Bury St Edmunds Repair Café volunteers delight nurse Lesley Williams, 82, by fixing her much-loved 1962 Philips Radio

A parish nurse was thrilled after repair volunteers managed to fix her vintage radio – with a rather unusual history.

Lesley Williams, 82, took her Philips 1962 transistor radio to the Unitarian Meeting House, Churchgate Street, Bury St Edmunds, for the latest Repair Café meeting.

The Repair Café is held every two months and volunteer fixers repair items of all kinds for donations.

Lesley, who lives in Barningham, had loved her radio more than 60 years, but it had become unreliable. It also held special memories for her.

“As a student nurse, earning £8.50 a month, I saved for the radio and kept it in my room in the nurse’s home,” she said.

“In January 1963, the nurses were attending a nurses’ ball. I was on late shift but wanted to see my friends all dressed up.

“During my supper break, I went from the ward to the nurses home to see them and then to my room.

“In my hurry to get back to the ward, I didn’t lock my door. When I returned at the end of my shift, my radio and some money were missing.”

Lesley reported the theft and two weeks later she heard from the police.

“They told me a man dressed as a women had broken into our nurses home, stealing items from many rooms,” said Lesley, who is now a parish nurse for Christ Church, Moreton Hall,

“He then went into a hostel for Women’s Royal Army Corp nearby, but these occupants were more aggressive and set upon him until the police came.

“The police said this was the only occasion when the culprit begged the police to take him away.”

Lesley has used the radio ‘on and off’ since then to listen to Radio 4. The reception however had become patchy.

“The repair expert, Peter, did some soldering inside, checked the battery, and now it works just fine,” said Lesley.

“He said it will last for many years to come.”

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