Black Yanks

Author Kate Werran unearths the story of Leroy Henry, an African-American soldier on death row in wartime Britain, and the extraordinary campaign that set him free.

About the event

This is the story of Leroy Henry, an African-American soldier from Missouri, who found himself on death row in wartime Britain. Playing out over six weeks and against a backdrop of the most audacious seaborne invasion ever attempted, this gripping talk brings an entirely new perspective to the period.

Kate Werran unearths a wealth of archival material that tells the story of the first significant, if uncelebrated, victory for the civil rights movement, a story that has been overlooked for nearly eight decades.

About the speaker

Kate Werran is a specialist on the US Army that was stationed in Britain before, during and after D-Day. Her first award-winning book was ‘An American Uprising in Second World War England’. Kate came to writing after a career in journalism and has produced critically-acclaimed 20th century history programmes for television. She is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.