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| The Black Swan pub (on left) from a 1930s postcard. Click for larger image. |
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| The Black Swan today, courtesy of Google Maps. |
“We went to a place called ‘The Black Swan.’ We called it ‘The Dirty Duck.’” Guinness Stout was the drink of choice. Corty was amused by the long-handled English taps. “It’s funny, you go into these places, and they have these long handles for the beer. The beer was warm! I guess they didn’t make it cold until after the GIs came.” Cold or not, the beer flowed freely. Drunk Americans stumbling home at night were liable to be picked up by the local authorities. “Our CO [commanding officer] didn’t want that. He liked his beer too. He appointed MPs to help the guys back to their barracks, instead of jail or the stockade. I never drank too much, so I could find my way back.” —Longshore Soldiers, p. 50.
I talked to the other veterans, did a little Googling, and think I found the right place. There's a Black Swan at 92 Stoke Lane, Westbury-On-Trym, Bristol, BS9 3SP. The Bristol area has two pubs by this name, but this one is a short distance to the homes in Stoke Bishop where the GIs were billeted. At the time of publication (2010) I was unsuccessful in finding a photograph of the pub in the 1940s, so I made the the little drawing at the left to print in my book.
This month a retired staff member of the city library in Bristol emailed me the top photo of Stoke Lane. It comes from a 1930s postcard which was reproduced in the book Westbury on Trym, Henleaze, Westbury Park : on old postcards by Janet and Derek Fisher. So, I finally have a photo of the street the way it looked when my grandfather was there.
This month a retired staff member of the city library in Bristol emailed me the top photo of Stoke Lane. It comes from a 1930s postcard which was reproduced in the book Westbury on Trym, Henleaze, Westbury Park : on old postcards by Janet and Derek Fisher. So, I finally have a photo of the street the way it looked when my grandfather was there.