Babies Left Behind: researching unknown G.I. fathers in the United Kingdom during WW2

At the beginning of 1942, the first group of American G.I.s landed in the United Kingdom to help the war effort. Before long, there were US troops stationed up and down the country.  

To bridge the cultural gap between life in the U.S. and the U.K., as well as offer entertainment to troops, the American Red Cross set up clubs in larger towns and cities. Places like Rainbow Corner near Piccadilly Circus in London, and smaller local venues near military bases, hosted dances and other entertainment. Local women and American soldiers mingled and got to know one another as the war progressed. 

G.I.s brought a certain glamour to the U.K. Whilst there were real life movie stars amongst the troops, (Clark Gable being one famous example), just the very sound of American accents was enough to make G.I.s seem exotic. At a time when many young “eligible” (for marriage) men were fighting in Europe, the arrival of these young men with American drawls drew a lot of positive attention and curiosity from women. They were perceived as better dressed than their British counterparts by some.  Bearing luxury gifts such as quality cigarettes, chocolate and perfume imported from the U.S., they were able to casually flatter and impress. 

Many young women fell in love and married their G.I. sweethearts. Despite various laws created to make this more difficult, an estimated 60,000 women became “GI brides” and subsequently left home to live with their new American families. A handful of couples who had met in the UK but been separated once the soldier was posted back to the U.S, conducted legal marriages by telephone so the British newlyweds could emigrate.

Babies Left Behind By G.I. Fathers During WW2

photo courtesy of Imperial War Museum

Less talked about at the time were the estimated 23,000 babies born to single mothers during or just after WW2, fathered by G.I.s who may never have known about these children. Some women kept their babies, whilst others were put up for adoption. A smaller subset, babies born to black American G.I.s, were often shunned and faced racial abuse and prejudice. They had to deal with the stigma of having no father present, whilst looking conspicuously different and growing up in some very hardened working class communities. 

Before commercial DNA testing became widely available, tracing a biological father who was known to have been a G.I. could be an impossible task. Little could be accomplished without the name of the soldier; knowing where he came from could add another piece to the puzzle. Despite having limited amount of identifying information, many children of G.I.s wrote to the U.S. Department of Defense to demand information. Their original request to release address information for named G.I.s who served in the U.K. was refused, on the grounds of confidentiality. Eventually, after suing the U.S. Government under the Freedom of Information Act, some of these seekers were able to receive information on the whereabouts of named G.I. fathers.

80 Years On:  identifying the biological father of a G.I. baby   

photo courtesy of Imperial War Museum

Legacy Tree recently worked with a client in England to identify her biological father. The story has been anonymized to protect those involved, but it illustrates how these cases can still be solved, despite the passage of time. 

Mary contacted Legacy Tree from England asking if we could help identify her biological father. She was sure that the man named on her birth record was not her biological father. Additionally, her DNA test results showed African ancestry which could not be explained through her known ancestry. Although Mary had few clues to go on, and did not have a name, a relative mentioned that her father had been an American G.I. who met Mary’s mother towards the end of the war.  

It was immediately evident from DNA testing that Mary had a very close male paternal relative at one of the DNA test sites. Mary had tried to contact this person but did not receive a response. Information from other DNA sites did not reveal any closer matches that could be helpful. This match was living in the U.S., but there was limited information available on the DNA site to corroborate their identity. 

Armed with the match’s name, our researcher found nearly 100 males in the U.S. who shared it. As it was evident from research that the client and this match were connected by African ethnicity, our researcher narrowed down this list of people to exclude men who were of European descent.  

 Traditional research uncovered information on the family in question and made a probable identification of the DNA match. Additional research was able to identify his father’s name. The working hypothesis at this point was that Mary and the DNA match were half siblings. 

 Armed with additional details, Mary was finally able to make contact with her DNA match and tell her story. The family agreed that the circumstantial evidence fitted, as their family member had served overseas in the second world war. After some additional work to satisfy the match’s family, they accepted that Mary and their family member were indeed half-siblings. Mary finally had a name for her biological father. A few months after contacting the family, she was able to fly to the United States and meet her half-sibling and other close family. Mary was delighted to have finally found that connection after almost eighty years. 

What you can do if you think you have a similar G.I. father story 

• Consider DNA testing – Legacy Tree can advise what kind of testing is the most useful in the case of unknown fathers (or grandfathers), as well as who to test. 

• Ask family members if there are any snippets of information they can recall. Part of a name, a nickname, an approximate age or anything else can form crucial circumstantial evidence which helps guide these cases. 

• Consider where in the country your family member was born. There were large bases up and down the country where Americans, Canadians and other nationalities were stationed.  

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