A group of Warrington women, who became known as the Burtonwood GI Brides are pictured at the White Hart pub, prior to embarking on a new life across the Atlantic.
Now Aldon Ferguson, founder and UK President of the Burtonwood Association, is seeking help in identifying the women ahead of next year’s UK Reunion.
Aldon said: “The photograph shows a group of GI Brides who married GIs from Burtonwood but had to wait until after the war before they could travel across the Atlantic.
“It was taken in the White Hart Hotel in Warrington in late 1945. They travelled to the US in large groups, many on the Queen Elizabeth or Queen Mary, to New York where they were initially met by their husbands.
“The authorities then stopped that and told the husbands not to travel to New York to meet them. Instead they gave the brides, often with children, train tickets and sent them all over the US to their new homes. It must have been quite an ordeal as they had never left home before, never been to the US and many had never seen their husbands in civilian clothes as they were always in uniform.
“They had a new family to go to and could only communicate with home by letter. Most marriages survived and we still have many GI brides as members of the Burtonwood Association. They do however, tell stories of how hard it was at first although they were generally welcomed into the family. The only problem would be when the GI told them he lived in a huge ranch in Texas and they found him in a poor district in Chicago or similar!”
Aldon added: “Of course many , many marriages continued after the Americans came back to Burtonwood in 1948 and still continued right into the 1980’s to the US Army personnel there.
“We are having our next Reunion in Warrington in May 2020 with the slogan ‘2020 – Looking Forward’ and we will have several GI brides join us then.
“It would be wonderful if anyone can name any of the brides on this photo.
The photograph came from Edith Kratzer (front row, 4th from left) who married in 1951 but she entitled it ‘War Brides 1945’ so the date is questionable. She was nee Astle, married Mack Kratzer Jr (7540th Maintenance Group Depot, Feb 49 – Feb 52) at Warrington Registrar’s Office on 4 October 1951. Edith worked on the base as a telephone operator for four years 1948 – 1952. Mack died 3 Oct 1996. Edith was last known to be living at, Kokomo, IN.
