The first mistake the MPs made was telling the British what to do. The second was telling the British to do something unfair. The third was telling a British pub landlord to do anything.

I’m originally afghan and my wife is Zimbabwean. We’ve lived comfortably and in peace here in the UK. We’ve made a great life for ourselves here and it makes me well up with pride to call myself British

I have been to those three pubs in Bamber Bridge and each one has a Roll of Honor for the Black American troops killed during World War 2! The town hasn't forgotten it.

the American army asked the pubs to make a bar for coloureds but instead the pubs hung up signs saying Black Troops Only 😂😂😂this is how we roll

Remember the Beatles refused to play to a segregated audience

Putting up signs of "Black Troops Only" is some beautifully malicious compliance from the landlords of those pubs- kudos to them.

Interviewer- have you ever been turned down for a role because your African American? Idris Elba- I wouldn't know mate I'm British.

I remember watching a documentary about WWII, a black American veteran from Alabama was asked what it was like being stationed in the UK. He told a story were he was waiting for a bus, and he was the last in the queue and a white gentleman in a suit stood behind him, as is practise in the UK, and he (the veteran) then stood behind the man that had previously stood behind him, as was practise in Alabama. The white gentleman then informed that he was before him and as such had the right to go on the bus before him, and that he should go back to his original position in the queue.

A great aunt of mine married a black soldier...they were very happy and totally accepted in the village they settled in...hard to believe that it is 75 years later and America still hasn't totally learnt a lesson....it isn't perfect here in the UK by any means but I do feel proud of our country most of the time...

My father was in the R.A.F. In WW2 when on leave he brought home a fellow airman who was black , the guy was from Jamaica and had come over to help fight the Nazi's.He was welcomed by my mother with open arms . Neither one of my parents had a racist bone in their body , guess that's where I get it from , thank God 🇬🇧

A black person in America = African American. A black person in Britain = British citizen.

This all happened again in the 1960's when the Motown stars of the day came over to tour the UK and Europe. I've seen interviews with singers and musicians telling of their experiences: not only pubs and clubs, but hotels and guest houses,where they were accepted just like any other guests. And where they were waited on at tables by white staff and had their rooms cleaned and beds made by white maids as if it were an everyday occurrence. They could not believe how different things were in Britain.

I don't know if it's been said before but you are such a fantastic ambassador for the United States. Seriously.

The poor guy came across the Atlantic to fight against the Nazi’s for all our freedoms to only be shot in back by one of his own.

The same thing happened on Park Street in Bristol (UK). The Brits didn't understand the colour bar since so many people were coming from all over the Empire to defend the UK. Why treat them differently was their point of view

My father landed Black American soldiers onto Omaha beach ww11. When he came home after the war he would walk out of cinemas when news reels came on about the operation. He said that not one American news reel showed black soldiers fighting in the conflict, he hated America for that, and remembered all of those brave young men being sent to their slaughter.

I saw a documentary recently about the 333rd artillery unit at the battle of the bulge. An all black unit that stood their ground and blew the shit out of the enemy. Unfortunately most were killed or captured, tortured and murdered. Their bravery went pretty much forgotten until someone did a bit of research in the 9os. Not sure if they ever got recognised with medals but they served their country courageously to the end. 🇬🇧🇺🇸

The Battle of Manners Street in 1943 in New Zealand. Racist US soldiers blocking Maori soldiers from drinking in the pub. The Kiwi boys didn't take well to that and a 500 man brawl ensued for several hours

So for a young Black GI it must have been like a whole diffrent world being stationed in the UK, to freely use restaurants, cinemas, dance halls, pubs, shops, buses, even walk on the same pavement with out fear of upsetting anyone. Then go off and risk your life fighting in an army that segregated you, and your thanks for your service is being shipped back to the US and being a 2nd class citizen again.

Don't get me wrong we in the UK have racial problems from time to time, but our relationship with other races including our Caribbean peoples, has always been better than the USA. It shows in our culture music and art. I'm reminded of the two tone movement in the 80s when it seemed all our pop bands had a mixed black white line up. It's still very rare in the states to see this. A very moving reaction well done.

My father fought in WW2 and my mother endured the bombing raids of the Luftwaffe. To anyone watching this who has black relatives that came to our aid during that period, thank you, they made a massive difference and helped us Brits when we needed it most.

