- Contributed by听
- Campseakate
- People in story:听
- Joan Millyard (nee Southgate)
- Location of story:听
- Horham, Suffolk
- Background to story:听
- Civilian Force
- Article ID:听
- A3730411
- Contributed on:听
- 01 March 2005

Moat House Hostel, St Margaret South Elmham. 1943
There were 25 of us land girls at Moat House hostel in St Margaret South Elmham and there was an American base about 4 or 5 miles up the road, Flixton it was called and it鈥檚 still there today, there鈥檚 a museum there I鈥檓 told.
The Americans were new over here and they鈥檇 ring the hostel and ask the warden if we could go to some of their do鈥檚, like a dance or thanksgiving party. It was gorgeous, we had things like ice cream and strawberries, and we hadn鈥檛 anything like that for ages and ages. They really made a fuss of us. One thanksgiving, they rang us up from Horham. Glenn Miller and his band were playing there and they said would we like to go. An American truck picked us up and we danced to the band, but it was very crowded as there were people from Ipswich and all round. One of my friends Pam, she鈥檚 dead now, danced with somebody out of the band, he was called Johnnie. There was no alcohol at these do鈥檚 just tea and coffee. Several of the girls from the hostel married Americans. I went with one for a while, Joe Burke from Los Angeles. He used to take photographs out of the plane. He wanted me to go back to America with him but my mum didn鈥檛 want to let me go because it was so far away. Later that day one of the American servicemen showed us round an American Flying Fortress plane. We just looked quickly, it was such a great big plane.
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