Oral history interview recorded with Bert Collis about his life, predominantly in Great Baddow. This interview was recorded for a project run by the Great Baddow U3A.

Bert was born in 1928 in West Thurrock. The family moved to Great Baddow in 1934, where his father served as the village policeman. Bert attended school in the village and at King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford.

Bert had a number of careers, including working for the River Board; the fingerprinting department of the police; as Deputy Registrar of births, marriages, and deaths; and in education. He also took up glass engraving as a hobby. He married a local schoolteacher in the 1950s, and most of his life has been spent in the village.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
https://www.essexarchivesonline.co.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=1165069

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The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Bert Collis of Great Baddow, 28 January 2002 (SA 64/44/1)

The Essex Youth Orchestra conducted by John Georgiadis, leader: Katherine Shave, play at the Mayflower Centre, Billericay on 9th February 1986.

Track 1 Mendelssohn: Overture, 'Fingal's Cave' Op.26 
Tracks 2 to 4 Debussy: 'La Mer' 
Tracks 5 to 8 Brahms: Symphony No.4, Op.98, in E Minor.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
https://www.essexarchivesonline.co.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=872885

Image of Fingal's Cave by Graeme Pow used under Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC-SA) licence.

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Essex Youth Orchestra Concert, Mayflower Centre, Billericay, 9 February 1986 (SA 10/1/1/28/1)

Sound of Essex: BBC Essex Braintree Millennium Voices interviews

Track 1
This track is three minutes long and comprises an interview with Phyllis Webb who had moved from London to Braintree 33 years before the interview was conducted. Phyllis comments on the differences between the capital city and Braintree, and indicates some of the local campaigns she is involved in to keep hospitals open and also the differences in accents between the two places. 

Track 2
This 8½ minute track is an interview with Molly (for whom we do not have a surname). Molly indicates that she has lived in Braintree all of her life. She comments on the George Yard precinct, where the interview takes place, the building of which caused Molly’s first house to be compulsorily purchased.
Molly talks about her working life, which included office work at Crittalls, where she worked on early computers, Raynes Foundry and Cunningtons solicitors. Molly describes a journey from Braintree to Maldon by train and the walk to the promenade from the station and an immediate post-war visit to London, where barrage balloons were to be seen in the moat of the Tower of London. Molly also comments on the different accents used by people in Essex.

Produced by ESVA / BBC Essex. Used with kind permission of BBC Essex. Image taken by Trevor Wright in 2009 and used under Creative Commons (Attribution-ShareAlike) licence.

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Sound of Essex: BBC Essex Braintree Millennium Voices interviews Part 1 (Acc SA654 No. 132)

This is one of the oldest recordings held in the Essex Sound and Video Archive. The exact date the recording was made is not known, but it is thought to be around 1905 or 1906. It is taken from one side of a double-sided 78rpm shellac disc on the “Jumbo” label, and consists of a poem written, and in this case spoken, by Charles E. Benham.

The poem is subtitled A Ballad of Protest as it satirises the curmudgeonly views of an old country fellow who cannot see the benefits of change and such modern contrivances as parish councils and board schools. Although it relates particularly to the late nineteenth century – which was, indeed, a time of great change – nevertheless, the theme can be seen as more or less universal, reminding us that we all may have a tendency to regard new developments as dangerous, retrograde or, at the very least, unnecessary.

Charles E. Benham published his Essex Ballads and Other Poems in 1895. He took a keen interest in the Essex dialect and the thirteen Essex ballads were written in this manner ‘to perpetuate many archaic and interesting forms of folk speech.’ It was later that he was asked to make sound recordings of a number of these poems, as he explains in the Transactions of the Yorkshire Dialect Society (Part XIX, Volume III, December 1917, p.22):
“Some time before the war a student from Berlin named Theodor Albrecht, came to me in order that I should correct his vocal interpretation of my Essex Ballads. Friends warned me to have nothing to do with him, as even then it was suspected that he was trying to acquire the east coast dialect for sinister purposes. Be that as it may, the country was not endangered by his visit, for the accent with which he solemnly read the book was such that he never could have made himself understood in Essex, much less have passed himself off as a native. However, he appeared satisfied, and he wrote and published an extensive thesis or “inaugural dissertation” on the Essex Ballads which gained him the degree of Doctor at the University, and the University itself commissioned me to have phonograph records made of four of the ballads to be deposited in Berlin.”

