American Red Cross. Clubmobile Service.

The American Red Cross Clubmobile Service was a mobile service club staffed by American women who served coffee and doughnuts to American servicemen in Europe during World War II. Early Clubmobiles were remodeled London Green Line buses driven by an English driver and operated by three American women. Each contained a kitchen with a built-in doughnut machine and a primus stove for heating water for coffee as well as a lounge with built-in benches that could be converted into bunks. These Clubmobiles were stationed in a town near American Army installations and followed a routine of going to different bases each day.

In 1944, in preparation for the invasion of Normandy, two-and-a-half-ton GMC trucks were converted into Clubmobiles containing kitchens with doughnut machines and coffee urns. These Clubmobiles were staffed by three American women, one of whom would drive the truck in addition to serving soldiers. They traveled with the rear echelon of the Army Corps and received their orders from the Army. Each Clubmobile carried a Victrola with loud speakers, current phonograph albums, paperback books, cigarettes, candy, and gum. Clubmobiles served troops in England, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany, until May 7, 1945. A limited number of Clubmobiles continued service in Great Britain and Germany through 1946.

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