Chapter 26 - Escaping the War

Chapter 26 – Escaping the War

To relieve the alternating stress and boredom, we were given furlough passes every two to three weeks, usually for two days. The closest train station was in Braintree about 5 miles away. If you wanted to head for London, which was about 45 miles southwest by train, you needed a bike get to the station. You could usually find one somewhere on the base. There was even a guy on base who repaired bikes and he always had a couple ready to go if you couldn’t borrow one from another GI.

If you rode a bike into the station, the next person who arrived at the station might borrow it to get home. You always had to worry about finding a bike there when you got back. It wasn’t much fun to get back from leave and have to walk back to the base. There wasn’t much hitch hiking in those days, people just didn’t have cars. Occasionally you could bum a ride from one of the businesses that had a “lorry” (truck) but you might have to help him make a delivery or two.

People in the neighboring villages were pretty friendly about sharing their bikes. No one ever locked their bike but they did have their names on them. We’d try to avoid taking the bikes with names on them whenever possible.  Every once in awhile the train station manager would send a truck out to the base to collect the bikes that belonged to the villagers.

It was safe to go into London now that the blitz was over. There was always something to do there during the day – and if you could find a place in the blackout - at night.  The German attacks to demoralize London, “the Blitz” had started in September 1940 and continued until May of 1941 when Hitler needed his Luftwaffe to invade Russia. However, London was still under a “blackout” three years later. There were absolutely no lights allowed on outside at night. All windows had to have blackout curtains blocking any light. So, you liked to know where you were when it got dark. It was best to plan to be inside at one of the GI clubs where there was usually a dance, music, food and lot of people. 

There were more than a dozen Red Cross Clubs in London some of them were for Officers only. Sooner or later we checked them all out and sometimes we even stayed in hotels just to get away from other soldiers for a day. Mostly we headed for the biggest and best club, which welcomed both officers and enlisted men, The Rainbow Corner. It was located in the West End, a few blocks from Piccadilly Circus – where all the theaters and shops were – so there was always something to do.

Sheet Music of a song about the Rainbow Corner

You could get a room at the Rainbow Corner for about 50 cents and they had real sheets. They had just about anything else you needed from a laundry to a barbershop. You could take a hot shower or a bath. The Red Cross was famous for supplying doughnuts and coffee to servicemen (even if they had to deliver them by mobile units) and you could usually get a sandwich and piece of cake or a bottle of Coca Cola at the donut canteen downstairs. They also served hot meals there, usually fish or rabbit and vegetables or something with beans. London had been under rationing so long you took whatever food you could get. There was usually a live band and dancing at least 3 nights a week and there were plenty of records for dancing if there was no live music. There were movies, magazines, newspapers, drinks, cigarettes and you could play cards, ping pong, games or do jigsaw puzzels. There were lots of friendly ladies that volunteered at the club and they were always ready to dance or play table games, write letters for guys that needed help with them, or sew something for you. There were even counselors for guys that were messed up.

Time passed too quickly when you were off base on a pass and it seemed like you’d just left when it was time to go back.