Figure 1.--Members of the United States Air Force stationed somewhere in England have "adopted" nearby English children and are shown cheering their proteges in a game of tug-of-war. For both winners and losers there were prizes and candy which the men had been saving from their rations for the past month. These children were invited by the Air Force personnel to an Easter party given by the Americans. Source: U.S. Army, OWI.

American airfields were located all over Britain. Many British children literatlly had a fighter or bomber base in their back yards. English children before 1942 knew little about Americans. They had seen American films. Cowboy anf gangster films were special favorites. But few had ever met an An American. This changed after Pearl Harbor when America entered the War and several million American servicemen descended on Britain. This friendlu invasion was the greatest invasion of Britain since William the Conqueror in 1066 and had profound social consequences. There was a lot of interaction between the Servicemen and British civilians. Many GIs were billited in English homes. The American servicemen showed a special affection toward the English children and best of all they had candy and chewing gum. This was a great treat as sugar was severely rationed in Britain during the War. "Any gum, chum?" became a popular refrain. There was security around all Allied military baces and adults without passes could not enter. Somehow the English children were all over the American bases. Many children knew GIs by name and were often even allowed to get inside the planes.

Created: 3:32 AM 11/30/2005
Last updated: 4:28 AM 3/5/2010