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CHAPTER 7.
AN ULSTER WELCOME

Few people in Northern Ireland at the dawn of 1942 realised that within a month they would welcome the fighting men from the New World. Few realised that with their coming the Ulster people themselves would have a great opportunity for making of these eager troops, thousands of miles away from home, unofficial ambassadors of Ulster in the America of the post-war years. This was actually what happened for the traditional hospitality of the Ulster people never found fuller expression than in their warm-hearted reception of the American soldiers, sailors and airmen, to all of whom Northern Ireland was the first part of the United Kingdom which they ever saw.

The preceding chapter gives a fair indication of the number of American troops who were posted here for training on the way to the battlegrounds of Africa and Europe, and it also gives some idea of the efforts of the American authorities themselves to provide educational and recreational facilities for their men. It can be readily appreciated, however, that although the American Red Cross Service Clubs, brilliant organisations of their kind, and the Special 2, Service organisations attached to units filled a great need, they left a very wide gap in the provision of hospitality in the off-duty hours for thousands of American fighting men. It was into this gap that the many hospitality committees established in Northern Ireland quickly stepped and, by dint of careful planning, hard work, the help of countless volunteers and the Ulster people generally, created for our Allies an atmosphere of real hospitality and friendliness. The Ministry could not claim that all the happiness that the off-duty Americans enjoyed in Northern Ireland was the prerogative of their committees. It was, in fact, the ordinary Ulster people themselves, with whom the Americans made friends and who opened their homes, and in many cases their hearts, that really made the task of providing home and organised hospitality easier. It will never be possible to judge the extent of the private hospitality offered to Americans in this Region, and this is a pity because on these unknown friendships and understandings built up between the Americans and the Ulster people the success of international relations on a higher plane ultimately depends. But that the Ministry's committees filled a great need was abundantly proved by the success that attended their voluntary efforts, particularly in the later stages of the war when they had learned from earlier experience that the less official and more “free and easy” hospitality became a the better.

It was an entirely new field of activity assuming the pleasant duty of providing hospitality for an Army, and the early approach to the problem may have had its weak spots. At first it was decided to provide the Americans through their Special Service officers with lists of prospective hosts and hostesses, at the same time entertaining the hope that these men would accept this hospitality. It was not long, however, before the Ministry and the committees learned all about the normal American's aversion to “blind dates”. These problems were, however, settled later for one aspect of the committees’ work involved the organisation of dances and “get together” parties and it was discovered that when American soldiers attended these functions - and they did in very large numbers - they made friends of their own and home hospitality was the natural outcome. Therefore the importance of the lists decreased, but the committees’ interest in home hospitality never died, because in the first instance they had arranged the dances and parties and had invited the partners whose homes were later to become always open to American soldiers.

We have digressed slightly in describing the experiences of the committees without first pointing out the different framework on which the committees were set up in Northern Ireland compared with the rest of the United Kingdom. The Ministry of Information was not solely responsible for the establishment of committees, for the Northern Ireland Government was deeply interested in the welfare of British and Allied Services and played a very large part in making all the Americans, from high ranking generals to the humblest G.I., happy in their area. There was a Government committee under the chairmanship of Sir Basil Brooke responsible for troop welfare and the Regional Information Officer co-operated with this committee and brought the Ministry's scheme into operation here as an adjunct to the already strenuous efforts being made by the Northern Ireland Government.

The establishment of the hospitality committees, however, was undertaken by the Regional Officer and he was present at the inaugural meeting of every committee in Northern Ireland, of which there were forty-five at the peak period. In the first instance Sir Basil Brooke asked Lady Stronge, Chairman of the W.V.S. in Northern Ireland, to undertake the organisation of private hospitality for American and British Forces. The Regional Information Officer, therefore, co-operated with Lady Stronge and explained the type of organisation set up in Great Britain under the aegis of the Ministry of Information.