You may have to listen to the recording a few times before you are able to discern every word but if you want to cheat, the poem is written below. However, you may notice that the author recites some of the verses in a slightly different order than in the published version. And by the way, the word ‘tares’ which appears in the poem is given as “rough grass, weeds” in Edward Gepp’s A Contribution to an Essex Dialect Dictionary (London, 1920) but is defined in James Britten’s Old Country and Farming Words: Gleaned from Agricultural Books (London, 1880) rather more specifically as Vicia Sativa, or the common vetch, which is grown as livestock fodder or as a soil-fertilising plant.

Many more examples of Essex dialect and accents can be heard in recordings held in the Essex Sound and Video Archive, and the ERO library contains dialect dictionaries, plays and novels written in dialect, and numerous papers discussing the subject (particularly in the Essex Review). The Essex Sound and Video Archive has a Sources List which will help you to identify some good examples of recordings, or you could purchase a copy of our CD called How to Speak Essex: 20th Century Voices from the Essex Sound and Video Archive.

Written examples of dialect speech are a valuable resource for the academic, but nothing can be better than hearing the real thing. As Charles Benham says: “But to preserve for future generations the distinctive intonation, accent, and inflection, there is still needed the gramophone record, and this important aid should not be overlooked by the devout dialect-philologist.”  (‘The Essex Dialect’ by Charles E. Benham, The Essex Review, Volume XXIX, 1920, p.159). And perhaps he should have added that there is still needed an accessible sound archive in which these treasures can be preserved, and that should not be overlooked either.

Martin Astell
Sound Archivist


“THESE NEW-FANGLED WAYS.”
[A BALLAD OF PROTEST.]

Me, nao, sir, I don’t howd ‘ith these Board Schools;
                     Thäy larn the booys too much, my thinkin’, now.
An’ what I see, there’s jest as many fools,
	As when thäy put the young uns to the plough.

I ent owd-fashn’d, nao, I loike to see
	The young uns comin’ on. But now-a-däys
Thäy säy an’ do sich things git over me,
	An I carn’t howd ‘ith these new-fangled ways.

I howd ‘ith larnin’, mind, but let em larn
	Saime way as I did, not that stuff o’ theirs,
Larn ‘em the proper wäy to thetch a barn,
	Larn ‘em the wäy to sao a field o’ tares.

Geoggerfy! Now what on arth’s the sense
	A larnin’ of ‘em how the Moon go roun’?
An’ all about Americky an’ Frence,
	An’ plaices tother side o’ Lunnon town?

My booy he come to me tother night,
	“D’yer knaow,” he säy, “the Warld an’ you an’ me
Are tarnin’ on our axles – sich a raite
	You woon believe? But there, tha’s right,” says he.

I tarned he on his axles, you be boun’,
	I cop he one. That maide me reg’lar riled,
That fairly did. The Warld a tarnin’ roun’!
	To hear sich stuff an’ nons’nse from a child!

N’more I don’t howd with them thingmibobs,
	Them Parish Councils what they started now.
There’s Tom an’ Harry think they’re reg’lar nobs,
	Cos thäy goo there kickin’ up a row.

Look at that Council meetin’ here las’ week –
	Why bless my saoul if Tom din taike the chair,
An’ Parson settin’ ‘gin the door as meek
	As some owd sheep, I tell yer; that he were.

An’ what d’yer think they done? Wh’ nought o’ course,
	Cos there aint nothin’ here want doin’ to.
N’ wonner Parson he look drefful cross
	Comin’ away; I see him, didn’t you?

An’ I don’t howd ‘ith these ere ways at Charch –
	A singin’ o’ the Scripters an’ that ere,
Dressin’ theirselves in nightgownds stiff wi’ starch,
	The Boible never tell ‘em that, I swear.

They säy Ahmen instead o’ Aimen now;
	Tha’s only jes to be contrairy like,
An’ when that come the “Glory be” thäy bow
	An’ curtsey. Lor, I’d like to gim a shaike.

D’yer think the Aingels sing Ahmen? Not thäy,
	An’ when these ere are dead an’ gone th’ll see,
Th’ll give it to ‘em straight up there, th’ll säy,
	“You ent a go’n to sing along o’ we.”

I ent owd-fashioned, nao, I loike to see
	The young uns comin’ on. But now-a-däys
Thäy säy an’ do sich things git over me,
	An’ I carn’t howd ‘ith these new-fangled ways.


"These New-Fangled Ways" (SA 24/222/1)

In the early 1980s the Essex-based broadcaster and journalist Dennis Rookard produced a series of radio ballads to be broadcast on hospital radio. This month’s recording is an extract from one of those programmes – called Wind Over Tilbury – which was based around Tilbury Docks and told the story of the enormous changes to working practices brought about by the introduction of containerisation in the 1960s. It was first broadcast on Basildon Hospital Radio.

