Family stories: Dancing with Lady Mountbatten- 1942 or 43

Well, I have lots more travel/road stories I’m working on and Radiance has also inspired me to write about “going to Vancouver” sixty years ago, but now family stories have been suggested. Yes, I have a few. I’ve been thinking of my ancestors lately and some of the things they survived in their historical moments as we are in one now. Here is a somewhat humorous story my Dad told. He was one of those people who repeated stories, so I don’t have to go look for the printed version(s) he wrote.

It was during World War II (I was going to say The War, but realize that dates us). He was a flight lieutenant in the RCAF, assigned to an RAF squadron in Scranton in England. I read a few years back some supposedly shocking story that the German Luftwaffe fed their air crews benzedrine, but that wasn’t shocking to me because I’d always heard from Dad that they were given “speed” when they flew. And when they weren’t flying they were given all the beer they could drink. That may factor into this story.

Dad was on leave in London and there was an officer’s ball at the Savoy or some swanky place. Lady Mountbatten was the patroness. So, on a dare from his buddies, Dad made his way up to Lady Mountbatten and asked her to dance.

According to Dad, some “prick” called Cecil said in an officious voice, “Lady Mountbatten does not dance with young officers!”

“Oh, shut up, Cecil!” Lady Mountbatten is reputed to have said. “I will dance with the young officer if I want”. So, that is how my father came to dance with her.

Except there is another version of the story that I found among his papers after he died and that my brother said he had been told. After the dance, her ladyship invited my 21-year old father back to her table and one of her friends, an older woman (possibly in her thirties?) invited him home with her for the weekend. It was wartime!