October being Black History Month, it is appropriate to record my visit to Bamber Bridge in Lancashire, having read about the outbreak of racial violence in June 1943 between the racially segregated black troops of the 1511th Quartermaster Truck Regiment and the all white 234th US Military Police Company. At this stage of the Second World War, increasing numbers of American troops were based in Great Britain in the build-up to D-Day. The 1511th were based at Adams Hall, officially known as Air Force Station 569.
Only one of the large huts is still visible, which is the home of 2376 (Bamber Bridge) Air Cadets on Mounsey Street, pictured below:
Unlike many places I recommend, I doubt this one will appeal widely. Bamber Bridge was on the main A6 London to Carlisle road. Bypassed postwar by a dual carriageway and, in December 1958 the new M6 Preston bypass opened. It’s not a pretty village, and the most significant building is the thatched pub on the south side of the settlement, known as the Ye Olde Hob Inn. Looking rather like something from the Cotswolds, the pub serves excellent food and was very busy even on a Tuesday mid-afternoon.
To get there, I used the train from Chester-le-Street to York, changing on to the Blackpool service and changing to the local service at Blackburn. The off-peak return with a railcard is £70.50 which is fairly steep, there being no Advance Purchase tickets on the little used flow from Chester-le-Street to Bamber Bridge. Split ticketing should give a fare about £40 return, and if you wish you can go in a big circle out via Carlisle/Preston and back Blackburn/York or vice versa.
My first call was at the library, north of the railway line. I found in the local history section more archival material on the Battle. For an easily accessible treatment of the Battle, see the Wikipedia page which is quite detailed. I passed the old Police Station, built in 1882, which is now a pub by the name of the Pump and Truncheon. Here the unarmed local police gave shelter to inhabitants of the village who were not able to get home when the shooting began.
Black troops were very welcome at the pubs in Bamber Bridge. For a start they had money, chewing gum and nylons. The publicans treated the American soldiers well as they were good for business, and when the US commanders tried to implement a segregation policy, the publicans responded by erecting signs saying “Black Troops Only”. The local people were very happy to drink with the black soldiers, and being treated as equals was a new experience for them. Race riots in Detroit the previous week had tensions running high with the US Military Police and after an altercation in the Ye Olde Hob Inn, one soldier was killed and seven injured in a gun battle which went on through the night. Although 32 soldiers were convicted of mutiny, the sentences were reduced after General Eaker considered that the officers were weak and MP’s provocative. The story inspired a recent film The Railway Children Return.
I found walking the streets where violence and segregation of the US forces played out in a Lancashire village very sobering. There was no need to stay the night – a few hours is all you need. Next to the station where the signal cabin was threatening to fall on to the track, there’s a massive Meccano-like contraption keeping the thing upright. Opposite, acting as an ideal café for the station, is the Taste of Turkey, for a coffee before the train pulls in.
Places to Go: Submitted by Alex Nelson, National Rail
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Full story : https://consettmagazine.com/2025/10/20/places-to-go-bamber-bridge/