‘Radio ballad’ is a term used to describe a particular type of radio programme which uses a mixture of songs and the spoken word to create an entertaining, possibly sentimental, form of documentary. The term was coined for a series of programmes made between 1957 and 1964 for the BBC Home Service by Charles Parker, Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger. They were entirely new in that they used the voices of the ordinary people involved, carefully edited and interwoven with the music, to tell the story without the need for a narrator. 

Dennis Rookard was greatly influenced by this series and he used a similar template to make his radio ballads which, like the originals, were generally focussed on the working lives of ordinary people and used folk music to tell the story. In Wind Over Tilbury and other programmes the South-Essex musician and songwriter Jack Forbes has composed songs specifically related to the subject in hand.

The extract I have chosen is the part of the programme in which we hear a large container ship called Jervis Bay being lined up to enter a lock. Amongst other things, it provides evidence for the assertion that radio is better than television because it allows you to create your own pictures. I hope you enjoy it.

Martin Astell
Sound Archivist

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website - www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/.


Docking of the Jervis Bay (SA 19/1057/1)

Second part of a speech made by Guglielmo Marconi on the occasion of the unveiling of the 'Fisk Memorial' at Wahroonga, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 14 December 1935 (the disc is incorrectly labelled). The 'Fisk Memorial' commemorates the first direct wireless message sent from the U.K. to Australia, in 1918.

In the speech, Marconi forecasts the impact that wireless communication will have on ship navigation, but also the world economy generally. Would he be surprised by how accurate he was in his prediction that 'no country can make much headway' without such technology?

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website - www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/.


Speech by Marchese Guglielmo Marconi (SA 27/9/1 Side B)

Oral history interview conducted with Jackie Hart by Gillian Jackson, as part of a project to record the memories of Castle Hedingham residents. Jackie was born in 1952 and spent her whole life in the village.

For more information about this recording, please go to:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=1064434

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website - www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/.


SA 054 - 44 - 1 Side A Part 4: Her mother's work at Long Pool Farm as Land Army Girl and later

Accounts of past harvest customs and practices, followed by readings from Charles Benham's "Essex Ballads". These recordings were made by the Essex Education Resources Centre in 1975, and were digitised from a cassette tape.

Read more about the full recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=264751

The image is of a harvested field in Thorpe-le-Soken, taken by Nick Turner in 2000 (I/Ee 86/22).

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SA 6/304/1 Tape 2 Part 4: Poem 'Never Been to Colchester' from Essex Ballads

Interview with Mr Jim Desormeaux about the development of Harlow, where they moved in 1963. Mr Desormeaux served as a town councillor in Harlow and chaired the Estates Committee. This interview was conducted by Dr Judy Attfield for her project “Harlow Housing and Design” in 1982.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online: 
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=278310

The image shows Broadway Avenue, Harlow. Photograph by JR James and used under Creative Commons (Attribution-NonCommercial) licence. View the original here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jrjamesarchive/9249419196

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Early life and move to Harlow from London in 1963; first impressions of town (SA 22/1353/1 Part 1)

'Spoke 'n' Word' was part of a programme of cultural events run by Insite, a partnership of the district, borough, unitary, and county councils of Essex and Arts Council England, East. It involved poet Martin Newell and visual artist Charlotte Bernays leading cycle and walking tours around Essex, punctuated by readings of Newell's poetry. The tours ran for two seasons, in 2006 and 2007. After requests from participants in 2007, a 'Spoke'n'Word' CD of some of Newell's poems was published. Charlotte Bernays also created a sculpture exhibition titled 'Violent Sweeps and Tiny Tremors'.

The CD was recorded by Carl Seager at the Octagon and on location. Sleeve design by Arts Services; photography by Charlotte Bernays.

View more information about the recording on our catalogue here:

Visit Martin Newell's website here: http://www.stevedix.de/newell/home.html

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Anthem for Essex (SA 10/2/1/3/1 Track 1)

"For The Want Of A Key: An investigation into the background to the 1905 Witham rail disaster". Hosiprog programme 31 produced in the 1980s for hospital radio stations.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:

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For The Want Of A Key: Side B of original cassette (SA 19/2/31/1)

Oral history interview with Mrs Winifred De Trense, former resident of Witham. Mrs De Trense (nee Bowhill) was born in London. She moved to Witham some time in c. 1936 to help her brother-in-law run Whitehall Cinema. She married Charles De Trense, a dentist, and she lived at Medina House, the Grove, and Highway Cottage before moving back to London.

