| Collection | Winstanley Oral History Collection |
| Description | M. R. Pryor, born 1896, interviewed in Sussex. His father was a brickie, lamp lighter, casual, mother did some dress making. Jobs were houseboy, paper boy, errand boy, grocer and baker, railway at the seventeen years (1913).
Summary: [00:48:46] [Interview datee: 3 February 1977] Introduction: Interviewee is Reg Pryor [RP] 4a Wadhurst Close, Eastbourne, Sussex. [00:00:20] RP was born and grew up in Burgess Hill [00:00:24] RP did various jobs before joining railway in 1913 age 17. [00:00:31] RP born 25th August 1896 in Burgess Hill. [00:00:40] Description of home [00:01:20] RP states 7 children in his house and 9 in the Neighbours [00:01:29] Describes what medical attention women received during birth. [00:01:57] Describes putting down straw in road to muffle clatter of horse traffic; mentions nearby woman who did this. [00:02:49] Mentions local sheep fair; describes the transportation of sheep via horse. [00:03:48] Describes how some people tried to make money; mentions the lack of social services. [00:04:25] Describes nearby workhouses and people who stayed there for 1 night. [00:05:23] RP father not having parish relief; describes lack of Board of Guardians. [00:05:54] RP father worked at brickyards at Burgess Hill. [00:06:09] Names brickyards RP father worked. [00:06:35] Mentions wages and the work [00:07:02] Describes loss of brickyards and unemployment; RP father need to get any job. [00:07:51] Describes carpet cleaning. [00:08:08] Detailed description of RP father lamplighting job; describes unemployment in winter. [00:09:45] Further details of lamplighting job. [00:10:27] Describes opening hours of public houses; mentions the change during the First World War. [00:11:17] States RP father doing gardening work when he lost lamplighting job. [00:11:48] Description of RP mother work dressmaking; further description on her making and mending RP clothes. Mentions boys trousers. [00:12:32] Detailed description on RP mother mending stockings. [00:13:23] Description of hand-me-downs [00:13:25] Detailed story of childhood injury. Mentions mother being Baptist. [00:15:29] Story about previous Mayor of Eastbourne; the population and wealth distribution of England; how people with wealth didn’t care. [00:16:38] Discussion of Doctor’s and their method of travel at Burgess Hill. [00:17:19] Detailed description of financial scheme at school that helped children buy shoes. [00:18:50] Mentions need to start working as a child. [00:18:56] Detailed description of RP Saturday job around 10 years old. [00:19:30] RP Describes the boot and shoe club at his school where the children could get a pair of boots or shoes at the end of the autumn term. [00:20:20] Detailed description of his role as a house boy at the private school. [00:23:54] RP tells the story of losing his job as a house boy to a young girl and his subsequent move to a newsagents and barber’s shop. [00:25:05 ] Mentions what a salt and pepper mess was. [00:26:21] Description of what he did as a lather boy and who frequented the barbers. [00:27:38 ] A detailed description of the frequency of lice at the time both during his time at the barber’s shop and throughout the rest of his life.[00:30:31] RP describes his job of selling Evening Argos’ while he worked at the barber’s shop and what he was paid. [00:34:33] Detailed description of his time working at the grocers and bakers. [00:39:18] Description of his promotion in the grocers and his Sunday paper round. [00:41:18] Detailed description of his next job on the railways and his time living in lodgings. [00:46:10] Mentions about the churning of milk in Burgess Hill.
Summary created by Olivia Bauckham, volunteer, in 2025.
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