Another one like this happened out in New Zealand (Battle of Manners Street) where US personnel tried to impose the colour bar there, against the Maori troops. That went as well as you'd expect, with white and Maori New Zealanders banding together to resist.

My Grandad was in the navy in ww2 & was on leave when some black g.i’s entered the pub he was in, in Portsmouth (England).....he & a few friends of his started drinking with them & welcoming them. A little while later some white g.i’s entered & told my grandad & his friends to stop drinking with those (they used the ‘n’ word at this point); to cut a long story short, my grandad & his friends told them where to go & a fight ensued, whereupon the white American g.i’s, to coin a phrase, had the living shit kicked out of them..... I know my grandad & his friends were not disciplined for this, as his naval superiors accepted that he & his friends were goaded into it ....but unfortunately, even though the black g.i’s didn’t help them in the fight, they were court marshalled for it.... says it all really :-/

I cant believe this, I'm a fan of this American YT channel and here is a story about my village. Yeah I know this story very well, they were drinking in the pubs I drink in this very day. There is a story that the ghost of the GI still haunts the Hobb inn pub and the business that my dad still works at which was near enough where the Americans were camped. As for the sad story itself. It is shocking isn't it. I can't even imagine how it must of felt to be treated in that way and I know racism is still very much around. It is sickening and embarrassing.

There was always fighting in Norwich because the white GI's didn't like the way black GI's were accepted and liked, even in the 60s, a friend of my father took a black GI under his wing and his family had him round every Sunday for dinner, he cried when he went back to the States

I am from the UK, my great grandfather was a mixed race GI. He was a part of the black regiment which was based in South west England. He had an affair with my great grandmother in 1944 before he went off to fight on Omaha beach. We never saw him again after that. I didn't realise this video would hit so close to home. But every word you said I can definitely agree on

This is why history should never be destroyed! We can't change it but we can learn about it and not repeat it!

I remember hearing how the likes of Sammy Davis Jr couldn’t walk through the front door of the Las Vegas hotel he was staying / performing at and had to come through the back entrance. But in the UK he was treated like the big celebrity he was….. America preach to the world how other countries should be or act, but they still need to sort their own backyard out before telling others what to do…..

I did not learn about bamber bridge specifically, but I do know that there was widespread defiance of English establishments against allowing segregation in thier pubs and clubs. I do know that the US Army produced information films about the UK highlighting that it was much less racaily restrictive.

It happened a few times in similar ways here in the UK, Bamber Bridge is the most famous incident

I do like the malicious compliance of "Black Soldiers Only".

Bamber Bridge is in the North West England. During the American Civil War the cotton-workers of the North West preferred to go workless and hungry rather than process Confederate cotton. There was (and I think still is) a strong sense of fair play, and support for the underdog in Britain.

From what I can remember (lived locally around there) it took the American military until 2012 to apologize to the town of Bamber Bridge for what happened (think if was in the Lancashire evening post which is the local newspaper).

I love your honest and raw reaction. This video is enraging and in some ways wonderful. I love the 'black troops only' signs put up after they were told they ought to segregate. A massive screw you to those fools.

During the Korean War the men of the Gloucestershire Regiment captured at Imjin River, had a black soldier named Pte F. Stevens, of the Army Catering Corps, with them. The North Koreans decided to separate black and white troops to divide them. The Americans divided into two groups. The British soldiers did not move. When the guards tried to remove Pte Stevens, the rest of the Glosters refused to give him up, shouting "He is a British soldier, he's one of us." The guards backed off and he remained with his comrades.

I grew up in the NW England, and I have heard this story before. Both disgusted at the treatment but also proud of my countrymen.

Expected to fight and die for America but not good enough to be treated as equal Americans. Even now as an old British Army veteran it brought a tear to my eye when it said that a soldier was shot dead in the back by who I can only assume was an American MP.

Here in the east of England there were a lot of American air bases from the 40s till the present day . Many black airman settled in the area and had families with local girls , people just saw them as human beings.

Eisenhauer asked Churchill to segregate the pubs in WW2. He refused. My dad had a black tail sunner in his RAF Bomber - he was called Snowy. They all had nicknames.

I went to school in Bamber Bridge back in the 80's and my teacher told us about this.

The video on 'The British Crusade against Slavery' made in answer to comments made by Frankie Boyle is an insight to the way us British think, we are, or should be all equal.

