"Lita Ward" the Soho Girl
While working, Evelyn meets a sadistic killer and takes him back to her flat..
Though married to chicken farmer Harold, Evelyn Oatley has given up on rural life and returned to live in seedy Soho under her showgirl alias "Lita Ward". The coming of war has meant a boom time for those selling entertainment, liquor and sex to the servicemen flooding the area. It is in this world of dancing and drinking that Evelyn lives.
But beneath a fun-loving facade, Evelyn is lonely. Her male callers help stave off this sense of isolation, but only temporarily. And itβs while working that sheβll meet a cruel and sadistic killer and take him back to her flat.
Sources:
Iglikowski-Broad, Vicky. βThe Shim Sham Club: βLondonβs Miniature Harlemββ, The National Archives, 5 February 2020.
National Fairground and Circus Archive, βThe Second World Warβ, The University of Sheffield, July 2015.
Sladen, Chris. βHolidays at ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ in the Second World Warβ, Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 37, No. 1, 2002.
Walkowitz, Judith R. Nights Out: Life in Cosmopolitan London (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012).