CORNWALL’S GI SHOOTOUT
On 26 September 1943, the quiet town of Launceston was disturbed by a dramatic firefight between black and white American soldiers. Two white military policemen of 115th Infantry Regiment were wounded in the presence of British civilians and servicemen and this small but alarming incident escalated into a newspaper sensation that was mired in controversy.
“IT WAS OFTEN BELLIGERENT POLICING BY THE US MILITARY POLICE AND THAT WAS WHAT REALLY RILED THE BRITISH. IT WAS AN EGREGIOUS EXAMPLE OF RACISM”
The subsequent court-martial of the African American soldiers from 581st Ordnance Ammunition Company occurred in the seaside town of Paignton, Devon. Labelled by the tabloids as a “Wild West” mutiny, it was a far more serious affair that caused Winston Churchill “grave anxiety”. The Launceston shootout damningly exposed violent racial tensions within the US Armed Forces and – in the court of public opinion – the British openly sided with the discriminated black soldiers.
Long forgotten as a wartime footnote, British historian Kate Werran has uncovered this previously neglected story in her book An American Uprising In Second World War England. She discusses how the incident debunks myths about the ‘Special Relationship’, Anglo-American tensions over segregation and its relevance today in a world where racial tensions remain at the forefront of political discussion.
SEGREGATION AND THE ‘SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP’
What inspired you to write the book?
My dad is from Launceston and when his family moved there in 1947 the talk of the town was this big shooting. Everyone wondered what happened to the American soldiers who were involved and nobody knew. We used to go to Launceston and there are still bullet holes in the war memorial and White Hart Hotel.