It was very common among the towns of Britain to stand against that kind of segregation in the GIs posted over here. The black servicemen were invited not only into bars and restaurants but into the homes of people too.

Hi I’m actually from Bamber Bridge, England. It’s a sad story. On one building the bullet hole marks still remain, the local Army and Air cadets still today use a old barrack building . Many buildings in the video still exist today .

I live close to here too. We are all friendly up north. And people call the UK racist. Jessie Owens who won gold for USA had to enter the White House via the back door because he was black, on his return from the Olympics

imo this is your best reaction video..... open, honest & unbias, your mother raised you right

There were loads of these type of incidents, all over the UK, many of them recorded in books, most though, probably forgotten. Bath, Bristol Park Street, and many more!

Thank you from the UK. It Is a big shame this is so unknown in the USA.

I'm from the UK, and we do have stains in our history too, but I'm glad this incident went down how it did, but also sorry someone had to die in this way, especially when we were all fighting the same war!

This though possibly the most extreme this was not I don't believe an isolated incident , I remember my father telling me as a boy of fights where Brits would fight alongside black American soldiers being discriminated against by their own white American soldiers and military police.

The british establishment and leadership had more fall outs and stand offs with the us military over their attitude on this subject. The british people from top to bottom found it abhorrent. Weve always tried to set the standard and I find it quite insulting now that many want to tar our country as a racist hell hole.

I are 76 and english, I feel like crying, I can see your pain.

So, the version of this that happened in New Zealand was called the battle of Manners Street (1943), and the version of this that happened in Australia was called the Battle of Brisbane (1942). Canada letting the side down here...

I read about this years ago and I've said to black people here in the UK about this but other cities and villages here in the UK this happened when British stood up for black soldiers. But the youth of today are so fixated with US history they think in this country MLK was fighting for Their rights when black people in this country have always had those rights. But without videos like this you can't show them. The kids of today don't even want to go to a library to read a book as we did as kids.

I've lived in England for most of my life, ( my dad is a Retired USAF veteran) and I can honestly say that I've never heard of the Bamber bridge incident. I'm just speechless at the way the US Army treated those brave men who were willing to lay their lives on the line for freedom. And the fact that the US Army leaders demanded that the black troops were segregated like in the US is just an appalling and shamefull way to treat their troops. To all the brave men and women who served their countries past and present...Thank you for your service.

Wow, this story made me cry. I'm white and live surrounded by all nations in Ipswich UK, we all get along and, I hope, respect each other. Massive respect to you for your candor, Cheers mate.

yea happened in my England and it was something we did naturally and always will because we see humans and not colour. only around ten years ago I worked in the states and was told that I should not talk to blacks on the same job I was gobsmacked and ignored everything this american told me. I was at the time considering moving to the states and starting up a new company but this totally changed my mind and I refuse to ever go back even for an holiday.

You are more than likely aware of the 369th infantry and to lighten the mood a little. American white soldiers based in Carolina told shop keepers that if they did not serve black soldiers they would refuse to shop there too they said we wont buy from people who will not serve our buddies. The 369 is a great read has many notable heroes that America should be proud of. (wiki).

WW2 may have been our finest hour but the Bamber Bridge incident may have been one of the finest moments in our finest hour. Most right minded Brits swell with pride at the response of the local pub landlords. Well done Bamber Bridge. Very sad though that it cost one GI his life.

I've known this all my life my grand parents lived in Bamber Bridge. Similar stories can be told about most towns in the UK at that time

I still go drinking in Bamber Bridge. I'll have one for you when I'm next there.

I don't think I have ever seen you so angry and I can fully understand why. You are right every country has something in its history that it should be embarrassed about. I think it's the way we learn from those parts of history and strive to better ourselves and our nations that is important.

I thought you were just a laugh a minute guy Beard, funny reaction vids etc, but hats off man, you are an enlightened person, you speak so much sense.

I only recently heard about Bamber Bridge in particular but I remember being told about more generic encounters between black and white US troops in English pubs during the war. There's a US Army info film staring Burgess Meredith that tries to point out to GIs that the attitudes to race in the UK were rather different to parts of the US. It's a little known fact that the first black guy to vote in a British General Election did so in *1774* (Ignatious Sancho, who owned a shop in Westminster). Britain has had (and still has) its share of problems, and its share of folk who thrive off of those problems, but compared to most places Britain is a very accepting place.

