course
41:33and buried here
41:34in the black culture.
41:35You just accepted
41:36what was told to you
41:38and especially
41:38from Caucasians,
41:40you know,
41:40because Caucasians
41:41were viewed as
41:42they were right.
41:43Especially the military
41:44authorities.
41:45Especially.
41:45I've been wondering
41:47about a lot of those
41:47things as well,
41:48about who William was.
41:49Right, right.
41:50What he found
41:51when he came over
41:52to Britain.
41:53I can only imagine
41:54that my grandparents
41:55were probably so proud,
41:56you know,
41:57because my boy.
41:58And he'd see the world.
41:59Right.
41:59The first time
42:00they'd left the U.S.
42:01Yeah, a little black boy
42:02in the 40s.
42:03Yeah.
42:03And then to be
42:04brutally murdered.
42:07Yeah.
42:07What would you like
42:08to know more
42:09about William?
42:09I want to know
42:10why the villagers
42:13really,
42:13why his story?
42:15Why did this group
42:17of villagers
42:17in England
42:18care about
42:19the black soldiers?
42:21Yeah.
42:21And took them in
42:22basically.
42:23And why is he being
42:24celebrated all these
42:25years later,
42:26you know?
42:27And I hear that
42:27people go to his
42:29gravesite
42:29and remember him,
42:30which is
42:31so touching to me.
42:36Nancy wanted to see
42:38where her uncle
42:38was buried.
42:39It is the final
42:45resting place
42:45for almost
42:464,000 Americans
42:47who died
42:48during the war.
42:55Exactly.
42:57Oh!
43:00Wow.
43:03My uncle.
43:05Wow.
43:09Can I leave
43:13these here?
43:14Of course.
43:14Yeah,
43:14put them down.
43:19Wow.
43:21What would you
43:22tell him
43:22if you could
43:23speak to him?
43:24That I'm proud
43:25of him,
43:26that he
43:27left his family
43:29and came
43:30and fought
43:31in a whole
43:32different land,
43:33you know?
43:34Trying to do
43:35something right.
43:35I took Nancy
43:52to Bamba Bridge
43:53where her uncle died.
43:59There was a surprise
44:00waiting for her.
44:03Oh my goodness.
44:04Oh, wow!
44:08Oh my goodness.
44:12This is really
44:13something.
44:15Hi, how are you?
44:16Thank you so much.
44:18William Crossland
44:19died on the streets
44:20of Bamba Bridge
44:21at the hands
44:22of the American
44:22military police
44:23who tried
44:24to impose
44:25Jim Crow
44:26segregation
44:27in the towns
44:28of Britain.
44:29The people
44:29of Bamba Bridge
44:30fought back
44:31against that
44:32and what we
44:33want to do
44:34is to support
44:35you in any
44:35way
44:36in fighting
44:37for a pardon
44:38for your uncle
44:39and for all
44:40the other troops.
44:41Yes.
44:49How was it?
44:51Oh my God.
44:55I think there's
44:56a lot of mythology
44:57around what British
44:57people were like
44:58during the Second World War.
44:59I've been to places
45:02really off the beaten path
45:05and they had
45:06a black presence
45:07that they
45:08welcomed
45:09in the 1940s
45:10and that does
45:14surprise me.
45:15I don't think
45:15that's how I
45:16understood
45:17the Britain
45:18of the past.
45:19Knowing that
45:20you're an imperial power
45:21that you have
45:22all of these
45:23subject races
45:24and nations
45:24beneath you
45:25is one thing
45:26but on a day-to-day
45:29basis
45:29they would not
45:30have understood
45:30the violence
45:32the cruelty
45:33of Jim Crow.
45:36To try and bring
45:37that over
45:38from the deep south
45:39to Britain
45:40to Somerset
45:41to Leicester
45:42to Bamba Bridge
45:44was a fool's errand.
45:48I think the experience
45:49of African Americans
45:49was very specific.
45:51They were here
45:51as soldiers
45:52temporarily.
45:53They had a good amount
45:55of cash in their pockets
45:56and they were quite different
45:58from the economic migrants
45:59that would come
46:00in the late 40s
46:01and 50s
46:02who were not treated
46:04very well
46:05by the majority
46:06of British people.
46:09For some people
46:10it had really raised
46:12this question
46:12of what do I believe in?
46:14What does equality look like?
46:16What does freedom look like?
46:18It didn't dismantle
46:19the idea of white supremacy
46:22in Britain
46:22but it was one
46:24of the first things
46:25that challenged it
46:26in a meaningful way
46:27and then the migrants
46:29that came in the 40s
46:3050s and beyond
46:31including my father
46:32including myself
46:33have had to keep
46:34chipping away
46:34at that same structure.
46:41The weaponising
46:42of racist disinformation
46:44exposed
46:44in a blistering documentary
46:46Undercover
46:47Exposing the Far Right
46:48here on Channel 4
46:49Monday night
46:50at 10
46:51at 10.
Recomendado
49:27
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