An Oxfordshire family during the war
Rose (Dad’s Mum) lived in Bodicote and was a teacher in Banbury. Her husband, Cecil, had died quite young in 1924.
George also lived in Bodicote and worked on various local farms – he had a serious medical condition that exempted him from active service. He was also a member of the Home Guard, and was one of those who dealt with the RAF bomber plane crash described elsewhere – he had nightmares about that for years afterwards. He met and later married Remona, who had been evacuated from Burnley and worked in the Land Army in Bicester and other local villages. Mum loved land army life and the camaraderie the war effort brought! She used coal dust for mascara, gravy browning for legs as there were no stockings and drew a line up the back of her legs for a seam! Simple things like May Day etc., were much more appreciated then - people got their enjoyment where and when they could. Despite moving from Burnley in the 1940s and living the rest of her life in Banbury and the South Coast, she retained her strong Burnley accent for the rest of her life. George also had another job with a news-agents, and Remona worked part-time in a pub in Banbury.
Muriel looked after the family home and an increasing very young family (she had been a teacher in the 1930s). She also looked after refugees – a lady from London with her small daughter, followed by a Jewish lady from Yugoslavia, and remained friends with her for many years after the War. Muriel married John in 1938, who spent his time as an aircraft fitter for the RAF. His first posting was to Weeton near Blackpool. It was so cold and wet that he got rheumatic fever; that was lucky for him as he was then posted to Upper Heyford (only 12 miles from home) - so got back to Bodicote quite often.
John’s role was probably mostly humdrum (apart from things like fighting with Yanks!). He also told a story about going on a cross-country run. He and a mate knew the course so part way through they stopped for a smoke then cut through. After seeing runners go by, they joined in. This rebounded on them, because they finished ninth and tenth and so were selected for the district championships. He had an industrial accident in the RAF, and spent several weeks / months at the new Spinal Injuries Unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital (created by Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who went on to devise the Paralympic Games).
Ken was a pilot in the RAF – he spent much of his time in India and piloted Lord Wavell (the Commander in Chief of Allied troops in India) around. Lord Wavell had a challenging role; the Japanese had invaded Burma (now called Myanmar) and saw India as their next target to invade. Many Indians joined the UK forces across the world, but there was underlying tension from the population to gain Independence (achieved with partition into India + Pakistan and much bloodshed in 1947). When off duty, Lord Wavell and his senior staff engaged in tiger hunts and other ‘hunting, shooting and fishing’ activities which Ken also joined. After the war, he arranged to fly solo into a small RAF base near Bodicote carrying many souvenirs from India – these may well have passed through rigorous RAF customs checks when he reached the UK.
Harry was an administrator for the RAF, and was posted to Sicily and Italy. He married Ida who worked at a (then) secret Radar station in Suffolk.
Shared by Malcolm Rogers
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