| Collection | Winstanley Oral History Collection |
| Description | Mr. J. Caesar, born 1897, interviewed in Canterbury. His father was a gas works foreman. Caesar worked as a gas works apprentice and stayed in business for all of his life.
Track 1 [1:21:02] [0:01:10] Introduction: interviewee is John Caesar [JC] of Nunnery Road, Canterbury. [0:01:26] JC was born on 7 March 1897. [0:01:49] JC’s father and grandfathers were millers, both born in Surrey. [0:02:56] JC describes what his grandfather did when he was retired – moved to Hampshire and describes his retirement life. [0:03:52] JC talks about his parents getting married. [0:04:39] Discusses the small amount that JC knows about where his parents met. [0:05:34] JC’s parents moved to London – his father became a gas fitter. [0:06:09] JC describes how his father got the job; through his sister-in-law, who married Tom Godwin, superintendent of the Wandsworth branch of the gas company. [0:06:49] JC discusses Tom’s brothers, Abraham and William and their working lives. [0:08:18] One of Tom’s brothers was connected to the Jones family. JC goes on to describe who they were and what the Jones’ did for the gas company. [0:11:24] The Jones’ sent JC’s father to Canterbury – briefly discusses his roles there. [0:12:09] JC discusses the reasons his father gave up milling and went into gas fitting. [0:14:53] Description of where the family lived when they moved to Canterbury. [0:16:01] Discusses the coal that was stored in the castle.[0:16:53] Description of his father’s roles as general foreman. [0:17:48] Detailed description of JC’s father’s hours and breaks. [0:18:52] JC talks about the stokers being the highest paid workers and their jobs in the company. [0:20:52] Continues on with detailed description of the hours, roles, and wages of the stokers. [0:23:01] Description of the hours the labourers had to work and their wages. [0:25:17] JC discusses the workers striking. Cheltenham was left without gas for 6 weeks. [0:26:59] Discusses the use of an arbitrator which led to the outcomes of the strike. [0:27:30] Cheltenham Gas Company was one of the best run companies in England. [0:29:16] JC gives an overview of his time in Cheltenham. [0:30:08] JC talks about whether there were the same troubles, such as strikes, at the Canterbury gas station. [0:31:51] JC the difficulties of obtaining a job before WWI. [0:33:35] Describes in detail the requirements his father would have looked out for when men were looking for work. [0:37:17] JC describes the holiday that his father got. [0:37:52] Holiday of the workers is discussed. [0:38:12] Small mention of the bean feast, but JC was too young to have taken part in it. [0:40:20] JC describes that living costs had increased by 100% by 1917. [0:41:23] JC discusses his father’s wages. [0:42:56] JC discusses his sister and her working life. [0:45:40] Describes the issues that his sister had whilst working at Hunts. [0:47:19] Mention of what Hunts was and comparison to Le Fevres [Debenhams]. [0:48:46] Talks about JC’s sister and mentions her change in job and pay rise. [0:51:58] Lending libraries and how they worked. [0:53:22] Detailed descript of the public library – the requirements and services. [0:58:35] Discussion of the type of people that would use the library. [1:01:08] Discussion about which newspapers JC’s father read. [1:01:59] Whether JC was allowed to read the newspaper. [1:03:16] Police Budget newspaper. [1:05:34] JC’s reading as a boy. [1:06:15] Discussion of JC’s parents encouraging him to read and when he was allowed to read. [1:07:45] Detailed discussion of JC’s father’s political views on the Labour and Conservative Party. [1:13:12] Discussion of the impact of his father’s political views why he did not share his views with his workers. [1:14:35] JC’s political beliefs and how they affected his work. [1:15:50] Detailed description of the unions and how they worked within the gas company. |