The Watford To Rickmansworth Railway In The Second World War

A Memory of Croxley Green.

Croxley Green station is now - in the 21st century - merely a shadow of its former busy life. My Auntie Dorrie (Doris Lacey) worked at this station throughout the Second World War and beyond and told me many stories of working life on the Watford to Rickmansworth line. Auntie recalls being at home in Hatch End in 1940 – she would clean the house on Thursdays. One Thursday she thought she would seek work and went up to the railway station to ask for vacancies – she chose Hatch End as this was a proper mainline railway station – not the underground!
She was posted to Croxley Green which was easy and friendly (in the booking office). She also did relief work at Watford High Street which led to an offer of permanent work there. She said no. Later she went to work at Euston but she hated her first job there – two women and twelve men. She made the tea. She was promoted and refused to make the tea! She eventually became a clerk in the British Railways personnel office.
Her memories of the ticket office at Croxley Green are vivid. The watercress growers of the Chess Valley would bring their baskets to the station to be sent to the markets in London. She got on well with these regular station visitors and they gave her some of their used baskets which she lined with old fabric to make my first carry cot when I was born in 1945! On Watford market days the young mothers of Croxley would catch the train to Watford High Street station but they would leave their prams in the left luggage office for which they had to pay a penny. Auntie felt so sorry for them that on the days the station master was not on duty she would let them leave their prams in the ticket office for nothing and keep an eye on them herself. The station master never found out! Her morning shift began very early before the first train of the day. She would set off from home in Hatch End shortly after 4 am and pedal along Oxhey Lane past Carpenders Park and Bushey Arches. She bought the bike from my mother for £5 after Mum joined the WRAF and was posted to Egypt. Auntie remembers a policeman would regularly see her on these early morning rides and pedal alongside her to keep her safe! All her memories of Croxley during the war years are full of happy anecdotes of warm-hearted and caring local people.

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