The first joint conference on the subject was held in September, 1942, and where everyone was working for the same great cause, success was assured. Following the meeting the R.I.O., accompanied by Lady Stronge, made a number of long journeys into outlying parts of Northern Ireland and at each meeting he and Lady Stronge spoke to representative citizens who had previously been invited to the meeting. It was no small task to cover the area in a short time, driving at night in black-out conditions and answering countless queries from townspeople before committees could be started. But late in October, 1942, committees had been established in Lurgan (Co. Armagh), Lisburn (Co. Antrim), Holywood (Co. Down), Enniskillen (Co. Fermanagh), Bangor (Co. Down), and Omagh (Co. Tyrone). Early in November committees were formed at Londonderry, Downpatrick (Co. Down), Ballymena (Co. Antrim), and Armagh - a growing organisation on defined and solid lines.

The procedure in the establishment of the committees was the same in all cases. Attendances varied, but in most cases there was an evident desire on the part of local residents to do everything possible to make the stay of the American troops a great experience. There was little difficulty in securing voluntary officers for committees and subsequent events proved that all these officers readily took on a task which involved them in a great deal of strenuous work. The committees, once established, had the continued help and guidance of the Ministry of Information - the only Government Department which supported them financially - and in this Region every committee was aware of the activities of the other committees, for each month the Regional Officer prepared a digest of committee reports and this was duplicated and circularised to all committees in operation in the Region. The Ministry, therefore, created a sort of family of hospitality workers and the exchange of information regarding the progress of the work was a spur to those committees which had not achieved the same measure of success in their work as some of their neighbours.

In dealing with voluntary organisations like hospitality committees it is not right to compare the success of one committee against another, but it can be said that the allocation of United States troops to different parts of the Region meant that the hospitality calls on some committees were far heavier than on others and that these committees had, therefore, a greater opportunity to shine in their sphere of activity than their less fortunate colleagues. This was most marked in the case of the Enniskillen area, where there was a great weight of American soldiers and British troops and R.A.F. personnel, and at Londonderry where there was a constant flow of U.S. Navy personnel and Marines, who shared the giant naval base there with the British Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy. These two areas had an immense task in the hospitality field and some of the other areas, notably Omagh, Downpatrick, Portrush and Bangor, had at times a heavy task in meeting the hospitality needs of our American visitors. In Belfast the task was not so onerous as the American Red Cross Service Club catered for hundreds of Americans and their facilities were always on the highest level.

It is not possible to capture in a few cold words the spirit of the committees or the extent of the work that they did. The following extract taken at random from a monthly report of the work of committees in this Region in October, 1944, gives an idea of the nature of the committees’ work. From Enniskillen it was reported that an influx of troops into the area had increased the activities of the committee. The Secretary reported:- “The weekly dance still remains the highlight of the committee's activities. In spite of the fact that the military and other units are stationed out of town and that transport facilities are limited, the dances grew to such dimensions that we were reluctantly compelled to limit the number attending. The next dance 248 will be the fortieth of the series. Plans are being made for bridge drives and brains trusts. Tours of the country have enabled the troops to see the scenic beauties of the neighbourhood. Visits to places of historic interest in the town have also been popular. The military themselves are starting dances and the hospitality committee is co-operating in publicity and in the provision of partners. The voluntary canteens, after five years’ service, continue their excellent work. Churches help with their after-service entertainment each Sunday evening. People are still providing the “Home from home” for the Services.” This is no exceptional report. From all areas similar word pictures were given, with no hint of the hours spent in planning and running the many functions.

From Bangor, in County Down, there were constant reports of wide home hospitality for the Americans and of the organisation by the local committee of day trips from the American Red Cross Club to Newcastle, Co. Down. At Downpatrick there were regular visits by conducted parties to the beauty spots of the area and famous homes in the neighbourhood. At Portrush the committee co-operated with the American Club and arranged many very successful large-scale dances and also worked hard to bring entertainment facilities to Americans at outlying stations in the area.

A lot of the greatest unsung work done by committees was in the personal contact established with new units as they were posted into remote areas and in this way the newcomers immediately felt that they had come among friends and that there were many local residents anxious to entertain them. A personal approach to these problems was an outstanding feature of the committees’ work.

