RAF Ludford Magna Airfield in Lincolnshire, was build south of the twin villages of Ludford Parva and Ludford Magna and was one of many airfields build in the early 1940s as part of Britain's war effort. The  construction of the airfield, covering 600 acres, began in 1942 and was completed in 90 days. The domestic and communal sites were dispersed in farmland to the north of the airfield. There were seven domestic sites, two mess, a communal site and sick quarters. The majority of the camp's buildings were unlined corrugated metal Nissen huts and a few permanent buildings. In cold winter weather the Nissen huts suffered from internal condensation which very often would  freeze. The only heating in the huts was a round cast iron coke stove. Not the cosiest of places yet, after WW2, the huts became  home to hundreds of Polish displaced persons. The camp closed in 1955/56.

With the arrival of 1948 many Poles were emigrating to England.  One by one each camp in Africa was closed as people left and others relocated to another camp. My camp Tengeru  was the last to liquidate.  While some, urged by relatives, returned to Poland and others emigrated to England as family members of Anders' Army,

I reached Ludford Magna on July 9^th, 1948.  The Polish Dependant's Hostel, Ludford Magna, located between the villages of Ludford and Magna, north of Lincoln, had been a Class A air force base.  These RAF pilots were replaced now with demobilized soldiers and their families.  Upon arrival I received a Certificate of Registration, a document carried by all Poles and assigned a room with Marysia Iskra-Ławdor, an acquaitance from Tengeru and Pani Stoma, our cook in Tengeru.

We lived in Nissen huts that resembled metal barrels half buried, horizontally, in the ground, with 2 windows and a door on the end.  Being made of corrugated iron, they were hot in summer and cold in winter.  We had an electric light, which was a bonus.  Each hut contained 4 metal beds with straw mattresses and 4 stools with a table.  Our only means of washing our hands and faces was a bucket and a basin.  One of us took this bucket, summer or winter, to one of many taps scattered outside throughout the camp.  We were allowed a warm shower once a week in a public bath house of which four existed in the entire camp.  A short walk led to the kitchen and we ate either in the canteen or our room.  The camp also had a chapel, served by Father Michalski, a building for doing laundry and a hall where movies were screened or dances held.  Accommodation and food had to be paid for if you had a job.

On August 12^th, 1948 Marysia, who was quickly becoming a best friend, and I accepted work at Messer. J. Morrnell and G. Bardney, a canning factory in Lincoln.  The work was not difficult but our days were long.  Sitting on stools beside a conveyor belt we sorted the best plums for canning.  We could even eat the rejected plums.  When the plums were finished we sorted green peas.  Our day started at 6am when we walked to the canteen for breakfast which consisted of porridge with milk, a slice of bread with butter and jam, and coffee.  Before departure we received sandwiches for our noon day meal.  A 45 minute drive, in a bus supplied by the factory, took us to work.  We started at 8am and worked until 6pm with an hour's break at noon to eat.  Then we boarded the same bus, returned about 7pm to Ludford Magna for supper and finally to our room at 8pm.

 The men worked in factories, usually in two shifts, and earned more money.  They paid thirty-five shillings weekly for their accommodation.  However, they only received two meals daily, either breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner, depending on which shift they worked.  I shared a room with Marysia Iskra-Ławdor and we both worked in the kitchen, which was managed by Mr. M .J. Phillips, a very pleasant and fair man.  Marysia made sandwiches and assisted the cook, while I made tea and coffee and served the meals.  We worked six days per week in two shifts.  The first started at 6am and ended at 2pm.  At 2pm the second shift began and finished at 10pm.  One day was a day of rest but it was not always Sunday.  On the Sunday that we were free from work we boarded the bus for the Church of Our Lady and St. Hubert in Warley.  Occasionally we ventured to the Polish church of St. Michael's on Moor Street in Birmingham.  The busses on the New Wolverhampton Road were every ten minutes and provided us with connections to Smethwick, Dudley, Oldbury, Birmingham where we shopped and visited friends

With so many men of so many nationalities and religions living in one hostel, disputes were not unusual.  One particularly nasty brawl occurred as the result of a Jamaican stealing an Irishman's girlfriend.  The police were notified and several men were taken to hospital suffering from injuries such as lost teeth, bruising and bloody noses. Marysia was engaged to  Michał Ławdor who was the gardener at Causeway Green Hostel.  Extremely happy with his job, he planted and tended  the flowers and the grass, establishing new beds where needed.

In October 1948 I met my future husband, Antoni Gągola, a demobilized soldier of General Anders' army, who arrived a short time earlier from the Perton Hostel.  He worked at Messers Chance Bros Ltd, a glass manufacturing company in Smethwick.  We always met in the common room, discussing our war experiences.  As our relationship deepened we became the best of friends with my roommate and her fiancé, a friendship surviving to this day.  

Occasionally we attended the Saturday night dances.  Since the men far outnumbered the women, Marysia and I were rarely without a dance partner.  Our fianc's, who could not dance, were not pleased.  Women who lived outside of the hostel were frequent guests.  Polish men wished to marry Polish women, yet Polish men far outnumbered the Polish women.  Therefore those who had Polish girlfriends guarded them closely. I spent my first Christmas in Causeway Green Hostel with my two uncles and a friend. 

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