Travelling thousands of miles across the Atlantic on crowded troopships, American serviceman were soon faced with the anxiety of combat missions and losing buddies in action over Europe. Unfamiliar food, warm beer and the curious English dialect all added to the culture-shock which they undoubtedly felt. Missing their own families back home, the GIs struck up friendships with British children who relished the constant supply of candy and gum. They befriended young British women who were understandably overwhelmed by the gifts of nylons and invitations to 'jitterbug' at parties on American bases. As the war progressed, friendships were forged and a kind of grudging acceptance of the 'friendly invaders' was established. Without the GIs in Britain, and the USA's huge military presence, the war with Germany would probably have been lost.
Using a combination her own lively narrative and the personal accounts of those that were there, author Helen Millgate tells the story of the 'friendly invasion'. She reveals how the impact of American serviceman on the social structure of Britain in the 1940s was more far-reaching than anyone had imagined, not least with the social legacy they left behind, and the wives and sweethearts they took 'stateside'.
Helen D. Millgate is the editor of 'Mr Brown's War' (sutton, 1998). She lives in Cambridgeshire and remembers the American 'invasion' of the war years. Her sister married a GI and went to the USA to live after the war.