RAF 3MU Milton
Hi Tim
I know it’s a long time since you posted your question on the 4th. August last year, but I was stationed at RAF 3MU, Milton from July 1952 until I was demobbed on the 12th October 1953. No wonder you could not find much information about the station, it was very small. There were about 30 officers on the site, officer in charge was Sqn.Ldr (I think) T.C, Downey of the Australian Air Force these officers mostly worked at nearby RAF Shrivenham. There were only 2 airmen on the site, myself and AC1 Fred Midwood who came from Southampton. I was the Adjutant’s dog’s body, He was a Flt. Lt. Forester Rtd. and between the 3 of us we were responsible for the admin side for other small stations nearby, Kingston Bagpuize, Grove and Wantage which were basically stores, possibly bombs. These were small units but were able to make up quite a useful 7 a side football team, one member of which eventually played for Wales. Milton was a huge site with some 2000 civilian workers and stretched about 2 miles to Didcot. Whilst I was there it even warranted a visit from the BBC Workers Playtime.
As you can imagine I was through my day’s work by 10.am and as a keen photographer I set up a business developing and printing the films of the civilian workers. It was a fantastic posting for me I lived in Reading and had a living out pass, I picked up an RAF coach at Reading station at 6.30am which was provided for the civilian workers. I occasionally lived in, there was a choice of some 30 rooms in what was the old Officers Mess. I even had the use of a full size snooker table, but it was boring playing oneself as Fred got fed up being beaten. Had I known that snooker was going to be such money making game I should have used my time at Milton to practice every day. Fred and I dined at the Officers Mess just up the hill from the Station. Once a week I travelled to RAF Abingdon to collect all the pay for the airmen at the other stations attached to 3MU.
I visited Milton a few years ago, the main building was as I remembered it, but the rest of the buildings had vanished and it is now quite a busy industrial unit. I was fortunate to have such a posting and it helped to pass the 3 years of my regular service.