THE RED CROSS CLUB AT FOWLMERE
(Unidentified cook, Mary Williams, Col. John B. Henry, Jr., Jeanne Mulquin, and unidentified cook)
As you stepped off the ship on arrival in England during the war, many of you were met by a Red Cross lady serving coffee and donuts. The role of the American Red Cross in providing morale and recreation support overseas probably has not received the recognition it deserves. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of our support activities.
It is only fair to state that the Red Cross had no personnel or facilities on hand at Fowlmere when you arrived. In fact, the 339th had been flying combat missions for nearly three months when the Red Cross club was dedicated. At the time it was designated as a "Donut Dugout" by ARC Recreation Department in London. This is the designation given to the smallest type of club installation placed on military bases in the U.K. Its purpose was to provide recreation facilities and programs for the enlisted personnel of the 339th and its support units. At Fowlmere space for club facilities and staff billeting was limited, so the canteen was authorized to serve only donuts andcoffee for a snack bar instead of the regular aero club menu when we opened the club on 19 Jul 1944. During the spring of 1945 the club was "upgraded" to aero club classification so that a real snack bar menu could be provided. This also necessitated the additional task of using British food points and purchasing through the Ministry of Food, but it was worth the effort.
Our club facilities consisted of two Quonset huts attached to two temporary frame buildings which housed:
It was located on the left side of the main road leading into the air base and therefore was convenient for troops returning from off-base excursions and for those who could just walk across the road from the Mess Hall.
Two American Red Cross ladies were the official staff, and they were quartered in two small rooms not far from the Officers Mess. The original club director was Caroline Wilde while I filled the position of staff assistant. Obviously, a recreation facility cannot operate from 9 A.M. until 11 P.M. every day of the year with a staff of two, so a number of volunteers -- G.I. and British -- were used to meet the needs. Caroline wrote in her first official report in part as follows: "Opening night on July19 proved what I had feared - the club was not large enough. Everyone said not to judge it too much by opening night, that we would never have that many again. But from the word "go" at coffee call at nine in the morning, the rooms are full of every shape and rank of G.I. in the most weird and wonderful positions. My best and most faithful volunteers are six G.I.s. They are a rugged combination of cooks, bottle washers and bouncers. Nothing is too much or too little. They do everything -- they anticipate my every need. It is no exaggeration to say that I could not get along without them." Sometimes referred to as "Red Cross Commandos" by their buddies, they cleaned, washed and wiped dishes, made the coffee, drove jeeps and trucks, repaired what was broken and "scrounged" what was needed.
When Caroline was transferred in Oct 1944, I became director with Sarah Bearden as my assistant. Sarah was our "Georgia peach" and her "Good Mawnin" gave our Southern boys a touch of home. She left in December for the continent as the Allied conquest of Europe progressed, and Jeanne Mulquin arrived to replace her for the rest of our tour in England. The base was closed in September 1945 and we were transferred to Germany.
Our British volunteer staff usually arrived by bicycle from Fowlmere and nearby villages. Because of the long hours that we were open, a day and night shift were needed. These ladies were a loyal and cheerful group, frequently sang at their work and made jokes as they attacked the nearly impossible task of cleaning the mud-covered floors during the winter of 1944-45. In addition to the long hours we were open, on days when missions were flown, an auxilliary coffee and donut canteen - in a weapons carrier - visited personnel on the flight line.
Our programs for the enlisted men varied widely with the season, controlled in part by the weather. In August we acquired from a G.I. volunteer (who had won him at a lawn fete) a pig named George. He lived uncomplainingly on broken donuts and seemed to enjoy the throngs of G.I.s who viewed him daily, though he uncurled his tail when he became annoyed. We couldn't wait for him to grow up, so one day we tied him to the back of a bicycle, and the boys led him off to be traded for half a dozen chickens -- which we ate.
When winter set in during Nov 1944, it became plain to all concerned that our facilities were apparently planned as a fair weather establishment. Much effort was expended in putting up doors to detour the small gales which whipped through the rooms. After a meeting with Colonel Henry and the first sergeants of the base, work began on a fireplace for one wall of the canteen. It became a work of art and stoked generously with bomb rings -- paraffin-impregnated cardboard encasings used in shipment of bombs. A warm blazing fire made the canteen even more popular during the severe cold periods.
Our programs included bingo games, dances, movies and even combat films from gun cameras of 339th Mustangs. We had a large map on one wall on which the progress of the war was posted each day. Without the help of the Cambridge American Red Cross we would never have been able to solve the problems of dance bands and girls for the dances. Of course our own Fowlmere "Rocketeer Band" supported many of our scheduled dances. Many romances with British girls blossomed, and our club even participated in a few wedding parties. We also arranged with R.A.F. Station Barkway for bi-weekly visits by uniformed women in the Air Force -- W.A.A.Fs. --to attend our parties. Occasional variety shows, lectures and panel discussions rounded out our monthly programs for the men. During good weather we also arranged for tours of castles and cathedrals. Our Red Cross Aero Club became the hub of morale and recreation activities for enlisted men at Fowlmere, and Jeanne and I have been proud of our overseas contributions to the War effort.
By Mary Kopius Williams (ARC)
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