War History – ww2 Europe

A Brief History of Red Cross Clubmobile Service

The (American) Red Cross Club mobile Service was a mobile service club created during World War II to provide servicemen with food, entertainment and “a connection home.” The Club mobile was conceived by Harvey D. Gibson, a prominent New York banker and American Red Cross Commissioner to Great Britain, as a way to reach servicemen in airfields, camps and other theaters of war. All of the services provided by the Club mobile were free, although some Club mobiles began charging for food after 1942. The original Club mobiles operated from late 1942 until 1946, traveling all throughout Great Britain and Europe. Women who volunteered for the Club mobiles were popularly referred to as “donut dollies,” since one of their biggest tasks was making doughnuts for the servicemen.

The first Club mobile was a British Ford in October 1942, Clubmobiles began operation in Great Britain, eventually covering some thirty bases and docks at Liverpool, Greenoch, Scotland, and Belfast, Ireland. The vehicles were quickly outfitted by the women staffers who asked to be supplied with Victrola’s, records, gum, candy, cigarettes and first aid kits. In 1943, the first Club mobiles were remodeled London Green Line buses driven by an English driver and operated by three American women. Each Club mobile was fitted with a kitchen consisting of a built-in doughnut machine and a primus stove for heating water for coffee. One side of the kitchen opened out for serving food and drinks, while the rear of the Club mobile consisted of a “lounge” area with built-in benches that also doubled as sleeping bunks. The lounge also contained a Victrola with loud speakers, current music records, books, candy, gum and cigarettes.

In preparation for the invasion of Normandy, June, 1944, a smaller, 2-1/2-ton GMC truck was converted to a club mobile, with the necessary kitchen containing doughnut machine, coffee urns and the like. Close to one hundred of them were made ready. Red Cross girls who had worked on the larger club mobile in Great Britain, were given driving instruction in order to manage the truck club mobile. As soon after the invasion that it was safe to send Red Cross personnel onto the Continent, ten groups of 32 Red Cross girls each, along with eight club mobiles per group, a cinemobile, three supply trucks, trailers and three British Hillman trucks, were sent to France to be attached to various US Army Corps.. Like the original Club mobiles, these trucks were also fitted with mini-kitchens. After the invasion, ten groups of Red Cross Club mobile girls with eight Club mobiles per group were sent into France. From then on out, the Club mobiles traveled with the rear echelon of the Army Corps and received their orders from the Army.

The Red Cross required the Club mobile volunteers to be between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five, have some college education and work experience, and to be “healthy, physically hardy, sociable and attractive.” The women who worked the Club mobiles were stationed in a town near American Army installations and traveled to a different army base each day. They learned how to make doughnuts and coffee in a Club mobile kitchen, and would then drive around the base, chatting with the servicemen, handing out snacks, and playing music.

The Club mobile volunteers continued their service throughout France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and Germany until V-E Day in 1945, and provided limited service in Great Britain and Germany until 1946. A variation of the Club mobiles would also operate during the Korean War. During the Vietnam War, a similar program operated as Supplemental Recreation Overseas Program.

Thanks to Wikipedia and Elma Ernst Fay

(more pictures at cemeteries special)

AMERICAN RESTCENTERS 1944-1945

Heerlen was liberated by American troops on September 17, 1944. The Heerlen population applauded the liberators after four long years of oppression by Hitler-Germany. Many American soldiers had faced an unyielding enemy who would not surrender easily. From June 1944, many American soldiers were scarred by combat. The Allied High Command realized that Hitler’s Germany could not continue the war for much longer. Therefore, it was decided to pay attention to the integration of American soldiers into society. To begin with, American soldiers had to rest and get acquainted with ‘normal’ civilian society. Rest centers were specially set up to rest soldiers, both physically and mentally. Some soldiers recovered physically in those rest areas, mentally it was a different story. The war had left many scars and many American soldiers had traumatic experiences.

The American Red Cross received a request from Washington to set up recreational centers behind the fronts to accommodate leavers returning from the front. From 1943 ‘service clubs’ were founded for British soldiers. Rest centers were established from June 1944. In Maastricht, Valkenburg and Heerlen, among others. In Heerlen, American soldiers could enjoy a three-day rest period. Free meals were provided. American soldiers who stayed in Heerlen had to adhere to a dress code: neat suits with ties were required. The Oranje-Nassau I offered the soldiers the opportunity to take a shower. Restcenter Heerlen was founded by the 9th Army (Ninth Army). With the help of an identification card, American soldiers could use the many services of Restcenter Heerlen: meals, films, performances, etc. Restcenter Heerlen functioned from the end of 1944 before the Ardennes offensive and then continuously until the end of August 1945. Restcenter Heerlen consisted of several buildings, some examples follow.

The ‘GI-Round Up-Beergarden’ was located at 48 Saroleastraat. This was a former café ‘UNION’ of J. Schiffers. The Beergarden opened daily at 1:00 PM and closed at 9:00 PM. The total staff consisted of 24 persons including a ‘civilian manager’. It was headed by a staff sergeant. The entrance to the Beergarden was only for American soldiers, English soldiers were not allowed in. At the Saroleastraat 40-42 ‘The Sugar Bowl’ was located, an ice cream shop (Ice Cream Bar). In 1945 the Lunchroom Patisserie Verheugen-Janssen was renamed Ice Cream Bar. Windows at the front were painted white because they looked at the equipment differently. ‘The Officers Club’ was located at number 14 Saroleastraat. The Neerlandia Hotel was located in this building. Hotel Neerlandia was a hotel where officers stayed. ‘The Finance Office’ was located at 8 Saroleastraat. Fashion store Hollekamp was located here. The Finance Office was located under the building. Soldiers could arrange their financial affairs here. Tickets were provided for films in the Hollandia Theater. Meals were served for American soldiers in ‘Ruto’s Café’ (corner of Promenade department store V&D). Civil servants from the various Restcenter branches could also eat here.

For the American soldiers who arrived in Heerlen, a map was drawn up in which Restcenter Heerlen (and its premises) were indicated. The main buildings and facilities are mentioned: Railway Station, Royal Theater, Jewish Synagogue, Post Office, G.I. Round-Up (beer), Hollandia Theater, Ruto’s Café, Neerlandia Hotel, St. Pancratius Church, Red Cross Donut Dugout, Protestant Church, Military Police, Miami Hotel, Grand Hotel (Officers), Paramount Theater, Los Angeles Hotel, showering at the ON-I, New York Hotel, Catholic Church, HRC Swimming Pool, Heerlen – Biltmore, Houston Hotel, Philadelphia Hotel, Catholic Church, Emergency Room, Barber Shop, The Windmill, Sugar Bowl (Ice Cream). The Hollandia Theater screened American films such as ‘Ministry of Fear’, ‘Practically Yours’ and ‘Suspect’.

Thanks to;

Rijckheit, Center for Regional History and

Pauwels, P (2004). A walk along the former buildings of Rest Center Heerlen 1944-1945. Municipality of Heerlen.

(for pictures see cemeteries special)