Another one of those "I didn't know that" about WWII

[revwardoc]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4394494.stm

Prostitutes 'preyed on US troops'

Prostitutes pestered American GIs so much during World War II that ministers feared for the transatlantic alliance, newly released papers suggest.

Troops stationed in London were writing to family back home saying they were often accosted by "good-time girls". The Scotland Yard file, released to the National Archives, shows concerns ran so deep that crisis meetings were held. Officials feared if the Germans found out, Nazis could portray British women as immoral in a propaganda coup.

US Army chiefs were not only afraid of an outbreak of venereal diseases among their men, but also wanted to see British law changed, making it easier to jail prostitutes.

'Drunk and quarrelsome'

Colonel WM Clark, a US federal judge serving as legal adviser to the US Army in London, was so appalled that he demanded a meeting with the Attorney General. One Home Office official said: "His points are there are far too many prostitutes, that their behaviour is far too blatant, and that the impression created on the American troops and their mommas at home is bad."

The Metropolitan Police did not share the US Army's concerns, saying many of the troops were the cause of the problem. "It has been noticed that they congregate around Piccadilly Circus and Coventry Street, many of them worse for drink and quarrelsome until the early hours of the morning," said Superintendent A Cole, in charge of policing the West End. The file also includes details of the types of prostitutes frequenting different parts of London.

Women working around Burlington Gardens tended to be "rather expensive" while in Piccadilly Circus there was "a lower type of prostitute, quite indiscriminate in their choice of client and persistent thieves", according to the file.

One report called Pestering of American Troops by Loose Women referred to those GIs who consorted with prostitutes as Piccadilly Commandos.

[Advisor]

Ahhh yes...American boys....never been kissed 'cept by Mama & the girl next door. Wonder how many of our boys were saved from a fate worse than death?