[MUSIC PLAYING]
After three years of war, the
familiar outlines of London
are much the same.
But there are many new
and unfamiliar sights
in the streets.
Affairs of State in
Whitehall have a new urgency.
For here is the organising
centre of the British
Commonwealth and the
free world at war.
The Allied servicemen have
settled down pretty quickly,
and for the time being, feel
that London is their home.
Under Nelson's Column
in Trafalgar Square,
one sees the uniforms
of 20 different nations.
London thrills to see the
growing forces in her midst
and welcomes them, just as
one September morning in 1942,
she welcomed the
first American troops
as they marched
through the city.
The cinemas of Leicester
Square are open,
but precautions for the safety
of London are maintained.
Emergency water tanks spill out
the defiant symbol of victory.
And though scarred, London
still presents a smiling face.
Ruins there are, but
there is also new life.
Out of the danger has arisen
a great citizen army, a home
guard, clerks, factory
hands, bank managers
are trained in the
very streets they
may one day have to defend.
Weapons are made from the
railings London has sacrificed.
Children like the idea.
A park without railings reminds
them of the open country.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
In 1942, even children help
with the salvage campaigns.
Today, every man, woman,
and child has a job to do.
Youths under military age
give up their weekends
to train in the park for
future service with the RAF.
Across the grass,
soldiers and workers
take an hour or two off.
They can relax with a free
mind because others are always
on the alert.
No petrol to waste
means holidays at home.
And this summer, all
the fun of the fair
was brought right into
the heart of London.
Holidays for some,
but duty for others.
Everyone is growing
food wherever they can.
Acres of allotments have
been cut into London's parks
and gardens.
Exhibition allotments
show beginners
how to get the most
out of their plots,
and food is grown in all
sorts of unexpected places.
On a roof garden high
above the city streets,
vegetables grow
amongst the flowers.
Men of the National Fire
Service make good use
of a battered basement.
Allotments and pig clubs
ease the food situation.
And rationing ensures that
everyone gets a fair share,
no matter where they shop.
Communal feeding is
a wartime economy.
British restaurants
and canteens have been
established all over London.
This was once a college.
Now 2,000 lunches are
served here daily.
Labour is voluntary, the
meals are supplied at cost,
and all types of Londoners
take advantage of the service.
[CHATTER]
Meal time in wartime is
also recreation time.
Inside the National Gallery,
world famous musicians
give luncheon concerts
of classical music,
whilst on the steps
and lawn outside,
office workers eat
their midday meal.
And in factory canteens, a
laugh and a song at mealtime
renews the workers'
energies for more long hours
at the machines.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
(SINGING) Are you not so sweet?
Does your stomach sag?
Do you lack technique?
No need to be a clinging thigh.
You too can have
a body like mine.
[APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Women mobilised into
Warwick, lock up their homes,
and hand over their children
to communal nurseries
while they go off
to do their jobs.
While the mothers work, the
children play and grow strong.
The most striking
change in London's life
has been brought about by
the mobilisation of women.
In Downing Street, the
efforts of the people
are coordinated in
terms of world strategy
at the house of
the Prime Minister.
Here the statesman and service
chiefs of the United Nations
meet in the cabinet
room to set their seal
on the covenants which pledged
them to the common cause.
London in 1942 is the hub
of the Allied war effort,
and Buckingham Palace is
the background for a display
of Britain's growing strength.
Dusk falls over London.
With darkness
comes the blackout.
Gone for the present are the
bright lights of Leicester
Square and Piccadilly.
But behind the blackout is
warmth and companionship.
[CHATTER]
Come on, everybody.
(SINGING) I'll call again
said it, and don't forget it.
Scan the horizon
and the open sea.
Watch for the little boats
and watch for Johnny.
I'll be back, I'll be back--
Theatres ring to the old songs,
while the night shifts are
taking over in the factories.
The machines must never stop.
And all the time, the
defenders are on guard.
In basements and cellars, the
civil defence forces settle
down to all-night duty.
(SINGING) And the open sea.
Watch for the little boats
and watch for Johnny.
I'll be back, I'll
be back, said he.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
If the raiders come again,
London will be ready.
And as his turn comes round,
every able-bodied Londoner
stays after work to fire watch.
He is the ordinary citizen, one
of the worldwide brotherhood
of men and women who
will work and watch fight
until the lights go up again
over a world freed from
want and fear.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