This interview was conducted by Janet Gyford, as part of a series of interviews with residents of the town. Read more about the interview on Essex Archives Online:


The transcript for the interview and biographical notes about Mrs De Trense can be found on Janet Gyford's History of Witham website: 
https://www.janetgyford.com/interviews/tape-152-mrs-winifred-de-trense-nee-bowhill-tapes-1-and-2/

Image shows view at the northern end of Newland Street, looking south, and including Whitehall Cinema, taken by Ian Rutherford Austin in c. 1949-1950 (T/B 657/10/7). Copyright Essex Record Office.

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Running Whitehall Cinema; marriage to Charles; the Grove; working in London (SA 59/1/120/1 Side A)

BBC Essex report on the reopening of Frobisher Junior School, Jaywick, on 12 April 1989. Includes brief interviews with Barry Davis, Head Teacher; John Hall, Chairman of the Governors; and schoolchildren; plus official opening speech by Admiral Sir Andrew Lewis, Lord Lieutenant of Essex.

The school is now known as Sir Martin Frobisher Academy. How has it changed since 1989? What do the children's comments reveal about school life?

This piece was recorded by BBC Essex on 12 April 1989. Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=312172

The image shows a group of Hatfield Peverel schoolchildren in 1989 (I/Mb 172/1/8).

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Reopening of Frobisher Junior School, Jaywick, 1989 (SA 1/651/1)

Oral history interview with Dorothy Ireland, b. 1894, about her life in Witham. Mrs Ireland grew up in Witham with her grandmother, Mrs Goss. This interview includes childhood memories and reflections of what the town was like in the late nineteenth / early twentieth century.

This interview was conducted by Janet Gyford, as part of a series of interviews with residents of the town. Read more about the interview on Essex Archives Online:


The transcript for the interview and biographical notes about Mrs Ireland, as well as other interviews with her, can be found on Janet Gyford's History of Witham website:  
https://www.janetgyford.com/interviews/tape-01-mrs-dorothy-ireland-nee-goss-sides-1-and-2/

Image shows a watercolour of Chipping Hill by AB Bamford (I/Ba 84/1).

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Early life; local politics; notable characters and events; social divisions (SA 59/1/1/1 Side 1)

Oral history interview with Dorothy Ireland (b. 1894), about her life in Witham. Mrs Ireland grew up with her grandmother, Mrs Goss. This interview includes childhood memories of Witham in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

This interview was conducted by Janet Gyford, as part of a series of interviews with residents of the town. Read more about the interview on Essex Archives Online:


The transcript for the interview and biographical notes about Mrs Ireland, as well as other interviews with her, can be found on Janet Gyford's History of Witham website:  
https://www.janetgyford.com/interviews/tape-02-mrs-dorothy-ireland-nee-goss-sides-3-and-4/

Image shows a watercolour of Chipping Hill by AB Bamford (I/Ba 84/1).

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Social divisions and poverty; law and order; Boer War and Queen Victoria (SA 59/1/2/1 Side 2)

Interview with David Stokes. Born 17 November 1936, Bathside to Earnest and Winifred Stokes. He grew up in Bathside. His father was killed at sea in the Second World War.

On leaving school in 1951, David began work as a deck boy on the ss Duke of York. After promotion to ordinary seaman, he was on the ship when it sank in 1953. He retired from sea in 1961. He worked in a number of short-term jobs before starting work at the navy yard in 1964. He finally retired in 2014.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online: 
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=1114854

This interview was recorded by David Whittle for the Harwich Society. The image shows the interviewee in Harwich.

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Interview with David Stokes of Harwich, 13 March 2017 (SA 49/1/2/25/1)

Interview with Malcolm Smither of Berden, recorded in 2014 by Jane Laing for the Clavering Landscape History Group's Oral History Project.

Malcolm was born Douglas Malcom Smither in 1934. His father moved to Berden from London in 1924, when his grandfather bought the village shop. The family also lived in Manuden and Clavering.

Malcolm later became a self-employed owner of cycle and motorcycle shops in East London, until his retirement. He met his future wife, Kathleen Mair, while visiting a friend in Scotland. They married in 1958 and had four children. 

This interview covers the history of his house on Stortford Road, Clavering; his work running the cycle shops; and his retired life in Clavering.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online: 
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=1100617

The image shows village sign in Berden (Image © Acabashi; Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 4.0; Source: Wikimedia Commons).

