Mary Pickford (in the white suit) entertains young Royal Air Force students at Pickfair, Beverly Hills, 1944
When Mary Pickford was married to Douglas Fairbanks (1920 to 1936) their palatial estate, Pickfair, was filled with visiting royalty and A-list stars of stage and screen. After they split up, and Mary later married Buddy Rogers (1937 to her death in 1979,) Pickfair wasn’t nearly so often packed with luminaries. But if this photo is anything to go by, Mary did what she could for the servicemen passing through Los Angeles en route to the war by opening up the house for their enjoyment. This photo was taken in 1944 on a day when she entertained Royal Air Force students. What British trainee pilots would be doing in LA I’m not really sure, but they sure seem to be having a whale of a time.
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During WWII, there were four civilian flying schools in Southern California contracted to US and foreign militaries to provide flight training for military cadets. They were operated by Cal-Aero Flight Academy, headquartered at Glendale’s Grand Central Air Terminal.
Those at the Polaris Academy at War Eagle Field in Lancaster were primarily British. Not only was the weather better for training in SoCal, there wasn’t a war going on (the Battle of Britain) and fuel was more readily available. And that explains what British cadets were doing in Mary Pickford’s swimming pool.
Thank you for all that, Gail. All of that makes perfect sense.