| Collection | Winstanley Oral History Collection |
| Description | Mr. E. C. Clarke, born 1903, interviewed in Tenterden. His father was an argricutural labourer, and mother died when he was eleven. His job was a farm labourer in W.W.1. Also he was the youngest of six children.
Summary: Track 1: [1:12:23] Interview and introduction [0:00:00] of Mr E.C Clarke at Mr Clarke's home in Tenterden, by Michael Winstanley of the University of Kent at Canterbury on the 24th February 1976. EC born, 3rd June, 1903. He first discusses his fathers job as a farmer and his wages. [0:0:32] He expresses how he would help his father on the farm with hop picking as the youngest of six children. [0:0:55] He would work long hours [0:1:45] for little money but enjoyed being a picker. [0:1:18] EC furthers this by reflecting on his childhood and home life. He discusses how his life was when his mother was around compared to when she passed away [0:0:32]. She was a hop drier but mostly worked within the home because she was not in good health [0:2:15]. His father would be there all of the time [0:4:14]. He explains the hot drying process [0:5:45]. After she passed, he would help out at the family home with his brother but also took over more farming duties [0:6:34]. He goes back to talking about the drying conditions of hops [0:7:55] and then hop picking itself and how much he earned [0:8:40]. He mentions the Londoners who would come down to help pick [0:10:24]. He then discusses the corn and other farming roles [0:13:00]. EC goes on to describe how his father coped during the war [0:16:49]. He reflects upon the struggles of rations as well as farming and the weather. The family ended up doing more rabbiting [0:17:11] and hunting in order to have enough food to eat [0:18:00]. He then discusses poaching [0:18:50]. EC comments on how different the price of food and cost of living was within that period [0:19:45]. He then speaks about farming and the lack of money [0:21:00] EC discusses his mothers passing again and how he did not have a lot of family around him and had to do his mothers jobs [0:21:40]. He then discusses school and the cane and how much more strict it was [0:25:10]. He did not play e.g ‘football’ but was taught the basics with the highest discipline [0:25:30]. He left school early to ensure he could start work. He discusses his job after he left school [0:28:25]. He then discussed wages in those days [0:31:40] and how satisfied they were back then [0:33:12]. EC mentions the national health and how life was so different for him without it. Instead he had his own family doctor but NHS as we know them now where not available to him. He could not remember it that well [0:35:10]. He discusses his lack of family relations in the area [0:38:12]. One of his relatives came all the way from Canada to try and track her family. [0:38:50]. EC took her to the beach to see the sea for the first time [0:39:30]. He says the only form of transport within this time was local horse coaches or trains [0:40:02]. This made it difficult for him and his family to get away. It was not often that they travelled so he had to walk everywhere [0:44:30]. EC discusses Sunday school and how this was the only day off he had. He worked on the farm six days a week [0:45:06]. He used to go to Sunday school/church [0:45:34] with his family every Sunday. When asked about other club or community gatherings in his village, EC mentions the gentleman's club and other sporting clubs. Goal running being one of them. [0:54:57] He talks about the gender divide of women and how they were not involved in these types of community events and did not go to the pub in the evening like the men did. They played pub games and had benefit clubs [0:54:02]. He expresses the norm of going to the pub of an evening and how the pubs felt at the heart of the community and how pubs thrived [1:03:20] He ends his interview returning back to the topic of sports and clubs within his area acknowledging a class divide between the ‘toffs’ [1:06:53] and workers [1:05:33].
Summary created by Martha Pledge, volunteer, September 2025. |