Ted Cross and his future brother-in-law Richard French were two of the most popular visitors to the Slade Camp in Oxford.

They arrived in a van loaded not only with ice cream but also sweets and chocolate.

A large crowd of mothers and young children would be waiting to greet them, anxious to taste rare luxuries in post-war Headington.

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As we recalled (Memory Lane, April 1), the site off Horspath Driftway. The Slade and the Eastern Bypass housed an important military barracks during the Second World War.

When hostilities ended and the soldiers moved out, the huts they lived in were used to house city families.

Some of those who lived there were among 60 who joined a trek around the former camp organised by members of the Shotover Preservation Society in March.

Mr French, who now lives in Bournemouth, writes: “In the mid-1950s, during school holidays, I helped out on an ice cream van operated by the family of my future brother-in-law Ted. The van not only carried ice cream, but also sweets and chocolate.

“Friday seemed to be the busiest day of the week as everyone had been paid.

“Lunchtime was spent outside the Morris Motors and Pressed Steel factories and in the early evenings, we covered Wood Farm estate and Slade Camp. It was great fun.

“I knew the area well as it was one of the routes from Headington, where I lived, to Southfield Grammar School, off Cowley Road.

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“Slade Camp had obviously been an Army camp with concrete roads and large wooden huts set in a wooded area.

“The residents now were of all ages, but when the van arrived, there would be a large number of children and young mothers already waiting.

“The children wanted ice cream cones, but the women, most of whom appeared to be expecting babies, bought large amounts of chocolate and sweets, sometimes costing well over £1.

“Bear in mind, this was almost 70 years ago and my weekly pocket money was two shillings (10p), if I was lucky.”

Mr French joined Mr Cross on the ice cream round for several years, always trying to beat the Walls and Mr Whippy vans and reach customers first.

He tells me: “By the early 60s, I had left school and taken on full employment in the city.

“I wasn’t paid while I was on the van, but it was good and I did benefit from the occasional ice cream cornet.”

Although all the huts have now gone, there are still reminders of the site’s years as a military base, including the remains of a toilet, a water tank and a pillbox.

Four of the numbered avenues (first, fourth, eighth and ninth) still exist and visitors continue to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the attractive wooded areas.

•Can anyone tell us more about the fire which destroyed the hut in the picture?

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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.