When people discuss fighting in the First World War it is usually white European soldiers suffering in the trenches or being mowed down in Flanders Fields who come to mind.

But a rare photo in a postcard history book has offered another perspective, lost in time or perhaps obscured by a narrow view of the bloody and brutal conflict.

Among the many interesting black and white photos in Christoph Bull’s book Swanscombe in old picture postcards’ one in particular does not just catch the eye – it leaps off the page.

The photo shows a group of 58 African American soldiers marching neatly in formation along Milton Road, in 1918.

The caption explains the soldiers, or “doughboys” as all American soldiers were nicknamed during the Great War, were marching towards a nearby cement factory.

Mr Bull, a local historian, writes: “Swanscombe Cement Works lost vast numbers of its workforce to the Army and Navy – these were replaced by women and by black American troops who loaded cement required by the American forces for the war effort.

“Until this time non-white faces were almost unknown and after 1918 the black Americans left.”

While there were occasional Indian salesmen that visited the town during the 1920s and 1930s, Swanscombe did not have a greater multicultural presence until in the 1970s.

It was not known where the soldiers were billeted or stationed with only a guess being Milton Barracks in Gravesend (which was later demolished to become the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara), a short distance away.

However, thanks to research by the Messenger and Gravesend Library as part of its First World War heritage project, lost information has finally come to light.

Deep in the newspaper archives of the library in Windmill Street, three short articles were found.

One article from the Gravesend and Dartford Reporter on February 8, 1919, described the time of the doughboys a year after they left.

It explained that 300 African-American soldiers were employed in shipping cement for the US Army to use in France.

It read: “They were lodged in tents and were frequent visitors to Gravesend. Generally speaking they were a quiet, disciplined lot, and they fraternised very effectively with the people of the neighbourhood.”

The reason for it being written about a year later could be down to the Defence of the Realm Act 1914, which was a government act censoring discussion of the military during the war.

There was another reference in a 1918 edition of the Kent Messenger which described the type of soldiers the doughboys were.

The small article titled “SAMMY’S GENEROSITY” talked of “coloured” American troops performing in a show for locals.

It read: “Some striking posters displayed locally, intimated that as an Independence Day event, coloured soldiers of an Engineer Battalion,. US Army, would (by permission of Lieut. Vulte) give a ‘genuine and novel American Minstrel Show’ at Church House yesterday evening. Seats would be available at 1s and 2s among local VAD hospitals and other local charities.”

Today, the idea of a minstrel show is offensive and antiquated, but back in 1918 such a show with Americans could have been seen as exciting and exotic.

The same American Independence Day celebrations were reviewed in an edition of the Gravesend and Dartford Reporter from July 1918.

It described how a show featuring “splendid entertainment” from “American soldiers” was put on at the Church House.

It was “full of interest” and “very pleasing” to the “large audience” adding:

“The star-spangled banner floated across the platform, an inspiration to all the coloured performers.

“Buck dances were executed, solos and songs, such as ‘Hail! Hail! the gang’s all here!’ and ‘It takes long time, brown-skin men’ were enthusiastically sung by the American soldiers.”

The passage also explained how the soldiers took part in a “plantation scene” and “many other patriotic items” including a song called “Are you from Dixie?”

Research from the library historians has also found that the doughboys were not billeted at a barracks but instead set up in an encampment of tents on a field near the town, although its exact location is not known.

Dr Sam Edwards is a lecturer on American history at Manchester Metropolitan University and is currently working on a project about doughboys.

He explained that African American soldiers were often used for non-combat roles, but not always.

He said: “The US Army was segregated until 1948, and African-American troops were largely restricted to service and supply roles in both world wars, a fact suggested by their work in a concrete factory.
“That said, some African-American soldiers did serve in combat on the Western Front, often under French overall command.”

Dr Edwards said that compared to the Second World War little is known in general about American troops in the First World War, which is one of the reasons why it is harder to find information about African American soldiers.

He said: “Much has been written about the presence of American troops in Britain during Second World War, but relatively little is known about the details of what happened in First World War.

“There’s not even been much work identifying exactly where US troops were based.
“The vast majority arrived at ports like Liverpool and the first troop ship docked in June 1917.

"They were then put on trains south to Essex or Kent, before heading across the Channel to the Front.

“Those that stayed in Britain were thus small in number, especially compared to the US troop presence in the Second World War, which peaked at 1.5 million just before D-Day.

“As a result, the First World War experience has been rather overshadowed and overlooked.

“We know that those US troops who stayed in Britain were either medical personnel, running the hospitals, or in service and supply.

“Hence, I suspect, the image of African-American troops in Swanscombe.
“But there’s still no accurate picture of exactly how many were in Britain, where they were based, or what their relations were like with local people.”

If readers remember or have any record of the African American troops in Swanscombe, Dartford and Gravesham, call reporter Alex Matthews on 01474 564327 or email almatthews@thekmgroup.co.uk