On the Battle of Bamber Bridge and Racial Divisions During World War II

We Have Ways of Making You Talk is a weekly show exploring the war in close up, hosted by comedian Al Murray and historian James Holland as they discuss all matters Second World War.

On this week’s episode, Al Murray and James Holland discuss the issues of race in the U.S. armed forces during World War Two, including the little-known Battle of Bamber Bridge. Also up for discussion is the importance of the war at sea as James explains how the wrong approach by the German Kriegsmarine proved decisive.

From the episode:

James Holland: There was a race riot in June 1943 in Detroit, and so what you get in Lancashire on June 24, 1943, is a sort of race convulsion within the US military, on the back of what’s happened in Detroit and on the back of basically how the American army has been treating its Black soldiers. It doesn’t trust them with combat jobs. They tend to be driving lorries or supplies, stuff like that, because essentially the American army has a race problem.

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