“The Dusky Doughboys”: Interaction between African American Soldiers and the Population of Northern Ireland during the Second World War

Abstract

This article will examine the ways in which the people of Northern Ireland and African American troops stationed there during the Second World War reacted to each other. It will also consider the effect of institutional racism in the American military on this relationship, concluding that, for the most part, the population welcomed black soldiers and refused to endorse American racial attitudes or enforce Jim Crow segregation. This piece argues that, bearing in mind the latent racism of the time, the response of the Northern Irish to African Americans was essentially colour-blind, and this was true in both the Protestant and Catholic communities.

From Good Time Girl to Damsel in Distress: Protecting the British War Bride in the United States, 1944–1950

“…The central character in the 1948 film Good-time Girl, Gwen Rawlings spiraled downward, reaching the lowest level of her degradation by joining with two American GI deserters to mug and rob those they encountered on the streets. Romances between British women and African American GIs aroused particular concern, and these have received considerable scholarly attention (Bland 2019;Topping 2013;Reynolds 2007;Rose 1997;Saunders and Taylor 1995; for the foundational work, see Smith 1987). "Sexual patriotism," as Wendy Webster has named it, required fidelity to British men, and having a relationship with any foreigner was regarded with suspicion and disapproval, with the deepest hostility directed towards Poles, Italian POWs, and American troops in general, not just African Americans (Webster 2013).…”