Before the OSS sent Hedvig Johnson from Washington, DC to London they gave her four sheets of paper entitled A Short Guide to Grosvenor Square.

The area of Grosvenor Square was called “Eisenhower Platz” or “Little America” because “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.”

This guide describes the various addresses that would be important for Hedy to know.  I’ve added some notes.

• 1, Grosvenor Square.  The Embassy building houses its own personnel and that of the Consulate.  It also has the Harriman Mission and part of the OWI. If you are not met at the station by OSS, the embassy will always direct you.

— Between 1941 and 1943 William Averell Harriman was special representative of the President to Great Britain with rank of ambassador for Lend-Lease or Harriman Mission.

— The Office of War Information was the U.S. government agency created during World War II to consolidate government information services.

–In 1960 a new U.S. Embassy was built on the western side of Grosvenor Square. The former Embassy was purchased by the Canadian government and renamed Macdonald House. According to this NYT article written in 2008, the Embassy will move again.

• 3, Grosvenor Square, In the basement is the Grosvenor Club, the crowded restaurant where most of the Embassy staff eat.
• 20, Grosvenor Square.  The Army Headquarters where the A.G.’s office is located.

–Eisenhower’s WWII headquarters were located here. From what I can find, A.G. was an initial for Adjutant General, the head of the British Army. It might make sense that he had an office here also … I would love for someone reading this to clarify.

–Later #20 became the headquarters of the US Navy in Europe.

—31, St. James Square was Eisenhower’s headquarters where Operation Torch and Operation Overlord were planned.

• 18, Grosvenor Square. Naval Headquarters which adjoins No. 20.
• 15, Grosvenor Square. The Red Cross Headquarters. Red Cross Clubs are all over town. Red Cross nurses all over town, too … The Red Cross Rainbow Corner on Piccadilly circus is the grand information centre for all U.S. Army and Navy enlisted personnel.
• 49, Grosvenor Square. OWI, that part not in the Embassy.

View Eisenhower Platz in a larger map

• Hereford House near Marble Arch. Office of Scientific Research and Development and Petroleum Attaché.

— The OSRD advised the President on status of scientific and medical research relating to national defense.

–The Petroleum Attaché concerned the study priority bombing of German oil facilities.

• 40 Berkeley Square. The Biddle Embassy and the Economic Warfare Division.
  • In Robin Cook’s book, Cloak and Gown, this is the address for the general OSS headquarters.
  • Ambassador Anthony J. Biddle, Jr. established an embassy of Czechoslovakia in London in 1941.  It was maintained until the end of the war.
  • Economic Warfare Division: Included OSS economists as part of EOU, . One of their missions, for example, was to obtain estimates of German war production and strength. They assisted with selecting Axis targets for USAAF strategic bombing.
• 18, Oxford Street, opposite Selfridge’s. The Army Canteen or Post Exchange. You can get cigarettes, tobacco, candy, etc. – all ridiculously cheap. You may even hope that they will have fruit juices or fig newtons.  The Navy is barred from the Army Canteen, but they have their own rather smaller one in the basement of No. 18, Grosvenor Square.

–According to today’s map, 18, Oxford Street is not across from Selfridge’s.

• There were many locations for OSS offices, and none of the addresses were mentioned in A Short Guide to Grosvenor Square. The main office was at 72, Grosvenor Street.

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