DIY History | Transcribe | World War II Diaries and Letters | W. Earl Hall World War II stories, 1944

Transcribe
Translate

W. Earl Hall World War II stories, 1944

Miscellaneous Corespondence

slug-London Residents-12 pg 1
By W. Earl Hall.
Globe Gazette Managing Editor 
Letter No. 1 
London - (Air Mail) This letter -- and that's what I want it to be -- is written from a hotel room in what has been, and I presume still is, the world's greatest city.
In the 3 days since my arrival here, mostly by air, I've visited many places which were familiar to me in either history of nursery rhymes. I've mingled with the crowds in the blackouts which have been nightly for 5 years.
All in all, I've seen a good bit of London considering the shortness of the time.  And in this first of a series of letters which will appear with considerable regularity in the month ahead, I'd like to give you some of my dominant impressions.
First of all, I've been amazed by the extent of the area which still bears scars -- deep scars-- from the blitzkrieg of 1940. 
Second-- second only in point of chronology--I've been amazed by the manner in which the Londoners have borne up under their nerve-wracking ordeal. 
I'm very sure I've walked 10 miles this day. My legs and feet tell me so.. In that whole distance I doubt that I've seen a dozen business blocks that do not bear some mark of bombing, from broken windows and minor "pockmarks" to complete obliteration. 
Hitler's bombers were really playing for keeps. Make no mistake about that. The area about St. Paul's cathedral in what is known as "Old London" is a scene of desolation such as I've never seen before. 
"How have the people of London come through such an experience?" you ask. And I think I can best answer that question by talking a bit about their reaction to those devilish creations known back home as robot bombs but almost universally referred to here as "doodle bugs."
On the occasions when direns wail and the pilotless planes drone over-head -- with a sound remarkably like that of a large truck laboring at the top of a long hill -- the average Londoner's attitude with respect to himself is suggestive of a person in a severe electrical storm.
"Somebody may get hit", he reasons, "but I'm quite sure it won't be me."
That, understand, is how this average Londoner feels about the "doodle bug" and his own chances of survival.  He refuses to scare.  He remembers the "blitz" of 4 years ago.  It was infinitely more terrifying.
But the average Londoner's feeling toward the little man with a mustache who stands back of this fiendish nuisance is something else.  Not alone Hitler but the German people are inviting the unrestrained wrath of the English people and all others who hold London in affection.
I once thought maybe we could civilize the Germans," said the doorman at my hotel one day after a bomb landed some 3 blocks away.  "but not any more.  They're the super-fiends, not the super-race."
That's how Londoners feel about their enemy in this war.  If at the peace table they're just a little low in their stock of mercy, it's going to be understandable at least to those who have observed at close-range this manifestation of an insane frustration.

Saving...

slug-London Residents-12 pg 1 By W. Earl Hall. Globe Gazette Managing Editor Letter No. 1 London - (Air Mail) This letter -- and that's what I want it to be -- is written from a hotel room in what has been, and I presume still is, the world's greatest city. In the 3 days since my arrival here, mostly by air, I've visited many places which were familiar to me in either history of nursery rhymes. I've mingled with the crowds in the blackouts which have been nightly for 5 years. All in all, I've seen a good bit of London considering the shortness of the time. And in this first of a series of letters which will appear with considerable regularity in the month ahead, I'd like to give you some of my dominant impressions. First of all, I've been amazed by the extent of the area which still bears scars -- deep scars-- from the blitzkrieg of 1940. Second-- second only in point of chronology--I've been amazed by the manner in which the Londoners have borne up under their nerve-wracking ordeal. I'm very sure I've walked 10 miles this day. My legs and feet tell me so.. In that whole distance I doubt that I've seen a dozen business blocks that do not bear some mark of bombing, from broken windows and minor "pockmarks" to complete obliteration. Hitler's bombers were really playing for keeps. Make no mistake about that. The area about St. Paul's cathedral in what is known as "Old London" is a scene of desolation such as I've never seen before. "How have the people of London come through such an experience?" you ask. And I think I can best answer that question by talking a bit about their reaction to those devilish creations known back home as robot bombs but almost universally referred to here as "doodle bugs." On the occasions when direns wail and the pilotless planes drone over-head -- with a sound remarkably like that of a large truck laboring at the top of a long hill -- the average Londoner's attitude with respect to himself is suggestive of a person in a severe electrical storm. "Somebody may get hit", he reasons, "but I'm quite sure it won't be me." That, understand, is how this average Londoner feels about the "doodle bug" and his own chances of survival. He refuses to scare. He remembers the "blitz" of 4 years ago. It was infinitely more terrifying. But the average Londoner's feeling toward the little man with a mustache who stands back of this fiendish nuisance is something else. Not alone Hitler but the German people are inviting the unrestrained wrath of the English people and all others who hold London in affection. I once thought maybe we could civilize the Germans," said the doorman at my hotel one day after a bomb landed some 3 blocks away. "but not any more. They're the super-fiends, not the super-race." That's how Londoners feel about their enemy in this war. If at the peace table they're just a little low in their stock of mercy, it's going to be understandable at least to those who have observed at close-range this manifestation of an insane frustration.