Hi my friend, I'm from the UK and i can see the pain and anger in your face, we still have some people who are racist but they are overwhelmed by people aren't and they stay hidden, sadly the USA has always had a problem and still today, but again you will have so many more people who aren't, stay safe mate and god bless, 🍻🙏🙏🙏

You are right, we all have history in our own countries that we should not be proud of and even post war Britain had it's own issues with racism but the real key is not to bury this stuff but to teach it and make the next generation better than the last. I'm not one for knocking the achievements of a nation and America, like Britain, has much to be proud of. We should all be proud of our nation state but we should recognise the things our nation has got wrong and learn from it.

The beatles refused to play stateside in the 60s because of segregation

Eclectic .. You are a great man! 👍 I live in a city in England. It is named Hull or full name Kingston Upon Hull. A population of about 320 thousand. Just a 10 minute walk from me in the town centre, there is a huge column & on that column, a large statue of a man. That statue is of Sir William Wilberforce, Member of Westminster Parliament for my city. He was the man who campaigned for many years & suceeded in abolishing the black slave trade for the United Kingdom & then also the British empire. On 25 March 1807, King George III signed into law the Act for the abolition of the slave trade, banning trading in enslaved people of the British empire. After that, other nations were shamed into abolishing their slave trades. So, this one man, was the person who effectively abolished the black slave trade globally! There is a reason why his statue is so big! We are immensely proud of him in Hull. After the abolition of the slave trade, Britain searched the seas & freed slaves wherever found. Black people were classed as equal in the UK by law. America took a further 30 years to abolish the slave trade & black people were not equal to white people until the 1960's!! Black people not even allowed on the same bus as whites & had to use separate drinking fountains! It is upsetting & also annoying that the black lives matter movement campaigns in Britain & even in my city of Hull.. Why? You know what mate? I have talked to some that march for the blm & they do not even know, who that huge statue is of or what he achieved! Go figure! When you do visit the UK, perhaps stop off & see the great statue of the great man himself? All the Best Always! 👍🇬🇧🇺🇸

I love my country, great video. Love from Blighty✌️🙏🏽❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

My Father fought in WW2, Italy, France, North Africa and Germany. He never spoke about the war but on one occasion, watching a TV programme about the UK Gurkha regiment, a coloured regiment, he said, "I would never refuse to fight alongside a Gurkha, I would trust them with my life" When I asked him some questions, he simply said "They are bloody good soldiers"

I remember learning about this kind of thing from my grandmother, who served during WWII. She had no tolerance for the childish hypocricy of a country that touted it's ideals so loudly yet denied them to its own citizens. The saddest thing now is as that generation si almost gone, the lessons they taught are being forgotten, and the americanisation of culture has our own children believing that our country acted the same way, or that nothing in america has changed. The videos you make help change that, and I'm glad you are. Thank you.

The 'Blacks Only' signs of the 3 Pubs were put there as requested. There were 3 Pubs, meaning the White US Soldiers weren't welcome... I'm proud of my fellow Lancastrians

BTW A quote from England during WW2 "We don't mind the Yanks but we're not so keen on the white fellas they've brought with them."

This has got to be the one of (if not) the best reaction video I have seen and I have seen a lot. You are so authentic, you speak your mind with passion and honestly, humility and courage. Thank you from a Brit who loves your videos and channel and the decent human being you are. I look forward to many many more 😊🙏🏼

We have racism in the UK certainly but its incideped and usually less obvious (although it appears to have been getting worse recently). I'm from a mixed race family, me my mother and one of my bothers are white my step father and step brother are black. Didn't realise how sheltered we were until we took a road trip through America. West Coast to Vegas and then a flight to NY and home. This is going back 20 years now mind. Drove through a town with a "n.... out by night fall" sign, we had a motel booked in the town and skipped it. Walked into a minimart at one point and it was like walking into a saloon in some old western but with sliding doors instead of the flaps. Everyone just turned around and stared at us, we brought what we needed and left sharpish. Would have been funny except I was 15 and shitting myself. No one every actually said anything, and once we opened our mouths and they heard our accents it kinda killed the tension but, weird and scary. Lots of funny stories like my stepdads stereotypically black new born Christian family making a 15 Yr old white English kid very awkwardly say grace while not to stealthy trying to read it off some plaque they had on the wall. And the same lot being absolutely shocked why my mother handed me a small beer at a BBQ.

