Many families enjoyed life when they set up home in former Army huts at Headington, Oxford, after the Second World War.

But there was one incident which caused great alarm with one of the wooden structures on the Slade Camp going up in flames.

It appears to have occurred in “a single-storey Army hut used as two separate residences” at 74 Ninth Avenue on October 31, 1962.

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According to the fire brigade report, “the structure and contents were severely damaged” with the cause identified as “radiated heat from a flue pipe igniting roof timbers”.

Two fire-fighting jets were needed to put out the blaze.

Retired Oxford fire officer John Lowe, who uncovered the details, tells me: “One can infer from this that not much of the structure would have remained.

(Image: Oxford Mail) “This incident illustrates the risks associated with living in timber buildings with solid fuel fires.”

No-one was killed in the blaze, but it is not clear if anyone was injured.

As we have recalled, the huts at the former Army barracks off Horspath Driftway and The Slade provided much-needed housing for dozens of families after the war.

One reader, Patrick Cummins, moved with his family - mum Bridie, dad Paddy, sister Josephine (known as Josie) and brother Billy - to 80 Ninth Avenue in 1948 when the Army was still there renovating the huts.

He recalled: “There was a ramp for the Army tanks we used to climb, we would go scrumping for pears and apples, and soldiers would lock us in the guard house for an hour as a joke when they caught us sneaking through the fence to collect conkers.

“We would dig through the soil to find live shells and use a nail and hammer to get them to fire. It was a miracle we never got killed, but I loved it there - it was the best time of my life.”

Another reader, Geoff Orman, of Brashfield Road, Bicester, moved into one of the huts at the age of eight in 1955 with his parents, Rene and Bert, and younger brothers Nigel and David.

He recalled: “It was an amazing place to live and to play. I look back at the time as the most enjoyable part of my childhood.”

Richard French, now living in Bournemouth, remembered visiting the camp every week on his brother-in-law Ted Cross’s ice cream van.

He recalls: “A large number of children would be waiting for us. The children wanted ice cream cones, but the women bought large amounts of chocolates and sweets.”

The huts stood around a parade ground and were part of the Army’s Infantry Training Centre No 16 during the war. A large part of the site was what we now know as Brasenose Wood.

Although the huts have long gone, four of the nine numbered avenues (first, fourth, eighth and ninth) still exist. Other reminders of the site’s history are a toilet, water tank and pillbox.
 

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.