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Third Interview with Malcolm Smither of Berden, 2014 (SA 62/1/44/1)

Interview with Malcolm Smither of Berden, recorded in March 2014 by Jane Laing for the Clavering Landscape History Group's Oral History Project.

Malcolm was born Douglas Malcom Smither in 1934. His father moved to Berden from London in 1924, when his grandfather bought the village shop. The family also lived in Manuden and Clavering. 

Malcolm remained in the area for most of his life, eventually running a chain of cycle and motorcycle shops in East London, until his retirement. This interview covers childhood memories; his National Service in Hong Kong; and the story of meeting his wife.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online: 
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=1100616

The image shows village sign in Berden (Image © Acabashi; Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 4.0; Source: Wikimedia Commons).

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Second Interview with Malcolm Smither of Berden, March 2014 (SA 62/1/43/1)

Interview with Malcolm Smither of Berden, recorded in March 2014 by Jane Laing for the Clavering Landscape History Group's Oral History Project.

Malcolm was born Douglas Malcom Smither in 1934. His father moved to Berden from London in 1924, when his grandfather bought the village shop. This interview covers information about the village shop, and general memories of growing up in Manuden, Berden, and Clavering.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online: 
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=1100615

The image shows village sign in Berden (Image © Acabashi; Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 4.0; Source: Wikimedia Commons).

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Interview with Malcolm Smither of Berden, March 2014 (SA 62/1/42/1)

The Essex Youth Orchestra playing Frederick Delius' 'On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring'. This was part of a performance at Blackshots Hall, Thurrock, on 20 April 1971. The performance was recorded by BBC Essex and is used here with their permission.

Read more about the full recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=872861

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'On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring' played by Essex Youth Orchestra (SA 10/1/1/9/1 Part)

Oral history interview with Albertina (Tina) Aparicio, recorded by Evewright Arts Foundation (EAF) for their Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project.

Tina was born in Trinidad and moved to England in 1958 to train as a nurse. She then completed her midwifery training and returned to Trinidad. She returned to England again when she gained a job as a private nurse to accompany Lady Erskine to London for treatment. After a few months, she moved to Thurrock to work as a midwife, where she remained for the rest of her career.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=2&id=1136173

Read more about the Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project:
https://evewright.com/caribbean-takeaway-takeover-ideneties-and-stories
https://caribbeantakeawaytakeover.wordpress.com/

All material (including image) is copyright EAF.

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The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Albertina (Tina) Aparicio, 29 January 2018 (SA 69/1/1/1)

Oral history interview with Carlton Leroy Darrell (b. 1939), recorded by Evewright Arts Foundation (EAF) for their Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project.

Carlton was born in Bermuda. He attended Berkely Institute grammar school, then teacher training college in Ottawa, Canada before moving to England in 1960. There he worked as a teacher and then Deputy Headteacher at Woodside Primary School, Thurrock, and finished his career as Headteacher of Chadwell St Mary Primary School. Carlton was awarded an MBE in 2010 for services to the community in Thurrock, particularly his work with the Thurrock Junior Badminton Club. This interview covers his early life in Bermuda; his first impressions of moving to England; and his life since settling in Thurrock.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=4&id=1136174

Read more about the Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project:
evewright.com/caribbean-takeaway…neties-and-stories
http://caribbeantakeawaytakeover.wordpress.com/ 

All material (including image) is copyright EAF.

View our Takedown Policy here: http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Carlton Darrell, 8 January 2018 (SA 69/1/2/1)

Oral history interview with Nelzine (Nell) Green, recorded by Evewright Arts Foundation (EAF) for their Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project.

Nell Green was born in Jamaica in 1938. She moved to Dudley in 1962 to train as a nurse, joining her brother and aunt who had moved there previously. She completed further training in London, then Scotland, where she met her future husband, a doctor from Colchester. Her husband's work in the Army took them to Malaya and Germany. They returned to Jamaica for about eighteen months, and finally settled in Brightlingsea. Nell worked as a midwife for the military base in Colchester. This interview covers her decision to move to England; her impressions of Dudley; her experiences of racism in and out of the army; her reasons for wanting to become a midwife and her experiences at work.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=8&id=1136175

Read more about the Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project:
evewright.com/caribbean-takeaway…neties-and-stories
http://caribbeantakeawaytakeover.wordpress.com/ 

All material (including image) is copyright EAF.

View our Takedown Policy here: http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Nell Green, 6 November 2017 (SA 69/1/4/1)

Oral history interview with Carol Sydney, recorded by Evewright Arts Foundation (EAF) for their Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project.

