British world war 2 bride returning to London as tourist.

If your mom likes Agatha Christie plays, Witness for the Prosecution is opening in a unique venue.
Featuring Catherine Steadman (Downton Abbey) and David Yelland (who was in this week's Endeavour episode ~ U.S. airing).

http://www.witnesscountyhall.com/

She (and the rest of you) are true pieces of history, and congratulations to you all for being able to make this upcoming trip! IF you all wind up taking the Tube at all, hopefully the escalators will be working and it won't be too crowded! And hopefully some able-bodied male or female will be willing to offer her their seat!

Maybe she's been there and done that, but on our trip this June, we visited the Churchill War Rooms for the first time, and found the underground stronghold of the British War effort fascinating, including the displays showing how regular Londoners dealt with The Blitz and WWII. If she hasn't seen it, perhaps it would be worth a visit? You could spend hours there, plus at the adjacent Winston Churchill Museum, but the time there can be tailored to your time and energy. We wound up having to rush past the last part of the War Rooms to meet a lunch date. It's expensive, but, highly worthwhile, and she might have an opportunity to relive and reflect on that part of her life. As I recall, everything's on one level, with no stairs, steps, lifts, or ramps.

This is great! Take her here for afternoon tea and some take home as well: https://www.fortnumandmason.com/stores/piccadilly. And why not go all the way? Contact Buckingham Palace and ask if she can meet a royal. The worst they can say is no!

Churchill War Rooms sound like a great idea altho there is a flight of steps down in to the bunker area. Once there it is all on one level.

Have a wonderful, wonderful time!

My mom and dad were 18 years old during World War II and lived in East Anglia which had many US bases. The war was very much on their minds even as they grew old and pasted away. It was a very vivid memory for them both. In 1989 I married a US serviceman who has now retired from the Military. We have been married 27 years and live in the Midwest. My youngest daughter is 21 and in college. I travel to England on a regular basis (in between teaching at a high school). This story makes me cry - it will be me when I am old! It is so wonderful that you are taking the time to travel with her. London will be tiring for her what ever you decide to do. So limiting the time is important. I think she will just enjoy looking at all the wonderful sights. Tower Bridge, Houses of Parliament, and Buckingham Palace. All will be special to her. I am sure her British family has many ideas on where to take her locally. You don't say what part of the country she is from. I usually spend one day in London and then spend my time in the villages. Perhaps a nice stately home with a wonderful English flower garden would be something she would like. There are many national trust places around the country to enjoy. Have a wonderful time.

I also agree with Alan. Write a letter to the Palace or at least a local TV station or local newspaper to cover the story of her visit.

Take her to the area of London she is from. If you let us know where this is, we maybe able to assist further.

The London Transport Museum in Covent Garden will bring back memories.

Fortnum & Mason, surely not? Kensington Palace for tea (or breakfast or lunch)!! http://www.orangerykensingtonpalace.co.uk/afternoon-tea/ no guarantees on who you may get a glimpse of nearby but it's still an address you can talk about.

London Eye?? https://www.londoneye.com/

Parliament, it's an idea, depends on date, they are off at conferences for much of October.

Question to start a train of thought. Which schools did she attend, and are they still there...........

And which airline might we blag an upgrade out of??? Or a limo into London.

Wonderful!! You are to be applauded for doing this for your mom. Since she lived there during the war, the Churchill War Rooms showing how the people of London dealt with WWII and The Blitz should be considered. Note that I deliberately said "considered" because she lived through it and may not want to revisit those memories. I'd definitely speak with her to get her thoughts on what could be a touchy subject. Another thought is that since she is returning as "a tourist", what about a side trip to Bath or another place she'd like to go. Bottom line, whatever your mom wants should be the main consideration. Hope she has a wonderful trip.

My Mother also aWWII bride, amazing history there.

I was just in London in July. I highly recommend The Wallace Collection Museum. They have a fab quiet, peaceful gazebo restaurant that serves tea, lunch, dinner. Ck them out online . museum is free and u can see just a few rooms if u wish or just go for tea. They are very close to Portsmouth sq.
It is one of my favorite places to visit and have a meal.

The Wallace Collection is near Manchester Square. As far as I am aware, there is no Portsmouth Square in London.

Its not a million miles from Portman Square though....

Thank you all for your suggestions. Mom grew up in London and spent the war years driving an ambulance for the London Auxiliary Ambulance Corp. and has told us many stories of her experiences during the blitz. I have tried to find some old documentation for that unit by alas, found hardly anything. There appears to be much information on drivers for the Red Cross but almost nil for the Auxiliary; the Auxiliary being a sort of rag tag group, comprised almost entirely of women. I love the idea about writing to Buckingham Palace. I know she's never taken the tour they offer and have plans to purchase tickets for it. On one of their earlier trips they've done Churchill's War Room as well as The Eye, Bath and Oxford. How might I alert BA to her? I am not on Instagram.

I am thinking that if you contact the Imperial War Museum they might have some information on the Ambulance Auxilary.

Excellent responses so far.

