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Disclaimer: This story was submitted to the People's War site by Phil Sealey of the Somerset County Museum Team on behalf of Phil Sealey and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

In the spring of 1944 a large contingent of American troops arrived in Bridgwater in readiness for the D Day invasion of ‘Fortress Europe’. The 1st US Army were stationed in the region and units of that army:

518th Military Police Battalion.
428th Military Police Esc[ape or apees?]
G[uard] Company.
474th Anti Aircraft Artillery Auto Weapons Battalion, Self Propelled.

were in the town and a large number of servicemen were billeted on the townspeople.

The civilian police were responsible for arranging the accommodation for the soldiers and the householders who took them in were paid 10d [4.16p] per night, 4d [1.67p] more than if they had been British troops. The arrangement was for accommodation only, no food was to be supplied which was understandable with strict civilian food rationing in place. The Americans’ ran their own canteens in the town, one being set up in Blake Hall and another in Cranleigh Gardens.
At the time Philip Sealey spent a great deal of time with his uncle and aunt, Cissie and Harry Woollan, in their home at 122 St John Street, and when an American serviceman, ‘Rudi’ Vallee was billeted on the couple young Philip struck up a friendship with him that is fondly remembered to this day. ‘Rudi’ was a brilliant artist who encouraged him in his attempts to draw; a number of ‘Rudi’s’ drawings survived into the 1950s, in particular a sketch of a donkey, but all were eventually lost.
One souvenir that did survive was a bullet that uncle George Hawkins took to his place of work, W. F. Wills Ltd, and disarmed. The charge was removed and replaced with lead and the brass case engraved with the inscription: given to Philip Sealey by Rudi Vallee and the date. Just after receiving the gift Philip was walking home along St John Street, proudly holding his present, when he was stop and questioned by a suspicious policeman who quite rightly thought it was live. The present was confiscated and Philip ran home distraught and blurted out the story to his uncle and aunt. But all’s well that ends well, George Hawkins went to the police station and explained that the bullet was harmless and brought it back.
On another occasion Philip was taken inside the canteen at Cranleigh Gardens by ‘Rudi’ and still remembers walking down the centre of the hut, its whole length lined on each side with occupied mess tables. He also recalls being given a 1" [25mm] thick slice of bread with butter and jam heavily laid on. The local children often hung around at the back of the kitchen where, if they were lucky, the cooks would toss out meat chops — no one ever knew what kind of meat it was - and watch the scramble. On other occasions coins were thrown instead of food.
The Allied invasion of Europe, known as ‘Overlord’, drew near and on the 15th May 1944 troops began to move into marshalling areas in readiness for embarkation. By midnight on the 2nd June all was ready but due to bad weather it was twenty-four hours later, on 4th June, when the assault on Normandy was launched. The American troops had moved out to take up their positions for the invasion, and Philip remembers the military equipment assembled along a track adjacent to the railway lines at the station that had its entrance off Redgate Street. Sometime, probably in early 1945, he received a letter from ‘Rudi’, from ‘Somewhere in Germany’, thanking him for ‘… the beautiful Christmas card you sent me …’. He enquires if all is well with the family and ‘…How are you getting on with your drawing …’ These were the last words Philip heard from his friend and in later years often wondered what had become of him and if he had survived the war.
Sixty years on he did discover something of what had happened. An Internet ‘hit’ told him that ‘Rudi’ had survived the war:

Sophie Gascoh Vallee, born 6th November 1911, died 20th October 1958. Aged 47 years.

He lies buried at the Beverly National Cemetery, Beverly, Burlington County, New Jersey, in the United States.

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