The Piccadilly Commandos

Every World War Two airman I've talked to over the years has mentioned the Piccadilly Commandos, and the excitement of a trip to London, which usually involved at least a side-trip to Piccadilly Circus to see the sights.

Piccadilly was a hub of activity in wartime London. One of the activities was prostitution. 390th Bomb Group ball turret gunner Clifford Puckett remembers that the news vendors would call out: "Papers! Papers!" and then in a subdued voice "Condoms! Condoms!" Another friend remembers the surprise of having his privates accosted in the pitch-black of night in blacked-out London by a Commando. Prices ranged from five pounds to twenty-five pounds, depending on duration of service. Most of the men I know never partook, and few of the flying personnel needed to. The 'flyboy' uniform (and the available cash it indicated) was more than enough to attract pretty girls in wartime London.

Many admit to being scared to death after being approached by the commandos. Many young American airmen were from small town America, and had only the faintest notion of city life, seedy or otherwise. For this reason, many of the girls in Piccadilly were comically brazen, and many a young airman ran for his life to protect his virginity.

Some aircraft, such as this B-24, were even named after the girls of Piccadilly Circus. This plane was called "Piccadilly Commando". Another common name was 'Piccadilly Lily'.


'Piccadilly Lily' was a main character in the 'Twelve O'Clock High' TV series in the 1950's.

This 'Piccadilly Lily' is still flying.
Here she is in 2000, with an additional 'L' in 'Lily'.

Piccadilly Circus Today.

This is not to say I haven't heard a few stories that curled my hair. These were red-blooded young men, living one day at a time, drinking liberally, and uncertain of what the next mission would bring. Many were certain that they were living on borrowed time. They'd already watched friends die and figured it was just a matter of time till it was their turn. It is a tribute that so many, despite the odds of survival, stuck to their values and also how many ended up marrying British girls and bringing them back to the States after the war.

"Ordinary Hero" Eddie Martens Makes a Crucial Decision Over London, 1943

In the summer of 1943, Lt. Edwin W. 'Eddie' Martens, had just taken off as the pilot of a B-17 bomber from his base at Podington, England. The 92nd Bomb Group's Podington base was northwest of London, and as Martens' plane, 'Berlin Special' began to climb to altitude, the bomb-laden plane suddenly caught fire.

Martens ordered the crew to bail out and prepared to do the same, envisioning the violent explosion that was imminent aboard the plane. However, as he prepared to jump, he noticed that the plane was flying directly over London. Recalling stories of burning planes crashing in London and killing innocent people on the ground, Martens' fought his way through blinding smoke and heat to reach the fire and beat out the flames. He then managed to land the plane safely at a nearby airfield, sparing the people of London.

Martens flew thirty missions over Germany, and after the war returned to his Nebraska farm, where he built an airstrip, restored planes, and taught flying.

Martens died June 10, 2007 at the age of 86.

The only photo I could find of Eddie Martens on the web shows him with one of his restored aircraft. Martens became a civilian instructor after the war and opened Martens Air Service in Grant, Nebraska. He restored and rebuilt old airplanes, and built new ones. He helped found the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 562, serving several years as president and vice-president. As a regular at local fly-ins, he won several awards for his work on a Waco UPF-7 that he rebuilt from a wreck.