A NEW exhibition is highlighting the stories of black soldiers in Dorset during World War Two.

It explores the lives of African American servicemen who headed to Dorset to train for D-Day and is showing at Weymouth library until June 14.

It comes in the week following the 69th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France.

The exhibition – entitled 1944 We Were Here: African American GIs in Dorset – was successfully launched last May at Walford Mill Crafts in Wimborne. Louisa Adjoa Parker, a Dorchester writer and poet of British and Ghanaian heritage, carried out the research into this part of local history, which has been little explored so far.

Louisa specialises in local black history and has written several books and exhibitions exploring the presence of black and minority ethnic people in Dorset. Louisa said: “This local history has not been explored in great detail until recently, and is arguably an important part of Dorset’s heritage.

“It was important to gather the stories now, as the GIs’ children and the local people who remember the GIs are getting older. “The African Americans’ presence here left behind a lasting legacy – cultural influences, memories and stories that have been passed down in families and become part of local folklore, and a number of their children as a result of relation-ships with local women.”

The project was run by Development Education in Dorset (DEED) in partnership with Walford Mill Crafts and the Priest House museum. It was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and JP Morgan. The aim of the project was to gather stories about the black service-men’s time in Dorset to share with the community, and to celebrate their presence here as well as their contribution to the World War Two.

The exhibition is a collection of images, stories and craft pieces which were inspired by the research. It explores stories of the African Americans who came to Dorset along with their white colleagues to train in the build-up to D-Day on June 6, 1944. Weymouth had a great number of black GIs staying in the area, and they left at least six children behind in the town.

Louisa’s free workshop

FOR anyone who would like to find out more about the exhibition and the research behind it, Louisa will be running a free workshop at Weymouth library on Friday June 14 from 11am to 12.30pm.

The workshop will also explore how and why we record our memories. To book your place contact Weymouth library by email at weymouthlibrary@dorsetcc.gov.uk or call 01305 762410.

You will also be able to view the exhibition at a later date at other venues in Dorset, including the new Dorchester library from July 22 to July 26. A book containing all the material from the exhibition is soon to be available online.

For further information contact Louisa by email at wewerehere@hotmail.co.uk

The exhibition is available to book at a reduced cost until the end of October. For further information about workshops, exhibition showings or to book it please contact DEED on email: at info@deed.org.uk or by telephone at 01202 875411.