Interview with female from a long-standing Cranfield family; father a Brickworker

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Interviewer

Semeraro, Carmela

Document Type

Date

12 Jun 2001

Interview Date

12 Jun 2001

Biography

She was born on 25th April 1943 in Cranfield. Her grandfather worked for many years in Lovell's bakery, Cranfield, as well as the Stewartby brickworks. He liked to tell stories but rarely ever talked about the brickworks. One set of her grandparents lived across the road, and her other grandparents lived in Woburn Sands, where her mother was from. Her father also worked in Woburn Sands, where her parents had met and married. He laid track for British Railways. During the Second World War, he made ammunition at Elstow, and then joined the Royal Navy on the Russian convoys. She was born while her father was away at war, so didn't know him very well until later. She attended Cranfield Lower School and Stewartby Secondary school. She had memories of attending the Ritz Cinema, where tickets were relatively cheap and the managers of the cinema used to provide services like bike repairs while the film was on. After the war her father worked for the Stewartby brickworks, where he stayed for 51 years until he retired on his 65th birthday. He was closely involved with Cranfield Football Club, and the brickworks hosted community events and projects such as barn dances, swimming lessons and sports days. Her school took her on a day trip to the brickworks. There were also children's parties at Christmas for the brickworkers' children. Her father sued the brickworks after he had an accident which left him permanently disabled, forcing him to work in the "disabled shop" making parts for kilns. Her first job was making lightbulbs in a factory in Kempston, followed by an electronics factory in Cranfield. She enjoyed dances run by the lightbulb factory while she worked there, as well as going shopping on Saturday afternoons with her friends. Her husband had always lived in the village, and sold logs for people's fires. They spent time together clearing the churchyard and got to know each other at the pub afterwards, getting married five years later. She was 23 when she married. She continued working at the electronics factory, losing the job temporarily when her first child was born, and then permanently quitting when her second child came along. She worked from home for another electronics factory across the road, and then later became an office cleaner, which she continued doing for the rest of her career. Her father ran the village Tote for 25 years, funding charitable treats for pensioners and widows. She and her husband grew flowers for the Cranfield Chrysanthemum & Dahlia Society. Later in life, she knew fewer and fewer people who had lived there for a long time and whose families had lived there for generations.

Length (minutes)

Copyright and Source Archive

Material sourced from Bedfordshire Archives and Records Service