| Ref No | WIN/103 |
| Collection | Winstanley Oral History Collection |
| Title | Mr. M. Mills interviewed by Michael Winstanley |
| Name of creator | Winstanley, Michael |
| Date | 12/02/1975 |
| Duration | 1 hr. 05 min. 59 sec. |
| Extent | 1 sound tape reel |
| 1 audio file Waveform Audio |
| Description | Mr. M. Mills, born 1889, interviewed in Ashford. His father was a gardener at a priory - Essex and jobs were cowboy on marshes and later in Army.
Track 1 [1:05:54] [0:00:01] Introduction: interviewee is Mark Mills [MM]. [00:00:11] MM says his life was wonderful. Talks about a picture of Lady Mary in the garden of Gethsemane and his father’s last words. [00:01:57] Talks about the storms and his mother singing. [00:03:16] MM mentions his family and describes bath night. [00:03:57] Describes how his brother caught sparrows and how they were cooked. [00:04:42] Mentions grandparents, grandfather worked at the priory at St.Osyth in 1869. [00:05:11] MM describes in detail how his grandmother made a rock. Tells a story about her paying rent. Mentions common manners. [00:07:46] MM speaks about his school days, mentions grandparents paying a penny per week for parents’ education. [00:09:12] Describes the behaviour he was taught. [00:10:25] Father worked at priory. Mentions his first job collecting food to deliver to sick people in the parish. [00:11:15] MM mentions enjoying hearing Sir John read lessons and doing so himself for many years. He tells a story about Sir John. [00:12:25] MM made first master of Burnham lodge on 18 September 1935. MM describes other jobs he had and how much he got paid. [00:12:52] MM mentions fetching flour from mill. Describes brother’s poaching and what he caught. [00:13:30] Mentions giving his job to his brother when he was 10. Worked as a rider around Essex checking horses and cattle, states pay. [00:14:01] Tells a story about birds and how the story resulted in an act of Parliament. [00:15:15] Mentions collecting plover’s eggs. Talks about going to church. Mentions wanting to join army. [00:16:39] Tells a story about his brother. Mentions job as a carpenter after leaving school but returning to marshes and how much he was paid. [00:17:35] MM speaks in detail about his brother and his jobs. Focuses on brother’s love for poaching. [00:18:15] Describes an incident on a Sunday morning, finding rhubarb wine before church, another about his brother visiting a girl. [00:19:27] MM talks about Lady Foster’s funeral and being given gin. [00:20:20] Describes his experiences poaching in detail, how to do it and tools used. Mentions his brother’s Sunday schedule and his poaching techniques. [00:24:24] MM mentions younger brother’s death in 1916 and his employment as under-keeper. [00:25:28] MM describes Easter in great detail. Tells a story about being confirmed. Describes a family tradition. [00:31:51] MM describes Christmas, going skating and mentions a local band, mentions charity his family did. [00:33:50] Mentions joining band, tells a story about getting in trouble. [00:34:54] MM tells a story about the farmer, Mr. Gould and butcher Mr. Norman choosing animals for Christmas. Tells a story about rescuing a man from fire. [00:35:42] Talks about what people ate at Christmas. Talks about mother’s cooking, eating sparrow pudding, eels and having elderberry wine. [00:37:07] Talks about what people did when out of work – going to the beach to get fish and crabs. [00:38:11] MM mentions community spirit, tells a story about farmer giving turnip tops. Mentions mother taking in homeless people. [00:39:56] Talks about history of the Priory and who all owners from 1869 to present. Talks about what some of the owners were like. [00:42:40] MM talks about unemployment, mentions harvest time as only time of full employment. [00:43:09] MM describes how milk was processed and churning butter. [00:44:14] Describes corn and grain processing in detail. Mentions mother making bread with the wheat. [00:46:00] Talks about what food they would eat. Describes how rooks were caught for pies. [00:46:48] MM tells a story about how he got a punishment from his father. Mentions parents being strict about behaviour. [00:49:19] Mm mentions his uncle and his mother going to London to visit him. Says mother never went on holiday. [00:50:55] Mentions getting water from pump, costing a penny per week and who owned pump. Mentions what toilets were like. [00:52:02] Talks about Christmas parties. Talks more about Sir John and charity he did. [00:55:10] MM talks about his experience in the first World War and an event at the end of the war. [00:57:17] [rest of track is blank]
Summary completed by Amelia Bocksei, volunteer. |
| PhysicalDescription | 1 sound tape reel : analogue, 5 inch reel, 9,5 cm/sec, 2 track, mono |
| Waveform Audio |
| Related Organisation | University of Kent |
| Related Place | Essex, Kent |
| Access filename | WIN-103-001A-A.mp3 |
| Category | Audio recordings |
| Access conditions | Available for consultation at the University of Kent's Special Collections & Archives reading room, Templeman Library, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NU. Access is available via digital listening copies. The University of Kent acknowledges the intellectual property rights of those named as contributors in this recording and the rights of those not identified. |
| Copyright | University of Kent and individual speakers |
| Material within the archive may remain within copyright under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Special Collections & Archives staff will assist where possible in helping trace copyright holders, but it is ultimately the responsibility of users to obtain the permission of the copyright holder for reproduction of copyright material for uses other than research or private study. |
| Level | Item |