Regular correspondent Florence Stopps (nee Robinson), who now lives in Australia, has provided interesting reminiscences about her childhood in Wooburn.

Florence writes: “These are treasured childhood memories of mine which a number of other old locals may like to recall. As a child I lived in Wooburn Moor and attended Wooburn Infants School from 1941-1945, then Wooburn Church of England School from 1945-1950.

There I obtained a Commercial Scholarship to High Wycombe Technical Institute, which was later renamed High Wycombe College of Further Education.

I loved attending the schools in Wooburn, to which I would walk most days.

In 1947 children aged over 10 years were invited to join the local St. John’s Ambulance Brigade as Cadets. It was called the Berghers Hill Division and meetings were held weekly in the hall behind the Working Mens’ Club at Wooburn Green.

My elder sister Elsie and I joined and sometimes walked with two other students Peggy and Eva Dean who also lived in the Moor. I remember that about 20 students joined at that time.

I loved learning First Aid, Home Nursing, Child Welfare etc. We also played table tennis. Later that year we were invited to join the Annual Bucks County camp for a week’s holiday to be held at Bembridge, Isle of Wight.

There was great excitement as the majority of us had never seen the sea, because few families had a car and also could not afford holidays. As clothes and food rationing remained in place (until 1 July 1954), we had to take our ration books with us.

None of us had any “beach wear.” I was very fortunate that one of the Officers offered me her younger sister’s outgrown blue “beach suit”, but I was required to go to her home in Bourne End to collect it.

As I did not have money for the bus fare and had never been to Bourne End before, I followed the bus route and somehow found my way to her home.

I shall always remember the feeling when she handed me the precious folded blue garment. She was unaware that I had to walk home alone, it did not seem so far as going there. Can you imagine a 10 year old today walking that distance alone to a strange place.

We all met, smartly dressed in our school uniforms, at Wycombe train station and travelled to London, then to Portsmouth, before catching the ferry to the Isle of Wight. Everyone was well behaved but quietly excited. There seemed to be hundreds of St. John members at the camp in Bembridge.

About eight cadets slept together in a large tent, and we had our meals in a massive marquee. There were also huge separate ablution’s tents for girls and boys.

I remember that my mother had given me a new bar of Imperial Leather soap to use. I still remember the lovely smell. Even today I sometimes buy a bar of the soap just to smell it and relive the memories of that lovely first holiday!

The sun seemed to shine every day as we went to the local sandy beach in Bembridge which was very quiet and not at all commercialised. It did not matter that we had no pocket money to take to the camp: we would be on site most of the time anyway.

We were taught to swim and I won a blue swimming hat to match my beach suit. Some days we would have a parade of all members. Too soon the week had gone and we excitedly returned home with many tales to tell our families.

Contentment - Seventy years later the memories are still fresh and I wonder how many of those cadets are still around to remember that special time”.

If any readers would like to share similar memories, Florence and I would love to hear from you.

Please contact me on 01494 755070, or email deweymiked@aol.com.