大象传媒

No account of Hitchin during World War II would be complete without mention of the men of the United States 8th Air Force, who were a familiar sight for nearly three years in this typically English county market town. And their aircraft were an equally familiar sight in the skies overhead.

After London and Cambridge, Hitchin was a favourite 鈥減ass鈥� town for G.I鈥檚 who served between 1942 and 1945 at the Steeple Morden fighter base and the Bassingbourn and Northampstead heavy bomber bases, whose nearest rail station was at Royston, on the King鈥檚 Cross 鈥� Hitchin 鈥� Cambridge line.

They were attracted to Hitchin by the peaceful, charming old-world character and atmosphere of the town, by its welcoming and friendly pubs (even if it was weak and warm) 鈥� by its cafes and cinemas and of course, by its attractive girls, a number of whom were to marry American servicemen and, at the war鈥檚 end, emigrate to the United States as G.I. brides.

Local dance bands were sometimes hired to play at camp dances and local girls were often guests at them. Many lasting friendships were made between the local people and G.I鈥檚 who were part of the friendly invasion. Local families would invite homesick American servicemen into their homes for a meal. The guests were grateful and generous and would contribute to the meal, something that was either unavailable or in short supply in a rationed war-time Britain. Candy and chocolate bars, cigarettes, welcome tins of spam 鈥� and even an occasional precious pair of nylon stockings were - among gifts given. And 鈥淕ot any gum, chum?鈥� was the question most asked of the G.I鈥檚 by the youngsters.

One of the ways in which the American 8th Air Force officially introduced itself to the people of Hitchin in 1943 was to put on a demonstration game of softball (just like basketball, but using a larger, softer ball) on the town football ground.

Then suddenly it happened, in the summer of 1945, soon after the end of the war, the glamorous Americans in their well-tailored quality uniforms were gone, either bound for home or transferred to bases on defeated German soil, leaving behind indelible memories of their stay.

More detail of the photograph 鈥� taken in 1943 by Pictorial photographer Frank Howard in the garden at the rear of the newspaper office in Bancroft (now a solicitor鈥檚). The photo captures the spirit of friendly relationships between locals and visiting American servicemen in Hitchin. The three civilians are local journalists who brought the news to the people of North Hertfordshire. Left to right they are Ronald Slingsby, Bernard Maddams, Pamela Brewer (all of the Pictorial) and Donald Hills a reporter on the rival Stevenage newspaper the Hertfordshire Express (whose offices were in Exchange Yard, now part of Brookers). In uniform is Don鈥檚 friend Carl Tyriver, from Green Bay, Wisconsin, based in Bassingbourn with the 91st Bomb Group of the USAF. Carl became like an older brother to the young Stevenage reporter, and their friendship lasted until Carl鈥檚 death in the 1980s. Incidentally, Pamela was to later marry an American serviceman.

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