Britain's World War Two 'Brown Babies'

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 5 October 2021

⏱️ 11 minutes

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Summary

During World War Two, tens of thousands of African-American US servicemen passed through the UK as part of the war effort. The black GIs stationed in Britain were forced by the American military to abide by the racial segregation laws that applied in the deep south of the US. But that didn't stop relationships developing between British women and the black soldiers, some of whom went on to have children. Babs Gibson-Ward was one those children. She spoke to Farhana Haider about the stigma of growing up as mixed raced child in post-war Britain.

(Photo: Hoinicote House children, c.1948. Boys and girls whose parents of mixed ancestry met during WWII. Credit: Lesley York)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:04.7	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:08.5	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:18.0	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
0:24.6	poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.
0:29.7	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.
0:36.0	Hello and welcome to the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service
0:46.6	with me for Hana Hither. All this week we're marking Black History Month here in the
0:52.1	UK and today I'm taking you back to World War II
0:56.2	when the first American troops started arriving in Britain in 1942.
1:05.0	The Yanks are coming with a vengeance.
1:09.0	Among them were thousands of African American gies. I've been speaking to Bab's Gibson Ward, one of the
1:16.0	British children born as a result of their mother's relationship with an African American soldier.
1:21.2	Within seven weeks of the USA declaring war on Germany, picked American troops have followed
1:26.0	Mr Churchill quickly across the Atlantic.
1:30.0	When Black American GIs arrived in Britain in 1942, the US Department of Defence produced a film
1:36.3	to educate the young men about what sort of welcome they might receive.
1:40.3	Well, goodbye, man.
1:42.3	Goodbye, it's been very nice meeting you,
1:44.0	I'm sure.
1:45.0	Funny you should come from Birmingham too, isn't it?
1:48.0	Have you come to my Birmingham, you've come to my home and have a cup of tea with me.
	...

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