Britain's 'Brown Babies' - by Lucy Bland (Paperback)

About the Book

This book recounts a little-known history of an estimated 2,000 children born to black GIs and white British women in World War II. Stories from over 50 of these children, alongside many photographs, reveal the racism and stigma of growing up in what was then a very white country.

Book Synopsis

This book recounts a little-known history of the estimated 2,000 babies born to black GIs and white British women in the second world war. The African-American press named these children 'brown babies'; the British called them 'half-castes'. Black GIs, in this segregated army, were forbidden to marry their white girl-friends. Nearly half of the children were given up to children's homes but few were adopted, thought 'too hard to place'. There has been minimal study of these children and the difficulties they faced, such as racism in a (then) very white Britain, lack of family or a clear identity. The book will present the stories of over fifty of these children, their stories contextualised in terms of government policy and attitudes of the time. Accessibly written, with stories both heart-breaking and uplifting, the book is illustrated throughout with photographs.

From the Back Cover

This book reveals the little-known history of the mixed-race children born to black American servicemen and white British women during the Second World War. Of the three million American soldiers stationed in Britain in 1942-45, about 240,000 were African-American. Their relationships with British women resulted in the birth of an estimated 2,000 children, which the African-American press named 'brown babies'; the British called them 'half-castes'.

The American army was racially segregated and Black GIs were forbidden to marry their pregnant white girlfriends. Up to half of these mothers, faced with the stigma of illegitimacy and a mixed-race child, gave up their children for adoption. Often, they ended up in children's homes, sometimes followed by fostering and occasionally adoption, but adoption societies frequently would not take on 'coloured' children, thought 'too hard to place'.

Based on extensive interviews and including over fifty photographs, Britain's 'brown babies' presents the stories of more than fifty of these children against the backdrop of shifting government policy and attitudes of the time. Lucy Bland brings to light the struggles they faced, including racism in a (then) very white Britain, and a lack of family or a clear identity.

While some of the accounts of early childhood are heart-breaking, there are also many uplifting narratives of finding American fathers and gaining a sense of self and of heritage.

Review Quotes

'In this thoughtful and poignant work, Lucy Bland not only meticulously details the history of Britain's 'brown babies' but, by placing their voices at the very centre of her scholarship, offers invaluable fresh perspectives. Bland's compassionate and insightful foregrounding of these moving memories of racial mixing and mixedness can't be applauded strongly enough. An outstanding achievement.'
Chamion Caballero, Goldsmiths, University of London

'Lucy Bland's stories of Britain's Brown Babies evoke a potent mix of rage, tears, joy and thankfulness: rage at everyday racisms, both institutional and individual, tears for the cruelties suffered, joy at the love and care that some found and thankfulness that we can hear these voices.'
Catherine Hall, Emerita Professor of History, UCL

'Using oral histories as well as revealing analyses of governmental policies and the politics of racially warped institutions, Lucy Bland's wonderful book lays out in no uncertain terms how the stigma of illegitimacy coupled with racism shaped the experiences of children born to white British women and African American G.I.s during and in the aftermath of World War II.'
Sonya O. Rose, Professor Emerita of History, Sociology and Women's Studies, University of Michigan

'Lucy Bland's book beautifully and carefully recovers the intimate, painful and sometimes joyous stories of Britain's 'brown babies'. [...] Throughout Bland writes with sensitivity, care and an astute sense of her positionality as interviewer, offering an exemplar of undertaking this essential oral history research. [...] Her meticulous attention to the ways in which these children navigated their own sense of belonging and difference - at home, in the care system, in British society and with their American families - is a tremendous achievement, with important findings for historians of migration, Black Britain, childhood and family alike.'
Women's History

'An important advancement of the historio-graphy and, due to its clear style and unique source material, is ideally suited for use in the classroom, as well. Graduate students will benefit in particular from Bland's careful discussion of her methodology; for undergraduates and graduate students alike, Bland's skillful use of oral history and biographical material makes her book highly accessible and engaging.'
Res Militaris

'[...] Professor Bland seamlessly weaves the stories of more than forty of these children for whom she has obtained in-depth interview material and who form the core of the book. The result is a work of substantial scholarship, accompanied by forty pages of notes and an extensive bibliography. The story appears close to the author's heart which also makes it a humane and compelling narrative that is written with lucidity and precision.'
Peter J. Aspinall (2021), Ethnic and Racial Studies

'Meticulously researched and sensitively handled, Britain's 'Brown Babies' not only makes a major contribution to the history of black people in Britain, but through it, shines a light on attitudes to illegitimacy and, in particular, race in the 1940s and 1950s - attitudes which are shockingly familiar to us still today.'
History Workshop Journal

About the Author

Lucy Bland is Professor of Social and Cultural History at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge