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Richie Edwards from Prestatyn, now living in Rhyl tells us of his memories in the RAF in Northern Ireland.

I was 18 years old working as a florist and fruiterer in Prestatyn before the war broke out. When it started, I volunteered go into the RAF as I knew my father would look after the business, and there I became a Leading Aircraftman. I didn’t know anybody at the RAF but I made a lot of friends. I kept in touch with my mother and father by writing letters and of course saw them when I had leave.

I was stationed at Aldergrove in Northern Ireland, which was wonderful as the people were so kind to me. They used to stop me in the street and invite me to their homes for tea and a chat. The Irish people were very good to all the aircraftmen — I can only speak highly of them. We were also fed well in the RAF — I suppose the people that suffered the most with rationing were the people at home.

Looking back, we had a good time during the war, but all this was spoilt due to an incident that occurred one day at camp. There was a large café at our camp, where everybody used to communicate and socialise, and we became friends with the girls who worked there. I was in my hut one day when I heard an almighty noise. A plane had crashed into the café, killing two of the girls who worked there and injuring three others. We as colleagues were all devastated. It certainly made me grateful for the little things in life.

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