These postcards were sent by members of the RAF who had stayed with Mr and Mrs P. Walker at 124 Hornby Road, Blackpool which was used as a boarding house for RAF recruits during the Second World War. Many recruits remained in touch with the couple, sending letters and cards from their onward postings. This included airman "Bev" who sent greetings from RAF HQ in Iceland in 1943 and "Bob" who sent a Christmas card from Rangoon, Burma in 1945.

During the Second World War Blackpool was described as 'the greatest troop-training station in the world'. More than 800,000 recruits passed through the Lancashire seaside town to undertake their basic training, and it also became the headquarters for thousands of Polish airmen who had escaped their occupied homeland.

The town was in an area considered relatively safe, away from the large metropolitan centres which were being bombed by the Nazis during the Blitz and importantly, uniquely equipped to accommodate 45,000 men billeted in B&Bs across the town at any one time. This ensured that Blackpool remained a bustling town during the war with theatres remaining open all year round to entertain the off-duty troops.