Machell - Cast No Stones

Prologue

Following Americas entry into the Second World War in December 1941, there began a massive build-up of American troops and equipment into the United Kingdom. By the time of the D-Day landings in June 1944, approximately two and a half million American service personnel were stationed on these shores. This number represented almost five per cent of the UKs total population at that time. To put it another way, one in every twenty people in the country were American military personnel.

This was to have a major impact on the lives of the British people - a brand new chapter in the countrys social history was written. Inevitably, romances blossomed between the American servicemen and British women. The attraction was mutual. To the young British women, the Americans were like a breath of fresh air. They had plenty of money to spend, and they brought vitality at a time when the British girls were more than ready for a little fun and adventure. Equally, the American troops, who were very far from their homes, family and friends, were not slow to appreciate the reception being given to them by the British girls. By the end of the war many had married American servicemen and following the war they sailed off to a new life in America as GI Brides. Many women became pregnant by their American lovers and were left behind - literally holding the baby! An estimated eight thousand illegitimate children were born to American servicemen stationed in this country between 1942 and 1945.

After the war the Americans returned home. For the British, life slowly returned to normal. For some, particularly the couples involved in the wartime relationships and their offspring, nothing was ever going to be normal again. It is against this background that the story unfolds. This is the story of one of those illegitimate children.

It is my story - I was one of those children.