Carol was born in Westmoreland, Jamaica in 1943. Her mother (Edna Ulett) moved to England in 1952, one of the first Black midwives in Grays. Carol joined her mother in 1960, and also became a midwife working in the Grays area.  She married Don Sydney, a mental health nurse from Trinidad, in 1967. This interview covers Carol's memories of her life in Jamaica without her mother; the move to England; her experiences at work and her social life; and reflections on what it means to be British and Jamaican.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=10&id=1136176

The interview with Carol's husband Don can be heard here:
http://soundcloud.com/essex-record-office/don-sydney-5-dec-2017

Read more about the Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project:
evewright.com/caribbean-takeaway…neties-and-stories
http://caribbeantakeawaytakeover.wordpress.com/

All material (including image) is copyright EAF.

View our Takedown Policy here: http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Carol Sydney, 11 January 2018 (SA 69/1/5/1)

Oral history interview with Don Sydney, recorded by Evewright Arts Foundation (EAF) for their Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project.

Don was born in Trinidad in 1938. He worked as a mental health nurse there until he moved to England in 1961. He continued this work in England, first at South Ockendon Hospital, then at various other hospitals in Essex and London. He married Carol, a midwife from Jamaica, in 1967. This interview covers Don's expectations before moving to England; his experiences at South Ockendon Hospital; socialising with other West Indians in England and joining susus; and reflections looking back over his life.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=12&id=1136177

The interview with Don's wife Carol can be heard here:
https://soundcloud.com/essex-record-office/carol-sydney-11-jan-2018

Read more about the Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project:
evewright.com/caribbean-takeaway…neties-and-stories
http://caribbeantakeawaytakeover.wordpress.com/

All material (including image) is copyright EAF.

View our Takedown Policy here: http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Don Sydney, 5 December 2017 (SA 69/1/6/1)

Oral history interview with Lenore Sykes recorded by Evewright Arts Foundation (EAF) for their Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project.

Lenore was born in Trinidad in c. 1934. She trained as a nurse there and moved to England in 1966 to continue her development, including completing midwifery training. Her first posting in England was to the Marston Green Hospital, Birmingham, where she met her future husband. This interview covers memories of her sea voyage to England; story of meeting her husband; and reflections of her life since moving to England.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=14&id=1136178

Read more about the Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project:
evewright.com/caribbean-takeaway…neties-and-stories
http://caribbeantakeawaytakeover.wordpress.com/

All material (including image) is copyright EAF.

View our Takedown Policy here: http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Lenore Sykes, 6 November 2017 (SA 69/1/7/1)

Oral history interview with Alton Watkins recorded by Evewright Arts Foundation (EAF) for their Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project.

Alton was born in Trinidad in 1929. He worked as a printer, and reared pigs to earn his fare to move to England. He travelled on the SS Lucania in 1956 and worked as a printer in London while studying to gain a teaching qualification. He then moved to Grays to work as a schoolteacher, until his retirement. This interview covers information about his life in Trinidad; his journey to England; his experiences in London and the racial disharmony at the time; his move to Grays and his work as a schoolteacher; and reflections on his life as a whole.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=16&id=1136179

Read more about the Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project:
evewright.com/caribbean-takeaway…neties-and-stories
http://caribbeantakeawaytakeover.wordpress.com/

All material (including image) is copyright EAF.

View our Takedown Policy here: 
http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website:
http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Alton Watkins, 12 February 2018 (SA 69/1/8/1)

Oral history interview with Gloria Whyte recorded by Evewright Arts Foundation (EAF) for their Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project.

Louisa Gloria Whyte (nee Morris) was born in Trinidad in 1945. She was sent to England at the age of 16 to complete her education, staying initially with her older brothers in London. She worked in the financial sector, including time spent working at the London Stock Exchange. She moved to East Tilbury with her husband, a lorry driver. This interview covers her childhood; memories of the move to England; her first impressions; and stories about her life since moving.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=18&id=1136281

Read more about the Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project:
https://evewright.com/caribbean-takeaway%E2%80%A6neties-and-stories
https://caribbeantakeawaytakeover.wordpress.com/

All material (including image) is copyright EAF.

View our Takedown Policy here: 
http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website:
http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Gloria Whyte, 29 January 2018 (SA 69/1/9/1)

Oral history interview with Alford Gardner recorded by Evewright Arts Foundation (EAF) for their Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project.

