19 Nov Grosvenor Square
Before leaving Washington DC, the OSS office gave Hedy “A Short Guide to Grosvenor Square. ” At Grosvenor Square, located in the exclusive Mayfair district of London, was the headquarters for the United States Embassy. General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s military headquarters were also on the Square, just across the street.
The Guide reads that “Grosvenor Square and surrounding area are completely taken over by the Americans. If you see an Englishman there, he is probably dodging in alarm from a pair of G.I’s, size 11E.”
Hedy was briefed on how she should answer when she was questioned by Customs and other authorities … she was a U.S. Government Employee, a “secretary at the American Embassy.”
“Hotels are jammed. Claridge’s is the best and the most expensive; it is now almost an American Club. The Savoy, the Ritz, the Berkeley, the Mayfair, Grosvenor house and the Dorchester are all in the same class. …
“Flats are most difficult to find and very expensive. The continued flow of American officers has jacked all the prices up. If you can get a service flat for one under 8 guineas or for two under 12 guineas per week you are lucky. But then you are lucky if you can get one at all.”
Hedy’s first destination was the Adelphi Hotel at 127 Cromwell Rd., Room 18. The rooms were small, but the price was right, and the location was good.
She was later able to find a flat on Park Close, just off Knightsbridge.
The center of her world was now Grosvenor Square and the nearby OSS offices on Ryder Street. Now that address was nowhere to be found on the “Short Guide.”
Hedy’s landmarks in London
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