GI war bridegrooms from Britain

Discussion in 'USA' started by Owen, Jan 27, 2014.

  1. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    I've often wondered if any chaps from the UK married US servicewomen & went back to the USA.
    Yesterday I found the answer on page 420 of Rich Relations The American Occupation of Britain 1942-1945 by David Reynolds.
    He quotes US Government figures that ''There were also forty-two British husbands of female GIs.''
    (INS Annual Report 1950 , table 9A)
    Anyone know who any of these 42 men were, I'd be interested in their stories.
     
  2. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

    Owen,

    Here's a story found via Google News of C. G. Paterson, RAF engineer, who married an American nurse in England and was eventually reunited with her in America. The second short news clipping has a slightly different twist as the RAF Officer first met his wife while on furlough in the U.S.

    First War Bridegroom - 1946.jpg Hubert Smith RAF 1947.JPG

    It would depend on how you define a war bridegroom? Thousands of marriages resulted from servicemen meeting women in other countries they were sent to train in. Many of them would have stayed or returned to their wife's country after the war. For example in Canada alone according to Wikipedia:

    "The final report of the BCATP Supervisory Board calculated that “more than 3,750 members of the RAF, RAAF, RNZAF and Allied nationals under RAF quotas married Canadian girls,” many of whom remained in Canada to raise families."

    A book from the Canadian perspective:

    Canada's War Grooms And The Girls Who Stole Their Hearts by Judy Koza

    Regards ...
     
    Owen likes this.
  3. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Brilliant find old chum.
    That's exactly what I was hoping for, British chaps meeting American female service personnel in the UK & then going to the USA to be with them.
     
  4. Our bill

    Our bill Well-Known Member

    Owen , What an interesting question and Cee Thanks for the links and clips I found them very interesting . Elsie
     
  5. Robert-w

    Robert-w Banned

    Back in the 90s my wife and I stayed in a small motel on Cape Cod. It was run by an ex FAA pilot who had been sent to the US for training on Avengers and whilst there met the girl who he married after the war
     
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  6. JITTER PARTY

    JITTER PARTY Well-Known Member

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