[Afamilyatwar-list] A WWII Christmas Story

[Veit, Richard]

[cid:8C407071-2996-426F-8EFB-0C26F0862565]

Revealing the true spirit of Christmas were the experiences of a woman working for the Postal Censorship in Liverpool who remembers that an appeal was made over the loudspeaker system, on 23 December 1943, for members of the staff to entertain GIs who had arrived on a recently docked troopship.
"After a quick mental calculation of rations, I offered to have three. Prompt at one o'clock on Christmas Day there was a knock on the door, heralding the arrival of Jim, Claud, and Larry, the three youngest-looking GIs I had ever seen, all looking as though they had just stepped out of a bandbox and with the most impeccable manners. Later I learned that they had been briefed in no uncertain terms that they must be punctual, well turned out, and courteous and respectful to their hosts—and that they were not to accept large portions or second helpings. At 3 p.m. the King's Speech was broadcast on the radio, and as one man they all jumped to their feet and stood to attention until the end. Rather shamefacedly, my husband and I stood during the playing of the National Anthem the second time around. As the day wore on, they did become a little more relaxed, but when they stood up to leave at 10 p.m. (as per instructions not to outstay their welcome) we felt that the day had not been an overwhelming success."
How wrong they were! Next day the trio telephoned to say thank you and were invited to come again and "this time the stilted conversation of yesterday became a non-stop buzz of chatter, and when they piled into a taxi in the early hours of the following morning, we all felt that we had known each other for years." From then on, the three GIs were frequent visitors until the fortunes of war carried them to their different destinations: North Africa, Italy, and the Far East. Only thirty years later, when a prosperous-looking businessman with an American accent arrived on his former hosts' doorstep—an older version of one of the shy, "thin and pathetic-looking" young men they had entertained that Christmas—did they discover how much the invitation had meant to him. "He said he was just eighteen and had buried his father whilst on embarkation leave, leaving his mother alone. He had never been away from home before and had landed in Liverpool only to be billeted in a stable on the racecourse in the middle of winter," leaving him "so cold, miserable, and downright unhappy that first night that he cried."

(from The GIs: The Americans in Britain, 1942-1945, by Norman Longmate)
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