Alford Gardner was born in Jamaica in 1926. He served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. In 1948, he was one of the first West Indians to move to Britain, travelling on the Empire Windrush which landed in East Tilbury. He went from there to Leeds, where he had previously spent some time after being demobilised from the RAF. Although he faced opposition and struggled to find work and accommodation, he eventually settled, marrying and raising his family. This interview covers his memories of the voyage on the Windrush; his struggle to settle in Leeds; and reflections on his life.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
https://www.essexarchivesonline.co.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=6&id=1136284

Read more about the Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project:
https://evewright.com/caribbean-takeaway-takeover-ideneties-and-stories
https://caribbeantakeawaytakeover.wordpress.com/

All material (including image) is copyright EAF.

View our Takedown Policy here: 
http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website:
http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Alford Gardner of Leeds, 10 February 2018 (SA 69/1/3/1)

Oral history interview with Allan Wilmot about serving in the British military during the Second World War, and his life in England after moving there from Jamaica in the 1940s.

Allan Charles Wilmot was born in Jamaica in 1925. He enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1941, then moved to the Royal Air Force Marine Section. After failing to find suitable employment opportunities on his return to Jamaica, he moved to England permanently. There he became part of a soul singing group The Southlanders, who toured Europe performing. On retiring from the group, he worked as a telephone operator. In his retirement, he has worked with the West Indians Ex-Servicemen Association [now the West Indian Association of Service Personnel].

This interview was recorded by Evewright Arts Foundation (EAF) in 2018. The recording is copyright EAF. Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=1137990

The image shows The Southlanders performing on 14 November 1964, and is from the National Archives of the Netherlands (File Number 917-1265). View the image here: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/aa82cfa0-d0b4-102d-bcf8-003048976d84

View our Takedown Policy here: http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy 

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Allan Wilmot, 3 March 2018 (SA 69/1/12/1)

Oral history interview with Evena Morris about her life in England after moving there from Grenada in 1962. Includes details about getting a flat in Tower Hamlets, then her move to Wapping; working in clothing manufacturing factories in East London; her voyage on the Ascania; taking part in susu savings scheme to save money to pay for her children to join her in England; and nursery rhymes from her childhood.

This interview was recorded by Evewright Arts Foundation (EAF) in 2017. The recording and Evena's portrait are copyright EAF. Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=7&id=1138301

View our Takedown Policy here: http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy 

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Evena Morris, 8 December 2017 (SA 69/1/11/1)

Oral history interview with Edie Brown (EB) and Grace Springett (GS) about their lives in Witham, including different jobs worked and their families. Edie speaks primarily, and Grace occasionally contributes. Interviewed by Janet Gyford, as part of a series of interviews with residents of the town.

Side 1 of original recording
[00:00:] [Starts mid-conversation] [EB] Discussion about being recorded at a social event; living in Sunderland shortly after marrying her husband [in the 1920s]; husband's work at a limestone quarry; return to Witham to seek work; living with her father in Church Street; getting to know Mrs Springett.

[03:05:] Going pea-picking; story of cycling into hedge and other memorable incidents; wages received; taking children pea-picking.

[07:45:] Money received from her husband for housekeeping; gas lights installed in house; coal deliveries; meals.

[10:30:] Her husband's work at Crittall's [window manufacturers]; unemployment, doing odd jobs when they first moved to Witham; domestic service for White Hart Hotel; domestic service for Round family.

[15:50:] Information about the Round family; other staff in the house [break in interview].

[18:55:] [Looking at photographs] Where she grew up in Trafalgar Square [Witham]; family's two homes joined together; her father's garden and allotment; eating produce grown on allotment.

[23:00:] Her mother's work at home; her siblings; making clothes for the family; having dresses made for her and her sisters; clothing worn to school and church services; mother attending services at Congregational Chapel.

[27:30:] Her mother's family background from the Shelley family; her grandmother living with them in her childhood; using the front room for courting; her sisters' weddings and acting as bridesmaid, clothing worn.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:  
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=1118708

The image shows Edie's entry in the baptism register for St Nicholas Church, Witham (D/P 30/1/12).

View our Takedown Policy here: http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy 

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Edie Brown and Grace Springett: pea-picking; housework; domestic service (SA 59/1/5/1 Side 1)

Concert by Essex Youth Orchestra in 1986 (SA10/1/1/28/1)
The Essex Youth Orchestra conducted by John Georgiadis, leader: Katherine Shave play at the Mayflower Centre, Billericay on 9th February 1986.
Track 1 Mendelssohn: Overture, 'Fingal's Cave' Op.26 
Tracks 2 to 4 Debussy: 'La Mer' 
Tracks 5 to 8 Brahms: Symphony No.4, Op.98, in E Minor.
View our Takedown Policy here: http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy 
The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Track 5 Brahms: Symphony No.4, Op.98, in E Minor (SA10/1/1/28/1)

Track 4 Debussy: 'La Mer' (SA10/1/1/28/1)

Track 3 Debussy: 'La Mer' (SA10/1/1/28/1)

Track 2 Debussy: 'La Mer' (SA10/1/1/28/1)

Track 1 Mendelssohn: Overture, 'Fingal's Cave' Op.26 (SA10/1/1/28/1)

Interview with Clarice Reid about her early life in Jamaica, her move to England in 1959, and her life in England since then. This interview was recorded on 15 April 2019 by Clarice's son Everton for the Evewright Arts Foundation Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project.

