US troops stationed in London during the Second World War were "pestered" so much by prostitutes that there were fears the transatlantic alliance could be damaged.
Newly-released archive material shows that high-level meetings were held to try and resolve the situation.
US Army chiefs were worried about an outbreak of venereal diseases among their men, while the GIs themselves wrote home to complain that they were constantly accosted and sometimes robbed.
There were also fears of a propaganda coup for the Germans if they found out, as the Nazis could have portrayed Britain as a "decadent" nation where "immoral" women "preyed" on unwary US troops.
But despite pleas from US Army chiefs, British officials refused to change the law to make it easier to jail prostitiutes.
There was also little sympathy among the police, who considered that the GIs brought many of the problems on their own heads.
"It has been noticed that they congregate around Piccadilly Circus and Coventry Street," noted the man in charge of policing the West End.
He added many were "the worse for drink and quarrelsome, until the early hours of the morning".
This made them an "easy prey for the innumerable prostitutes that frequent the neighbourhood, and their own conduct is such as to encourage these prostitutes."
GIs who consorted with prostitutes became known as "Piccadilly commandos".
Newly-released archive material shows that high-level meetings were held to try and resolve the situation.
US Army chiefs were worried about an outbreak of venereal diseases among their men, while the GIs themselves wrote home to complain that they were constantly accosted and sometimes robbed.
There were also fears of a propaganda coup for the Germans if they found out, as the Nazis could have portrayed Britain as a "decadent" nation where "immoral" women "preyed" on unwary US troops.
But despite pleas from US Army chiefs, British officials refused to change the law to make it easier to jail prostitiutes.
There was also little sympathy among the police, who considered that the GIs brought many of the problems on their own heads.
"It has been noticed that they congregate around Piccadilly Circus and Coventry Street," noted the man in charge of policing the West End.
He added many were "the worse for drink and quarrelsome, until the early hours of the morning".
This made them an "easy prey for the innumerable prostitutes that frequent the neighbourhood, and their own conduct is such as to encourage these prostitutes."
GIs who consorted with prostitutes became known as "Piccadilly commandos".
