FOR WOMEN BRIDES MARCH

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 250, 22 October 1945, Page 3

FOR WOMEN BRIDES MARCH

"WE WANT SHIPS ,, HUSBANDS IN AMERICA LONDON, Oct. 17. Babies cried and their mothers booed and hooted when 2000 Britishborn wives of American servicemen gathered at Caxton Hall, Westminster, for a "Get Us To America" meeting. • Mounted and foot police had to be called because the meeting room held only 150 and the police had to link arms to stop the rush of women. Wives who could not get into the meeting held an indignant protest meeting on the pavement and held up traffic. Many had travelled long distances to London and some brought their babies. inside the meeting room booings and hootings continually interrupted Commander Herbert Agar, representing the American Ambassador (Mr. John Winant). Apologetically, he told the brides that he couldn't give a date for their departure and blamed the American authorities. Crying babies increased the commander's embarrassment. The wives incessantly shouted questions, "Why were there priorities for film stars?" "Why couldn't 50 of us go in a troopship?" The most popular suggestion was that the 54,000 brides of American servicemen should each subscribe a fiver and buy a ship. The meeting decided to send a resolution urging the sending of wives to America "to improve AngloAmerican relations" to the American Commission which recently arrived to try to solve the brides' problem. After the meeting the brides marched down Whitehall, chanting: "We want ships!" They marched to the American headquarters in Grosvenor Square, where they continued chanting. Representatives of 34,000 brides of Dominion and other Empire troops, who want to get abroad to their husbands, joined in the demonstration.