[00:00:] Her birth in Jamaica; marriage; her father's work as a farmer; her five siblings; positive memories of Jamaica; her schooling.
[03:30:] Paying her airfare to join her husband in England in November 1959; leaving her children with her mother when she went to England, initially for five years; staying in England long-term; living in shared rooms; first impressions of snow.
[06:40:] Working in Francis [and Co.] tin box factory; availability of jobs; working in hospitals, starting SRN [State Registered Nurse] training; doing auxiliary nursing at Brook General Hospital; ethnicity of other nurses.
[10:05:] Missing her family when she first moved; lack of support network; buying a house in 1964; not being named on deeds; breakdown of her marriage; being evicted from her house; struggle to get council housing; receiving help from social services.
[15:45:] Her nursing salary; her children helping at home; doing agency work at Guy's Hospital; being covered by her colleague so she could leave work early to get the children ready for school; sleeping arrangements at home.
[19:30:] Social services threatening to take away her children; leisure time in Jamaica; not having leisure time in England because of having to work to support her children; looking at wedding picture of a family friend.
[24:45:] Attempts to move back to Jamaica since she married current husband Joe Reid; loss of her family in Jamaica; being diagnosed with breast cancer and having mastectomy; reflections on her life overall and thoughts about the future.

Image by Evewright Arts Foundation, used with their kind permission.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:
https://www.essexarchivesonline.co.uk/result_details.aspx?ThisRecordsOffSet=1&id=1148464

Read more about the Caribbean Takeaway Takeover project:
https://evewright.com/caribbean-takeaway-takeover-ideneties-and-stories

All material (including image) is copyright EAF.

View our Takedown Policy here: https://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

Interview with Clarice Reid about moving to England from Jamaica, 15 April 2019 (SA 69/1/13/1)

Sound of Essex: BBC Essex Braintree Millennium Voices interviews

Oral history interviews with two ladies about Braintree by BBC Essex.

Track 1

This track is three minutes long and comprises an interview with Phyllis Webb who had moved from London to Braintree 33 years before the interview was conducted. Phyllis comments on the differences between the capital city and Braintree, and indicates some of the local campaigns she is involved in to keep hospitals open and also the differences in accents between the two places. 

Track 2

This 8½ minute track is an interview with Molly for whom we do not have a surname. Molly indicates that she has lived in Braintree all of her life. She comments on the George Yard precinct, where the interview takes place, the building of which caused Molly’s first house to be compulsorily purchased.
Molly talks about her working life, which included office work at Crittalls, where she worked on early computers, Raynes Foundry and Cunningtons solicitors. Molly describes a journey from Braintree to Maldon by train and the walk to the promenade from the station and an immediate post-war visit to London, where barrage balloons were to be seen in the moat of the Tower of London. Molly also comments on the different accents used by people in Essex.

Produced by ESVA / BBC Essex. Used with kind permission of BBC Essex.

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The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

BBC Essex Braintree Millennium Voices interviews - part 01 Molly(Acc SA654)

BBC Essex Braintree Millennium Voices interviews - part 01 Phyllis Webb(Acc SA654)

Oral history interview recorded with Bert Collis about his life, predominantly in Great Baddow. This interview was recorded for a project run by the Great Baddow U3A.

Bert was born in 1928 in West Thurrock. The family moved to Great Baddow in 1934, where his father served as the village policeman. Bert attended school in the village and at King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford.

Bert had a number of careers, including working for the River Board; the fingerprinting department of the police; as Deputy Registrar of births, marriages, and deaths; and in education. He also took up glass engraving as a hobby. He married a local schoolteacher in the 1950s, and most of his life has been spent in the village.

Read more about the recording on Essex Archives Online:


View our Takedown Policy here: http://www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/about/legal-and-technical/takedown-policy 

The Essex Record Office can preserve your old recordings, or provide talks and training on oral history and sound archives. To find out more about the services we offer, visit our website: http://www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/services/sound-video-services/

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