Former RAF member takes trip down memory lane at Danesfield House

A 98-year-old former member of the Royal Air Force took a trip down memory lane as she visited a luxury hotel in Marlow - previously used as an RAF base.

Jean Brawn was just 19 years old when she joined the RAF in 1947 and was posted to the HQ 90 Group at RAF Medmenham, based at the historic Danesfield House.

The re-build of Danesfield House was completed in 1901 and in 1941 the site was requisitioned as an RAF base.

It was later transformed into the luxury Danesfield House Hotel, which opened in 1991.

Jean lived in the Women’s Royal Air Force billet with 35 women in the camp adjoining Danesfield House and grounds.

Originally from Rochdale, Jean did ‘a lot’ of signalling work while at the base and worked in the ‘big house’.

While there, she worked with an RAF officer to deal with radar installations all over the country.

She said: “We were located in the library along with four other officers and staff.

“It was a beautiful place to work, very grand and a little overwhelming.

Jean spent three years at RAF Medmenham and in that time met her husband Bob.

The couple went on to enjoy a ‘lifelong love affair’ that lasted almost 70 years.

Bob passed away aged 88 from prostate cancer in 2015 and Jean described him as ‘truly the love of my life’.

On one particular day, Jean said she was in the NAAFI (a type of village pub on site), and she was watching the antics of a group of airmen, known as Erks. One of the men was ‘noisier than the rest and so funny’, she explained.

“He kept catching my eye.

“I bumped into him later that evening and discovered he had been watching me for weeks.

“His name was Robert Brawn, but everyone called him Brawny. He walked me back to the billet and kissed me goodnight.

“A few days later a huge RAF lorry pulled up outside the billet, the driver was ‘Brawny’ – ‘see you later’ he shouted.

“It was the beginning of a lifelong love affair that lasted nearly 70 years,” she said.

The pair courted the entire time they were at the base together, spending most of their evenings in the NAAFI and going to the on-site cinema.

“I regularly went to mass in Marlow and Bob being a sought after driver requested that he drive the bus to the church every Sunday just to see me.

“Our most favourite pastime was walking round the grounds of Danesfield House hand in hand.

“It was magical,” Jean recalled.

Bob left the base before Jean and moved to Surrey.

Not long after, she was posted to Uxbridge and, having kept in touch, the pair reunited and later married on June 3, 1950.

The couple started their life together and their two daughters, Sue and Julie, were later born. Since leaving RAF Medmenham, Jean and Bob visited Danesfield House on many occasions.

The pair would walk through the grounds holding hand and reminiscing about how they met and the memories of their time at the base.

“We went to the bar for a drink, that at one time was the officers lounge a forbidden area for the likes of us,” she added.

The couple often visited to celebrate their anniversary and birthdays and dined in the restaurant that once formed part of the RAF workspace.

Jean’s last visit to Danesfield House with Bob was in 2013, when the pair stayed the night and enjoyed dinner and breakfast.

“It was a special time after all those years, and I was not sure if it would be our last.

“Every trip was wonderful to Marlow because it brought everything back and we used to walk around Marlow and walk around the grounds of Danesfield,” she added.

Since Bob’s passing, Jean has been back to Danesfield House on various occasions.

Last month, her daughters took her back to stay the night.

The trio enjoyed a champagne dinner and a full English breakfast, and took a tour of the hotel.

“[It was] wonderful,” Jean added.

The family are hoping Jean will be invited back for the RAF event next year.