RAF Shinfield Park

Headquarters Flying Training Command

(27th May 1940 - 1st June 1968)

Anita Muchall (nee Harget)

Email exchanges with Anita

Anita emailed Andre on 4th Oct 2020

  • Long time no see. Of course I remember the group I loved to sing with you. Yes I am still singing (well when lockdown allows) I am in a group of singers called Caritas and we used to go every other week to sing in the care/ nursing homes in our area. Lockdown obviously put paid to all that and I cannot see that we will be able to do so again at least not for the near future. I was at one time in Louth Choral Society but it got a bit clicky and I am not into all that. In Caritas we just sing the old songs (or era) 40/50/60's that the 'inmates' can join in with. We also do concerts for charity and at dementia/alzheimer clubs etc. It can be quite rewarding seeing their faces light up and then the fingers begin to tap and sometimes they can even join in.
  • I think that as Ian and I have now been married 53 years (on the 14th) we will still share a page. Will try and find a photo.
  • I noticed that you are somewhere in Nottinghamshire some of that is not too far from where we live in rural Lincolnshire. Maybe we could meet up when things calm down again.
  • It great to catch up with our past and it would be lovely to talk about times past.
  • Take care and stay safe.
  • Kindest wishes

Anita emailed further on 8th Oct 2020

  • We know Ruskington very well as we take our Labrador to the kennels there on Fen Lane is is on our way south (down to surrey to see daughter number two and her family. It is just one hour from us as we live just outside Louth in a village called North Cockerington. (well the postal address is North Cockerington but we are 1.5 miles from the village itself)
  • We have another daughter and her family who live in Toronto but visiting her is out of the question this year. Shame 'cause we were going for Christmas this year. We have four grandsons all strapping lads very into sport Rugby, American Football, skiing and snowboarding for the Canadians and Hockey, cricket and football for the Surrey lot.
  • I will have my own page thank you and I will try and remember the short time I had there. Only spent three and a half months working there in the Air Force but then went back after we got married to work as a civil servant, spent long hours in a little room shredding secret documents. As a historian now it breaks my heart to think of what I destroyed.
  • Your Quorus sounds very much more 'professional' than our group. Our leader/choir master is David-Roy Martin (you can google him) but we are all getting older and it is much more of a social thing for all of us. We practice in a local hostelry and our oldest member is 88!! however a lot of you programme is very familiar to us. Georgy Girl, Over the Rainbow both featured in 2019 programme and a couple of years ago I sang 'On my own' from Les Mis as a solo. We have covered old time music halls, WW1 songs (and a concert) raising funds of the RAF Benevolent Fund etc. All good fun and great company.
  • Will try and work out how to send the photo I've sorted out.
  • In the meantime
  • Take care and stay safe.
  • Here hoping we can meet up sometime.
  • Kind regards

Click to enlarge

SP folk group; Anita 2nd left, Andre right

Photo from late 2018

Click on picture to enlarge

Ian and Anita at Royal Canadian Air Force Museum Nr Toronto, 2018