This article was one of a series of short articles about people’s memories of the war printed in the Souvenir Programme produced for events in Radley organised to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of VE Day on 8 May 1995.

 first remember Radley Station in early 1942, when I was posted to serve at RAF Abingdon. In those days there was a waiting room with a cheerful fire. The train from Paddington used to stop at Radley and we then caught the Bunk to Abingdon and walked to the camp. When we had a 48-hour leave pass, a group of us would meet at Paddington, catch the last train at midnight to Radley which arrived in the early hours of the morning. By this time the Bunk had stopped running, so we walked through Radley to Albert Park in Abingdon. There we sat under Prince Albert’s statue to eat our sandwiches and then walk to the camp, sometimes to find an ‘apple pie bed’ waiting for us.

We were never molested or mugged while walking those 3-4 miles. Oh, happy days, wonderful companionship.

Twenty-five years later, my husband (ex RAF) and I and our two daughters moved into Radley Post Office and I spent 25 happy years in the village.