"Overpaid, oversexed and over here"!

[mick2me 3,033]

Split from topic: Americana International Newark Nottinghamshire

Around the 1970s the staff at USAF bases here were allowed to fly their cars to the UK so they had transport and fly them back when they finished.their tour of duty here. What many of them actually did was to fly out a US car, sell it here and buy a vintage UK car to fly back.

The USAF are therefore responsible for many of the US cars of that era now in the UK, and the loss of many vintage British cars to the US.

[StephenFord 866]

Around the 1970s the staff at USAF bases here were allowed to fly their cars to the UK...

The mind boggles !

[Michael Booth 7,364]

You can just hear some of the 'oldtimers' muttering under their breath: "The American soldiers took all our women and we now find they took all our vintage cars as well, grrr".

[Trevor S 2,003]

MB, as soon as I saw the post #350, it reminded me of a saying I heard quite often in the 50s, referring to the US Forces personnel in Britain during and after WWII:

"Overpaid, oversexed and over here"

They ruffled quite a few feathers during their time in Britain if you had listened to my Dad and Uncles.

Strange thing was that the same issues arose here in Australia during the war-

- American pay levels compared to the Australians
- smarter American uniforms compared to the Australians
- shops and hotels favouring the well-paid Americans
- Americans pinching their Aussie girls (and in some cases their wives)
- and the Americans' custom of caressing girls in public

but the Australian servicemen took it a bit more seriously - they went to war with the Americans on Australian soil,,,,the infamous 2 day Battle of Brisbane http://www.ozatwar.com/ozatwar/bob.htm

Authorities tried to keep it quiet but to no avail.

http://www.politicsandculture.org/2010/08/10/the-battle-of-brisbane-by-raymond-evans-and-jacqui-donegan-2/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brisbane

[RGR 218]

Some Australian New Zealanders came over to Canada in WW11 to the commonwealth flying school to train as pilots etc.and many married Canadian girls and at Wars end went down under to their new husbands.Anway back to Americana.

[Trevor S 2,003]

Yes, well, those Canadian women appreciated class!

Seriously though, it was a strange phenomenon regarding women meeting up with foreign troops and then going back to their strange countries to make a life for themselves.

History shows that many Australian women fell for American service personnel during and after WWII and some 12-15,000 went to America to be with their husbands.

Writings indicate that after the War, well over 100,000 women around the world went to other countries to be with their service personnel husbands, following liaisons formed when the defence forces had been billeted in those females' countries.

This link gives an overview of the migrations: http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=australian%20women%20to%20marry%20us%20troops%20after%20war&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDAQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slq.qld.gov.au%2F__data%2Fassets%2Fpdf_file%2F0010%2F97795%2FSLQ_-_Travelling_for_Love_-_War_Brides_talk_-_Robyn_Arrowsmith.pdf&ei=rCMLUvmqGcexkgWd2YCoAg&usg=AFQjCNGjlApJminST2MhOth2IBEji7CA7A&bvm=bv.50723672,d.dGI

I remember my mother always talking about a close school friend of hers who met a Canadian soldier in Nottingham during the War, fell in love and went back to Canada with him. Her name was Dot Bacon and I remember regular letters from Canada to my mother for some time (late 50s) and the delight of Mum when she got them and when writing back. Sadly the letter writing just seemed to fizzle out before we moved down here.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

There's a fish and chip restaurant in Sacramento on Watt Avenue facing the old air force base that was started by and run by two Brit ladies who married US servicemen, both who ended up on full time KP duties....LOL

A friends of my wife and myself, a retired serviceman married a Brit, he and his wife have been married many years.

And of course, there are members here who took American women as wives.....Including myself.

[Trevor S 2,003]

My mother and her three sisters each married a British serviceman (Sailor, soldiers x 2 and Fleet Air Arm) at the end the war after wartime romances with them and all remained married until death eventually parted them.

I took an Australian woman as a wife..............................................................................................................still married