From various Canadian Heritage files between 1940 and 1945 here are just a few Hotels and Pubs listed as “Out of Bounds”. The Yeoman – Ashford, Kent The Golden Lion – Caterham, Surrey The Tarter Hotel – Cobham, Surrey The White Lion – Cobham, Surrey The Angel Hotel – Colchester, Essex The Blue Anchor – Crowborough, East Sussex The Cross Hotel – Crowborough, East Sussex The Kings’ Arms – Crowborough, East Sussex The Green Dragon – Croydon, Surrey The Fox and Hounds – Croydon, Surrey The Savoy Social Club – Croydon, Surrey The Falkland Arms – Dorking, Surrey The Duke of Wellington – East Horsley, The Pier Hotel – Eastbourne, East Sussex The Charter Inn – Epsom Surrey The Oatsheaf Hotel – Fleet, Hampshire The Severn Stars – Swan Lane, Guildford, West Surrey The Three Swans Hotel – Hungerford, Berkshire The Rainbow Tavern – Lewes, East Sussex The Ship Inn – Lewes, East Sussex The White Hart Hotel – Lewes, East Sussex The Jolliffe Arms – Mersham, Kent The Three Horseshoes – Midhiurst, West Sussex The Queens’ Head Inn – Nutfield, Surrey The Shelley Arms – Nutley, Sussex The George Hotel – Pangbourne, Berkshire The Queens’ Arms – Redhill, Surrey The Wheatsheaf – Redhill, Surrey The Dolphin Hotel – Worthing, West Sussex The Old Surrey Hounds These are only the tip of the iceberg as regards to being Out of Bounds Hotels and Pubs which obviously applied to all servicemen. I wonder how many having survived the war have managed to survive to today. Cheers Kevin
Were they out of bounds because of poor past behavior by members of the forces, or some other reason?
Hi Chris, Why the Hotels and Pubs are Out of Bounds are not given but I guess it covers a number of reasons. Cheers Kevin
Crikey, a few of those are old haunts of mine. Nothing posh about the Golden Lion in Caterham, nor the Joliffe Arms on the A23 at Merstham. The Old Surrey Hounds, if it's the Caterham one was my regular Friday lunchtime destination. We never did much work on Friday afternoons...I wouldn't have said that any of them were particularly officer's pubs but those in Caterham and Coulsdon were frequented by both the British Army from the Guards Depot and the RAF from Kenley. Perhaps it was to avoid conflict. The "Vandoos" had a pretty bad name amongst the locals when they were around Caterham. Local legend has it that they caused more damage to the big houses that they were billeted in than the Luftwaffe managed. If it was cold they simply burned the floorboards.
How to Behave in a British Pub: A World War II Training Film from 1943, Featuring Burgess Meredith | Open Culture
Hi Rich, Yes that is one and the same Old Surrey Hounds, apologies I forgot to note down the location. So is the pub still around? I guess from the the number of drunkenness FCGM, Discipline, Court of Enquiry and Local Constabulary reports there are is the main reason for them being put Out of Bounds in the first place. In one of the files I did come across a "Brains Trust" report stating that (at the time) the Canadian Army were probably the best in the world were it not for discipline. Cheers Kevin
Googled " Old Surrey Hounds, Caterham " & a few news stories from 2017 saying it reopened as the William Garland. Mixed feelings over Old Surrey Hounds name change Other pubs on the list . The George Hotel – Pangbourne, Berkshire George Hotel – The George Hotel The Three Swans Hotel – Hungerford, Berkshire The Three Swans Hotel, Eatery and Coffee House - Hungerford, Berkshire
Is there a possibility that a number were close to WW2 airfields and the out of bounds order was in place to prevent multiple forces casualties in the event the pub was hit by bombs
Wasn't the out of bounds issue referred to in a thread here on the conflict between black (then called Negro) US Army soldiers and their white comrades in a pub somewhere? Where the locals happened to side with the black soldiers?
Quite likely but these Out of Bounds come from Canadian army records. It is more likely to prevent multiple casualties in a punch up. Cheers Kevin
I recall my late mother tell me that white US soldiers were stationed at the Cricket Field and black US soldiers at Bradley Woods in Newton Abbot, Devon. One night there was a big fight in the town which resulted in the white and black soldiers being allowed out on alternate nights, but on the nights they were confined whites soldiers were guarded by black soldiers and vice versa with machine guns. This would have been 1943/44. Cheers Kevin
Back to searching and I found this: African American soldiers based in UK during WW2 The 1943 incident @ Bamber Bridge has several YouTube episodes. To be accurate the US Army's attempts to place pubs out of bounds rebounded, three pubs put up signs akin to "Only Black US soldiers served". There is a useful thread on the policy, not the locations: Out of Bounds
