| Ref No | WIN/043 |
| Collection | Winstanley Oral History Collection |
| Title | Mr. J . Coleman interviewed by Michael Winstanley |
| Name of creator | Winstanley, Michael |
| Date | 15/05/1975 - 29/05/1975 |
| Duration | 2 hr. 30 min. 55 sec. |
| Extent | 1 sound tape reel |
| 2 audio file Waveform Audio |
| Description | Mr. J. Coleman, born 1886, interviewed in Whitstable. His father worked as a labourer & small holders. His mother took in washing. He camr from a family of five, and his jobs 11-13 on fathers farm, 13-17 gardening and 17+ joined the Navy.
Summary: Track 1 [1:34:44] [Session one: 15th May 1975] Joseph Coleman [JC], born Waltham, 1886. Description of father’s occupation as a Carrier and Farmer, his father’s difficulties in his occupations, JC’s role helping his father. Mentions relationship with a black retriever dog. [0:04:43] Mentions his older sister who passed away. [00:04:57] Comments on leaving school at 13 and beginning work as a Farm hand and then Gardener. [00:06:10] Discussion of his father’s work as a Carrier, mentions his father delivering coal, groceries, wood, and passengers. Mentions father’s horses. [00:08:25] Discussion of JC joining the Navy at 17 and a half, mentions pension as motivation for joining. Mentions his father’s dislike of JC joining, how it was hard to adjust to a harsher life. Remarks on working alongside the brother from the MacKay’s family as he was a Lieutenant. [00:10:48] Discussion of JC’s work for the MacKay’s in the gardens in Petham and six months living in Harbledown before joining the Navy. Remarks on living in at Petham, his wages, the cost of board and lodgings and how they rose when he moved to Canterbury. Mentions Hall Place, Harbledown where he worked for the Peckham’s. [00:13:09] Comments on his duties working for his father, starting at 8 or 9 years old. [00:15:02] Remarks on how his father didn’t make a good living and spent much of his money and time in the pub. Mentions his mother taking people's washing to make extra money. [00:16:23] Detailed description of his mother’s job as a washer. [00:17:13] Description of the entertainment at the time including attitudes towards women and pubs. [00:18:12] Brief mention of the long pull. [00:20:19:52] JC talks about drinking and smoking as a child including mentions of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. [00:22:18] Mentions the time he broke his ankle during the war and a detailed description of the hospital he was kept at. [00:24:13] Detailed description of his time in the Navy and his attitudes towards the First World War. [00:27:46] Brief mention of his siblings and their roles in the war. [00:28:52] Detailed description of his time as a gardner. [00:31:44] Description of poaching and what game would be used for. [00:35:40] JC talks about the chickens they used to have and his father’s Good Friday tradition of badger and fox digging. [00:37:58] Description of hunting at the time. [00:40:14] Detailed description of the idle rich in the area. [00:44:35] Brief mention of hop gardens.
[Session Two: 29th May 1975] [00:47:49] JC talks about Sundays and the different churches in his area, including a description of his time in Sunday school. [00:50:50] JC comments on his clothes for Sunday School as well as his mother’s role in sewing and mending them. [00:53:43] Brief mention of the food they would eat on a Sunday as well as how they would acquire that food. [00:56:00] JC expresses the opinions his town had on Catholics. [00:58:21] Brief description of the role gypsy’s played in helping on the farm and what they were actually like. [01:02:20] Comments on the types of people around the town and the employment. [01:04:05] JC tells the stories of Sunday school trips to Whitstable, including who went, when they occurred and what they would do there. [0108:53:] JC talks about what it was like to live in his village including a lack of community there. [01:11:12] Detailed description of what would go on in the village including fairs, sideshows and the role of the church in social events. [01:20:35] Description of what was in and around the village, with details of how they would get their produce. [01:23:10] Mentions of the butchers and grocers in the village, as well as the role of Canterbury. [01:31:27] Brief description of travel at the time including railways, and how much people would travel.
Summary created by Olivia Bauckham, volunteer, in 2026. |
| 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 | Waltham, Kent |
| Access filename | WIN-043-001A-A.mp3 |
| WIN-043-001B-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 |