You didn't mention when you were going so if see if you can still book a tour of Parliament and reserve having tea there. Like the floor of the US Senate it's always amazing to see how small the rooms where laws are debated and passed actually are.

Did that 2 years ago. Still memorable. Costly but well worth the money. And you aren't moving. Seated with a lovely view of the Thames to enjoy while devouring food and sipping your tea.

I think all of you would enjoy visiting the Sir John C. Ritblatt room , aka, The Treasure Room at the British Library. There is a nice cafe for a respite.

Definitely an evening of theatre.

Check www.theatremonkey.com to see what will be on during your travel dates.

Forget The Book Of Mormon though unless she was a fan of Benny Hill AND Monty Python.

Honestly, if none of you have seen Phantom of the Opera it's worth it.

As your dates draw closer check out Timeout London on line. Will have up to date info on what's on in the museums, galleries, theatre, etc. Might be something totally unique happening that you'd never thought of seeing.

Have a wonderful trip!

London Auxiliary Ambulance Service (not Corps) was run by London County Council as a supplement to their full time service. They may have been volunteers with adapted, commandeered vehicles but they were not rag tag! The LCC service is a direct predecesor of the current London Ambulance Service, really only names and political reporting lines have changed. Do you know which base she worked out of (address or number)?

The IWM and National Archives may have a few documents but probably due to links to other matters. The main London Ambulance archives (don't get excited, not much was kept) are at https://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll/1504777177?SEARCH&EXP=REFD+%22LCC~2FPH~2FWAR~2F03%22 but you have to visit to read them, only the index is online.

almost every area has a local history group, it just needs an address to get things started.

I'm wondering whether she could visit the nearest current ambulance base and meet modern paramedics, the LAS public realtions people might help, maybe with a nudge from local MP or MLA. And they would ask BBC London if they would like to do 3 minutes for the evening news, and they might ask BA if they could film her arriving......

As she lived through the Blitz, perhaps she would like to visit or attend a service at St. Paul's Cathedral.

My grandmother was a war bride and after their divorce she took my mom & aunt back to England for 10 years then they all moved back to US and she became a citizen. We are taking my mother with us one our first trip to U.K. My grandmother died 5 years ago. I am jealous of your opportunity to take her. I would have loved to see England through my grandmother's eyes. She was in the ATF.

I followed this thread with great interest as I was able to take my only living relative from my parents' generation (my mothers youngest sister who is in her late 80s) on a tour similar to the one you describe. It was domestic (here in the US) but she loved it. Regarding the Ambulance Auxiliary and some possible links to the WWII years you might look at enter link description here Scroll down to Volunteers Supporting the London Ambulance Service. Perhaps if you could locate a current-day volunteer, one (or more) might be of help to you. Volunteers are a special lot and most are passionate about what they do. I don't think it is far-fetched to think one might have some personal information they kept from a parent or grandparent. Possibly some photographs. I sincerely hope you can find something.

Jon
PS Did your mother attend a church that is still standing and used as a church? What about the place where she and your dad met? If not the exact place, at least the neighborhood. Has she ever mentioned where she and her beau (you father) might have had a picnic in one of the London parks? If so, a picnic there with the family might be nice.

I just wanted to let you all know we had a lovely trip and all our work to plan an easy trip with Mom's needs in mind paid off, The weather was also great. Our apartment obviously wasn't available upon arrival in town by 10 so we started off our morning with breakfast and a leisurely walk until it was at noon. In anticipation of a long first day we planned any easy one by reserving seats for an afternoon high tea on http://london.b-bakery.com/afternoon-tea/afternoon-tea-bus-tour/. This is a perfect arrival day activity, that long day, I highly recommend it whether or not you have ever been to London. It lasts for about 1 1/2 hours and service was great; the high tea served was perfect. They run frequently starting at Victoria Station. On another day we went to the Walkie Talkie building to see the Sky Garden. What a fabulous view from the balcony out onto all of London. The gardens there were lovely also but really 2nd place to the view. We took it slowly with Mom and ended up a light lunch there just taking in the view. On our last day we took the Rover boat trip down the Thames, the boat having ample indoor and outdoor sitting The roundtrip took about 2 1/2 hours. The remaining 3 days was spent having such a fun time with the extended British family for meals and just hanging out with us at the apartment. While there were bittersweet moments for Mom, she had a wonderful time and is so glad to have done it. She still talks about it. One tip, when traveling with someone that old, whether or not they think they need it, request a wheel chair from checkin to the gate and upon arrival. The assigned gates can be at the end of the terminal and immigration can take a long time, if you're in a wheelchair they take the entire family straight through, no waiting in line. Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

So glad the trip went well, and that your Mum had a splendid visit! Cheers to you all.

Suspect it was afternoon tea (sandwiches, cakes etc) that you had rather than "high" tea.

I am so glad you got back on the forum to let us know all went well. Sounds like you all had a wonderful time - what a great story and thank you for taking her back to visit. I am sure it was very emotional at times. My mother was in WWII and passed away in 2014. I used to take her back into London - but towards the end of her life it got very hard as she was confined to a wheel chair. She just loved the City. So glad you took the opportunity to take her back.

Margaret