While serving in the United States Air Force in between navies I was posted to RAF Brize Norton near Witney in Oxfordshire. On the base we had what was called The Enlisted Mens Club. This was a place on could relax in have a meal or sit at the circular bar and have a drink, there was also quite a large dance floor and twice a week Wednesdays and Saturdays there would be a live musical group for those who wanted to dance. As an Air Policeman I was on Base patrol in a jeep along with another guy when we received a call to go to the club where a brawl had broken out, it only took us a couple of minutes to get there and we immediatley waded in with our nightsticks to break it up along with several other Air Police who had arrived.
When things quietened down and an investigation as to the cause of the brawl we discovered that some Southern guys from Alabama and Georgia had got upset because some coloured guys were dancing with white girls and had tried to break them up, naturally the coloured guys resisted.
Our Base Commander was furious and all peronnel on the base had to attend a meeting in the Base Cinema where he really laid down the law and threatened to throw the book at any one caught repeating what had gone on in the club.
A few weeks later on a Saturday evening I was sitting at the bar in the club when the doors opened and a whole string of coloured girls came in, a meeting had been held with the RAF liason officer on the base and our club dance advertised in Cardiff, Oxford and a couple of other towns for coloured girls only and transport provided to bring them to the base. Of course the local white girls still came as well so the whole idea was to even things up. it worked out really well. Mauri

Dunno why, but this reminded me of a young American who worked on the assembly line at Vauxhall, Luton, in the sixties. He told me that , on a night out in Chicksands during his time in the US forces, he met the woman who was to be his wife. She was there with her daughter, who was married to, or later married, Joe Bugner. Yes, Barney; THAT Josef Bugner.
My young friend talked to me of his wife and of their little son. I never met them, but I remember buying a spinning top for the boy. My friend was 'chuffed' when the top opened to reveal a brightly coloured UNCLE SAM.
Very sadly, I learned years later that mother and child were killed in a car crash.

YES A VERY SAD ENDING THAT WAS DABBLER

Barney
I am sure that somewhere on the net I could find confirmation of that sad ending, especially as the mother was Joe Bugner's mother-in-law. I completely lost touch with the ex-GI when I left Vauxhall around 1970, but I read of the tragedy in a Woman's magazine. That was ovr forty years ago.

Hi All,

Just wanted to say hello,I have trying to get on to the Forum for three weeks,I either get spammed or it just wont accept my post.....here we go.

Beano

Beano, "try, try again". Glad to see you've been successful this time. It's really annoying when you post something and it's spammed. We never did get to the bottom of this. Hope you are both doing well.

Beano,

Hello, glad to welcome you online again.


Pat