La Dolce Vita in Venice

In May 1945, as the war in Italy came to an end, NAAFI and EFI established what must have been one of the most extraordinary forces clubs of the entire campaign.

On Venice’s fashionable Lido, a former casino became the Churchill-Roosevelt Club — a remarkable Anglo-American leave centre for British other ranks and American enlisted personnel.

Behind its imposing façade were marble halls, lounges, dining rooms and recreational facilities. Behind the club itself was another story: NAAFI/EFI, the WVS, the American Red Cross and a large Italian workforce, all helping to provide welfare and recreation for servicemen far from home.

Using contemporary records, personal recollections and a surviving set of original souvenir photographs, the latest The Sutlers Supreme article explores the story of the club — and some of the people who made it work.

Read La Dolce Vita →

As always, if this brings back a family story, photograph or memory connected with the Churchill-Roosevelt Club, NAAFI/EFI in Italy, the WVS or the American Red Cross, I’d be delighted to hear from you.