The Last Jump: A Novel of World War II by John E. Nevola

Author:John E. Nevola [Nevola, John E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.
Published: 2010-07-28T19:00:00+00:00

Chapter Forty-Three

London, England - May 2, 1944

“The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend.”

Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

The official name of the pub was The Queen’s Bazaar but it didn’t take long for the cocky young Americans to corrupt the name to the Queen’s Brassiere. It was a popular watering hole on Archer Street for GIs in London, due to its proximity to Piccadilly Circus. It was just one of the dozens of pubs within walking distance of the famous London Underground.

Nighttime in blacked-out London was always a busy and vibrant place with reckless young people continuously seeking fun and comfort. If they looked to dance the night away, there were favorites such as the Bow and Arrow, Charing Cross, The Cove and Gardens and the huge USO Club. If it was a special meal and ice-cold beer they sought, The American Bar in the Savoy Hotel was the best place in town.

Piccadilly Circus, the Times Square of London’s West End, was not a circus in the conventional sense and the name confused many GIs. Rather, having been derived from the Latin word for circle, it represented a large circular open space at a multiple road junction. The many roads that led into Piccadilly Circus made it one of the busiest intersections in the world. It was a main center for commerce, shopping, sightseeing, pubs and prostitution. The girls of the night were called Piccadilly Lilies or Piccadilly Commandos, depending on one’s experience with them.

With four tube entrances from the London Underground nearby, it was an easy place to get to. It regularly attracted the troops of many nations for the entertainment and distractions it provided. Troops who were massing for the invasion of Europe and who generally behaved as if there were no tomorrow, regularly swarmed Piccadilly Circus. The Queen’s Bazaar, along with the Windsor Dive, were paratrooper favorites.

Jake and Johnny hopped on a two-and-a-half-ton truck, called a “deuce-and-a-half”, for the nine-mile trip from Aldbourne to the nearest rail station in Swindon. From there it was a reasonably comfortable eighty-mile train ride on the Great Western Railway through the English countryside. When they reached London, they saw uniforms from many nations prowling the streets looking for fun or trouble, whichever came first. There were servicemen from the Allied navies of the world, infantry soldiers, tankers, rear echelon clerks, pilots and crewmen from the air forces and stevedores and drivers from the Service of Supply. Almost every branch from every Allied nation was suitably represented in the masses.

The two young paratroopers found the Queen’s Bazaar without difficulty. It was a large pub, crowded with mostly American GIs. Johnny saw shoulder patches from the 1st, 4th and 29th Infantry Divisions as well as the 82nd and 101st. Young English women carted warm pints of Guinness ale in and around the tables through the smoke-filled, loud and boisterous pub. The smell of cigarette smoke and beer made Jake instantly thirsty.

“Hey, Kilroys!” The loud voice from the back of the pub was distinctively Schuyler Johnson.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.