Eddie remembers what a gay old time it was at RAF Ruislip in this comical extract.

In this extract Eddie's hilariously recollects his time as a National Serviceman in the RAF, which begins with his interview for officer selection. Eddie candidly admitting to the psychologist on the Board that he enjoyed poetry and ballet, he was sent, after completing basic training, to learn typing and shorthand. Considered one of the more 'camp' types of jobs in the RAF, Eddie realised that the Board made the correct assumptions about him, especially since the recruits on the courses he had to take were also predominantly gay.

Posted to RAF Ruislip, in Middlesex, which handled all the Air Force's paperwork and secretarial work, Eddie came to realise that the entire air-base was a 'dumping ground' for gay RAF personnel, from high-ranking officers to national servicemen. Assuming that corralling all the gays in a single location, would prevent homosexual behaviour from 'contaminating' other parts of the RAF, Eddie's recollections show the naïveté underpinning that theory. All the paperwork for court martial cases, across the entire RAF, was processed at Ruislip, by what Eddie describes as a 'morass of queens typing up the reports and gossiping'. Therefore, all the typists read, and indeed shared, accounts of cases which mainly involved officers having sexual relations with their batmen or other airmen.

One of the officers caught out was a Squadron Leader, who in later years met one of Eddie's friends in a pub and confirmed RAF Ruislip's role as a gay 'dumping ground'. Eddie also recalls that there were many fearsome lesbians at Ruislip, one of whom was a Wing Commander. RAF Police Women were also stationed there and were predominantly lesbian.

Born in 1935, Eddie, a single child, grew up in wartime South London, where his father was a hairdresser and his mum a housewife. He knew from an early age that he was 'different' and an influential and affluent aunt proved quite an inspiration for him. His father, whom Eddie suspected might also have been homosexual, prevented his son from undergoing aversion therapies which were being recommended by a school doctor.

Eddie chose to do his compulsory National Service in the Royal Air Force, and after the completion of his basic training, was selected to train for secretarial duties. Sent to RAF Ruislip in Middlesex, Eddie discovered that the base was largely run and staffed by gay personnel.

Back in civilian life, Eddie, after numerous affairs met Chris, who became his life partner. He also holds several degrees and worked for a number of years in Germany, and together they became involved in a number of gay equality organisations including the Gay Liberation Front and the Campaign for Homosexual Equality. Eddie also worked for a time at Gay News.