Love in England During the War

There were roughly 2 million US servicemen in the UK during the peak days of World War II. As they prepared for D-Day, many had free time on their hands, especially the officers. Most also happened to be single...

So you know what that means.

Many British men were in North Africa and Italy, fighting, or were guarding the coasts, or were tied down by jobs such as air raid wardens or firefighters. Many were married and living at home with their wives.

The American GIs were not living at home with their wives and, whenever they had leave, they had plenty of options for entertainment. There were many GIs in southern England at loose ends.

London’s Hyde Park became the scene of a lot of fraternization.

Which is where the British phrase that the problem with GIs was that they were "oversexed, overpaid and, worst of all, over here."

Things happened as the endless days waiting for D-Day continued. Then, the endless Spring ended and the war was back on in earnest.

Serpentine Lake

The sheep were not a war-time phenomenon - they had been used since the 1920s to keep the grass mowed

"This is how you jitterbug"

2014