| Collection | Winstanley Oral History Collection |
| Description | Mr. Chalklin, born 1899, interviewed in Ightham. His father was an odd job man and estate man on a farm, his mother did odd jobs on a farm. He was from a family of eleven. He worked as a butchers boy then an agricultural labourer.
Track 1 Side A [01:34:47] [00:00:03] Introduction: interviewee is Mr Chalkin [C] of Oldbury Ightham. [00:00:27] C was born September 1899. [00:00:35] Discusses his father’s job. [00:02:06] C discusses his father’s living situations. [00:03:32] Wages of labourers and waggoners. [00:04:46] Labourers and piece work. [00:05:32] Hop picking mentioned. [00:06:08] Pubs and pub-goers mentality. [00:07:25] C discusses not drinking anymore and change in people’s mentalities towards money. [00:08:32] C compares the prices of houses. [00:09:04] C discusses how he was happier when he was younger – making up their own games. [00:13:24] Making pea shooters. [00:14:40] Discussion of toys. [00:15:47] C talks about how big his family was. [00:16:28] Discussion of why people had such big families. [00:17:33] C mentions clubs that would help people who were off work sick or had been laid off. [00:19:02] Mention of people who might abuse the sick benefit clubs. [00:19:50] Club days. [00:22:56] Family hop picking. [00:23:10] Oast houses and drying – wages and hours. [00:25:06] C talks about the process of drying in the kiln. [00:37:30] Hop pillows. [00:38:35] Discussion of hours that people would work on the drying shift. [00:39:32] Refreshments for workers from the farmers. [00:40:17] Meal times fitting around work schedule. [00:42:47] Brief discussion of how long people would hop dry each year. [00:43:46] Discussion of who used to work the books. [00:46:13] Dwellers in Ightham Moat. [00:47:49] Other farms who had hops in the area. [00:49:40] Rifling system. [00:52:19] Women helping their husbands with rifling. [00:52:43] Women’s jobs on the farm. [00:54:56] Women’s pay for days work. C discusses his mother doing these jobs. [00:55:25] Talks about his mother’s role and brief mention of her money management. [00:56:14] Discussion of benefit clubs again – what risks there were. [00:57:31] C discusses the reasons he believes that benefit clubs disappeared. [00:59:56] C talks about leaving school and finding a job with the butchers. [01:03:41] Quick mention of wages C would have been paid and hours he worked. [01:03:56] Talk about the jobs C had to do for the butchers – deliveries. [01:06:30] Discussion about the different types of people the C would have to deliver to and the meat they ordered. [01:07:18] C talks fondly about working for his boss. [01:09:37] C talks about animosity between locals and travellers. [01:10:57] Interviewer reintroduces interviewee for second interview. [01:11:22] Discussion of how meat would be stored in the butchers. [01:12:29] C talks about Maidstone Market. [01:16:48] Mention of the struggles of deliveries in adverse weather. [01:18:53] Competition between butchers. [01:20:10] Times of the rounds C had to work for the deliveries. [01:20:35] Jobs C had to do once his deliveries were done. [01:23:13] Butchers opening times when C was working there. [01:24:13] Serving in the shop and sorting order for customers in the butchers. [01:24:51] Rounds and times in the summer working for the butchers. [01:26:35] Discussion of times that C would have to do rounds, talking about taking extra meat on the round to make sure everyone got what they wanted. [01:27:58] Discussion of market days and what would happen with the deliveries. [01:30:20] Discussion of big houses and what they would order. [01:31:29] Talks about the people who lived in the big houses – Professor Newman and Lady Board. [01:32:13] C talks about leaving the butchers and moving onto farm work. [01:34:22] Tips at Christmas time from houses.
Track 2 [01:34:45] side B of Mr Chalkin tape. [00:00:04] Discussion of what would happen with the tips at Christmas time. [00:00:38] Discussion of Christmas perks. [00:02:07] Christmas working hours in the butchers. [00:03:12] Deals the butcher would offer at the end of the week. [00:04:40] Talk briefly about working in the butchers – how good the job was. [00:05:29] Mention of what would happen with the leftovers from the animals. [00:07:57] Salt on the meat. [00:09:03] Skinning the animals. [00:11:12] Discussion about C slaughtering animals as part of his job. [00:13:45] How well C was treated at the butchers – being given food. [00:14:40] Inspectors in the butchers. [00:15:47] Discussion of attitudes towards foreign meat in the butchers. [00:17:55] Audio missing, transcript there. [00:18:07] Cricket before WWI. [00:19:05] Football for working-class men. [00:20:20] C’s fathers jobs. [00:22:57] Toff’s and sport. [00:26:47] Sports at school. [00:28:05] Teaching when C was at school. [00:31:09] Children working on the farm. [00:34:10] Life of the fruit pickers who came down from London. [00:39:25] Games C would play when he was younger. [00:51:21] Toys kids would have. [00:53:51] Helping around the house. [00:55:24] Brief discussion about C’s sisters going into service. [00:57:37] Food C ate when he was a child. [00:59:23] Bundles of seal wood for kindling. [01:00:44] Brief discussion about attitudes to money. [01:02:53] Fond memories of the ‘old days’. [01:06:18] Leaving the village for days out. [01:08:13] Keg-Megs in Maidstone. [01:09:33] Primrose League. [01:10:39] Scouts.
[01:12:09] Church lads. [01:14:18] Days out with family. [01:17:15] Discussion about where C’s mum would do her shopping. [01:18:11] Going to the pictures. [01:20:55] Carriers van in Ightham. [01:27:09] Discussion of publicans. [01:28:47] Pub being a social centre. [01:30:54] Beer being provided for workers. [01:34:14] Farm bailiffs and stewards. |