Although synonymous with wartime England, total blackouts were unusual to us "sophisticated" Americans. At first it was strange for us to walk along the streets at night or to ride on a blacked-out bus but in time we got used to the idea. In fact, many of the boys found the blackout quite advantageous.
We were very much impressed by the British people, particularly their women. Although the strain of war had an effect on their facial expressions and outward appearances, and their clothes weren't exactly "this year's style", their spirit was high and their morale excellent. That famous pride of the English people, exemplifying Churchill's "blood, sweat and tears", immediately earned our respect for these brave people who had refused to give up when they had their backs up against the wall. I often wondered how the American people would have reacted under the same series of circumstances. Although, during our first few days in Oxford, these people appeared cold and unfriendly, we began to realize that that was part of their physical makeup. However, after a few weeks, they warmed up to us and, as time went on, they became most hospitable and treated us royally. We, at least, had made a very good impression on them.
The morals of the English girls, just like all the others with whom we met before and since, were very low. Perhaps they were swept off their feet by the fast-talking and faster-moving Americans, or it might be that they felt that they were doing their part in the war by being "nice" to the soldiers. Whatever were their reasons, they surprised even the American boys by their loose morals. A story is told concerning an American soldier stationed with the British Eighth Army who also spent some time in England before being sent to Africa. He was bragging to his English buddies one day, about how much he got out of a certain married woman with whom he was very friendly, a Mrs.. John Wells. After recounting his love affairs with this woman, during which he described his "intimate relations" with her, a shot rang out and the American dropped with a bullet through his head. A moment later, John Wells killed himself with a bullet from the same gun.
In spite of these unfortunate incidents, there were other friendships established. Some of the boys were fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of several fine people in town and a few were invited to a get-together consisting of "nice English girls" and American soldiers at Rhodes House, Oxford University. Several were later invited to a Halloween party given by a group of girls of one of the colleges and long and lasting friendships were started which were continued by correspondence for many years thereafter. It was interesting to note at the time that, in spite of the hardships and sacrifices that the people evidently were making for their country, the theatres and the movie houses always were filled, and long lines (queues) of patient customers waited for hours before every performance. Men and women in uniform, however, especially Americans, were given preference over civilians.
The English newspapers are quite different from ours in that the headline consists of one or two words and quite often has no connection with the particular story which appears under it. Stories of local color rather than of international interest cover the front pages. Editorials and commentaries seem to occupy as much space as do the daily news events.
A one-day pass to London enabled us to see the interesting and historical highlights of the city -- St. Paul's Cathedral, The House of Commons, the Palace, London Bridge, Piccadilly Circus, the "underground", etc. Of course we viewed the areas which had been bombed during the trying days of 1940. The British people, however, were rebuilding for a bigger and better England, and plans were being formulated at that time to build a new city of London after the war. The London "underground" was much more comfortable than the New York subways in that the seats were made of plush, mirrors for the convenience of passengers were appropriately placed in conspicuous corners, and the general appearance of each car made for a more social atmosphere among the passengers. And even though the subways always were crowded, there was never the "rush" scenes which are characteristic of New York.
The British Eighth Army early in October stopped the German advance across Africa and began an offensive of their own which was to take them all the way across North Africa and into Europe. The newspaper headlines screamed "Rommel Pushed Back" and "We Attack", and the English people began to smile.
There were no enemy raids on Oxford and it was explained by the townspeople that an agreement had been made with Germany whereby neither country would bomb each others university towns. This, however, did not refrain from bombing such cities as Coventry, Swindon and Canterbury. We did see great numbers of Allied Planes pass overhead quite often and we knew that some axis city was going to be "visited". The newspapers the next day usually completed the story -- "Milan Bombed" or "Turin Wrecked".
That was England during the period between "blood, sweat and tears" and "all-out offensive". On November 8th, the day of the initial landings on African shores by the allied armies, we were ordered to pack, and the next evening, we were on our way from Slade Camp and Oxford, sorry to leave the friendly confines of our British cousins, for whom, in the short space of five weeks, we acquired a great respect and admiration.
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