Today we wouldn't blink an eye at a woman driving a bus, but in 1966, all the drivers in Oxford were men.

So much so that the Oxford Mail devoted a half-page to the memories of Rosalind Williams, who drove buses in the city for four years during the Second World War.

A copy of the article has been sent in by Colin Judge, of Freeland, who found it in his archives. Miss Williams, of Linkside Avenue, North Oxford, was the first woman employed as a driver by City of Oxford Motor Services, now the Oxford Bus Company.

She recalled: "The men were exceedingly good. At first, they were a bit apprehensive - they were not quite sure what to make of me.

"Afterwards, they were very helpful. Even drivers used to work as conductors with me, which is quite something.

"Women are perfectly capable of driving buses. I am heavily built, which helps quite a bit, because it was heavy work. In those days, we had eight hours and 20 minutes at the wheel without a break and one rest day a week, which I needed.

"In those days, we had some elderly crocks sent down by London Transport. They had open staircases, which shows how old they were. They were light as a feather to drive, but you couldn't stop them. They had no brakes."

Miss Williams, who in 1966 was working as an administrative secretary at Oxford University, recalled one incident when the vacuum brakes on her bus failed going down Headington Hill. She put the handbrake on and managed to stop by the Port Mahon pub. Luckily there was no other traffic on the road.

"There must have been 70 people on board. We were allowed to take 12 standing then, and the buses were always full.

"I gather that buses are fairly easy going today. With ours, we had to double de-clutch up and down - there was no synchro-mesh.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the work. The only thing I didn't like was the hours. I didn't like starting at 4.45am."

So, the reporter asked, why no women drivers in 1966? Mr RG Roberts, the firm's traffic manager, said the need hadn't arisen. They had enough men.

Harry Green, of the Transport and General Workers' Union, said: "We have no objection to women drivers, but any women we can get are better employed as conductresses.

"We are short of conductresses and the training for drivers is much more extensive and costly." How times change!