My grandmother was a switchboard operator at the buttonwood airbase who told me one night she was dancing and an American gi interrupted her to inform her she was dancing with a black soilder !! She just carried on dancing with him as he had moves lol

Your humanity shines through. A thoroughly decent bloke!

We have lots of family in L.A (I'm from the UK) my mum can remember visiting her cousins in the 60s and seeing white only shops and water fountains she was gobsmacked.

I am here because of the efforts of the West African brigade in helping to liberate the allied p.o.ws in Burma, my Father went in the can in 1941 and then went to work on the railways.

I'm in the UK and have never heard this story, thank you.

I grew up near bamber bridge! What a story this is and I'm amazed to have found it on your channel! Welcome to Lancashire .... The red rose county! On a side note I've drank in these pubs many a time and I've seen rememberence memorabilia.

This makes me proud to be British. You are a good man and America needs more people like you. We can not change the past but we can learn from it and grow

I am English, living in England all my 52 year life....why have I not heard of this? Proud of the British Villages who backed the Black American Troops.

Served and fought for our freedom too, thank you for that lads!

Same thing happened in launceston Cornwall, there are still bullet holes in some walls...

The BBC sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart covered this subject in one episode, just not the Bamber Bridge incident.

My home town of Henley on Thames experienced a similar incident. Out side the Catherine Wheel hotel and bar in Hart street. Many years ago, I knew a bunch of veterans who told me they saw a massive fight between black and white American troops in the street. It was over a local girl. Henley had many impromptu bases built on farmland in preparation for D-Day.

Eclectic Beard Reactions - you are a legend sir.

I agree with andy Walker's comments, you are a good representative of America , on all levels. X

Yea I literally live about 2 miles away from bamber bridge

That's typical of us Brits. We absolutely hate being told what we must do. Want us to ban Black GI's? We'll do the exact opposite. Barry O'Blamer telling us we must vote to remain in the EU (and he did) we say rowlocks and do the opposite. So that worked out great in the end.

Shame on USA, attacking your own men who were over here fighting that sort of prejudice. You couldn't make it up!

It's understandable that you didn't know about this happening in a small English town but it's a disgrace that so many people in the US don't know about the Greenwood Massacre, Tulsa. That is something that should be taught in schools. Some people don't even believe that the Japanese internment camps existed during the war in the US. The song ''Strange Fruit'' should make every American's head hang in shame, as should ''Mississippi Goddam'' - both by Nina Simone. Thank you for your decency and caring and for teaching your kids that no matter what they look like - folks are just folks!

You have a good heart. Changes for the better do come even if they are painful and slow and it's people like you who make it happen one tiny piece at a time. Your nation has changed and is continuing to change for the better because of good people like you and in the end all we humans can do is our best to help things along and just... To be good to each other. Thank you for being someone who reminds all of us of this.

Profound video Mr EB, and a powerful reaction from the heart. Ive always admired your mantra.

I’m British and like to think I’m well versed on WW2 history, but I’d never heard of this. Thanks, great video.👍

Thank you so much for this awesome reaction to our video! We'd love to send you something to show our appreciation for this and for continuing to educate people around the world about this important piece of history. Please keep up the great videos!

I live in Lancashire England,the pub still stands and so do the memories 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿👍

Eclectic beard, You are a good man, and this has seriously riled and angered you. I always appreciate your final words be good to one another. The world needs more like you. Please continue your good work

This is the history that needs to be taught in all schools, UK and USA

we also had Allan Glaisyer Minns (1858 - 16 September 1930) was a medical doctor, and the first black man to become a mayor in Britain. Born in The Bahamas, he was elected mayor of Thetford, Norfolk, in 1904. Pablo Fanque, born poor as William Darby in Norwich, rose to become the proprietor of one of Britain's most successful circuses during the Victorian era. Wales's first black High Sheriff was Nathaniel Wells, the son of a slave from St Kitts and a Welsh slave trader. After his father's death he was freed and inherited a fortune. He moved to Monmouthshire's Piercefield House and became Sheriff of Monmouthshire in 1818. One of the leaders in 19th-century chartism was William Cuffay, who was born on a merchant ship in the West Indies in 1788, and whose father, had been a slave in St Kitts.. we have always accepted and the UK abolished slavery in 1833..