A pressing problem throughout the war was that of transport and this was particularly marked in the Enniskillen area, but it was overcome by the willingness of the Americans themselves to co-operate with the committee. The Americans provided much of the transport from the shores of Lough Erne into Enniskillen and at one time they were collecting members of the R.A.F. and W.A.A.F. in American transport and bringing them along to the dances with them.

The problem was more marked when the Americans left - and with them the transport - but happily the Ministry was able, though late in the war, to secure a re-arrangement of existing bus services in the area to accommodate Service personnel attending committee dances in the town. There were many other problems, including the provision of crockery, cookers, furniture, dance bands and musical instruments, and in meeting and countering these many difficulties the committees really made a great contribution to the very high reputation which the Region as a whole gained for its welcome of the Americans.

The members of the committees and the Ulster people themselves would be the last persons to claim that their work for Americans surpassed that of other Regions in the United Kingdom, but judging by the number of American soldiers who returned to Northern Ireland from Europe and from England there was a widespread and evident desire on the part of these men to revisit their friends here. The appreciation of the Ministry was perhaps inadequately expressed on V.E. Day by the Regional Officer in a letter to committees. The Regional Information Officer wrote as follows:-

“At this historic time for which we have been waiting so long I am writing on behalf of the Minister of Information, the staff of the Ministry and myself to express to you our deep gratitude for your continued support and outstanding work in providing hospitality for members of the United States and Allied forces, who have been stationed in Northern Ireland during the course of the European war.

“United States troops first landed in this part of the United Kingdom in January, 1942, and since that time the work of the Hospitality Committees in all parts of the Province has been a major contributory factor in making the Service personnel of our great Allies real friends of Ulster.

In no part of the United Kingdom has hospitality for our American visitors been on so generous a scale and in no part has the home atmosphere been so successfully created. It is generally agreed that the Americans who have been stationed here are eager to return at the first possible opportunity to renew the friendships already made.”

The letter received an immediate response from committees offering their services if ever required in the future to entertain Americans. In fact, so numerous were requests for “something to do” that it was with a feeling of regret that the Ministry had to advise the committees that the Americans were coming in progressively smaller numbers to Northern Ireland.

I think we may well conclude this short survey of an immense task by giving extracts from speeches by United States generals at a ceremony when the U.S. Army officially said farewell to Northern Ireland on August 6th, 1945.

Lieut. General J.C.H. Lee, who sent a message to the Governor for transmission to the people of Northern Ireland, said:-

“The ties that have bound us through the centuries have been strengthened through our living together, training together, and fighting on to victory in a common cause. All of this has been made possible and indeed, inevitable, through the warm-hearted, unselfish welcome and co-operation we have received at your hands. Typical of the fine British partnership has been the initial reception and unfailing understanding of the people and Government of Northern Ireland.”

Major General W.M. Robertson, Commanding 15th U.S. Corps, said:-

“Speaking personally and on behalf of the United States Army and Government, I take extreme pleasure in expressing appreciation for the many contributions made by Northern Ireland to us, ranging from your outstanding and continuous hospitality to your unfailing aid in our preparation for invasion and prosecution of the war from your bases.”

Brigadier General E.F. Koenig, Commanding the United Kingdom Base U.S. Army, said:-

“Here in Northern Ireland many thousands of American boys have received a welcome that made the separations from their loved ones and homes in the United States more easy to bear. You took them into your homes, and helped them in every possible way, despite inconveniences to yourselves.”

And, finally, the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Sir Basil Brooke, expressed the sentiments of all Ulster people, and the members of the hospitality committees in particular, when he said:-

“We are happy to have you Americans in our homes, and you entertained us in the trans-Atlantic tradition. Ulster children will never forget how the American Santa Claus swept into our scanty wartime Christmas with colossal parties, incredible food and toys. Your generosity to children touched everyone's heart.....”

“Your American forces are leaving us. For their sakes we are glad that they will see their homes again. But remember, the greatest compliment they can pay us is to come back - and a hearty welcome awaits them.”