THE Bridgwater & District Trades Union Council (TUC) will celebrate Black History Month with a special exhibition and evening event.

Both events will take place at the Engine Room in Bridgwater's High Street.

There will be a World War II-era exhibition called Brown Babies, which is based on a book of the same name by Professor Lucy Bland.

The exhibition will run from Saturday, October 15 to Saturday, October 22, and document the history of babies born to black GIs and white British women during WWII.

The Black History Month celebration event will take place on the evening on Thursday, October 20 (7pm to 10.45pm) and include a buffet supper. 

It will focus on telling the stories of mixed-race people born in the mid-1940s and early 1950s from their own perspectives.

There will be a talk by David Greene titled: ‘My father was a black US GI’.

Bridgwater TUC chairman will also tell the story of Black American GI Leroy Henry and how he escaped a United States Court Martial judicial execution at Shepton Mallet Prison for a crime he did not commit.

Susann Savidge of the Somerset African Caribbean Network will then summarise the impact of the Windrush Generation on Britain and tell her story of growing up in Yeovil.

Dave will close the night by premiering a WWII-era swing, boogie, and rhythm and blues record session with a twist - all records will be original 1940s shellac 78rpms.

The evening event on October 20 is free but seats are limited and will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. 

To book, contact Dave Chapple (davidchapple2020@gmail.com, 07707869144).  

The events have been organised by the Bridgwater & Districts Trades Union Council with the support of the Somerset African Caribbean Network and Somerset Film.