| Ref No | WIN/061 |
| Collection | Winstanley Oral History Collection |
| Title | Mr. A. Fordred interviewed by Michael Winstanley |
| Name of creator | Winstanley, Michael |
| Date | 29/01/1976 |
| Duration | 1 hr. 34 min. 24 sec. |
| Extent | 1 sound tape reel |
| 1 audio file Waveform Audio |
| Description | Mr. A fordred, born 1896, interviewed in Ramsgate. His father was a day labourer and his mother took in washing. Comes from a family of seven , five girls and two boys. His first job was errand boy (ironmonger), joined the railway in 1914.
Track 1 [01:34:24] [00:00:00] Introduction [00:00:20] Mr A Fordred’s self-introduction. [00:00:52] discussion of father’s work at Brickfields, driving a stationary engine. [00:01:15] explanation of what the machine did. [00:02:15] mention of father’s other jobs, incl. picking and spreading seaweed. [00:03:22] his father’s schedule while working [00:03:58] discussion of what paramour built in town. [00:04:11] details of paramour’s carts and buildings. [00:04:44] discussion of Updown Farm. [00:05:06] AF father’s unemployment income. [00:05:38] AF mother’s £5 debt and repayment schedule. [00:06:11] mention of meals, specifically Sunday roast, and discussion of keeping rabbits for food. [00:07:14] brief mention of newspaper talking about cheese prices back in the day [00:07:43] average salary back in the day. [00:09:10] discussion of Waggoner’s harvest money. [00:09:30] details on the collection and storage of corn. [00:10:45] discussion of the lack of land work in the area. [00:10:58] mention of sister’s move up to Faversham/Boughton and the land work in the area. [00:11:21] mention of the influence of WW1 on women working in the land. [00:11:47] discussion of the only time AF worked on land. [00:12:11] mention of pay for the work. [00:12:18:] brief mention of AF employment timeline. [00:12:37] AF mentions playing with children at the farm. [00:12:59] discussion of the Brockman children. [0012:33] discussion of the family the farm belonged to. [00:00:14:29] discussion of the price of buying farm produce from the source. [00:15:12] AF discusses growing their own food, and the prices of buying food vs planting. [00:16:01] discussion of working times/days off. [00:16:42] discussion of children going to Sunday school and the Sunday school schedule. [00:17:18] discussion of changing location and the transportation used. [00:18:01] mention of church and the walk to church. [00:18:43] discussion of parents’ churchgoing. [00:19:06] discussion of the commonality of going to Sunday school. [00:20:01] discussion of the details of wearing a Sunday best. [00:20:45] discussion of the weather’s effect on attendance. [00:21:18] recalling a broken collarbone and the school’s lack of attention, and the resulting trip to the hospital [00:22:17] the second trip to the hospital, further injury caused by bandages. [00:23:05] mention of personal documents mentioning the injury. [00:23:24] discussion of the houses and their structure/floor plan. [00:23:48] discussion of the communal water well. [0024:13] mention of pumping stations that pumped from the same well. [00:24:32] discussion of the dry year. [00:25:46] discussion of drawing water from the well. [00:27:22] mention of the farm with taps. [00:27:41] discussion of behaviour differences between now and then. [00:28:12] the contamination of water and replacement taps. [00:28:30] the increase in rent because of the taps. [00:28:50] recalling rent prices. [00:29:25] AF talks about the sanitary arrangements. [00:31:22] discussion of the disposal of rubbish and water. [00:32:00] Use of disposal as fertiliser for cabbage. [00:32:41] the clear out of disposal (?). [00:33:14] discussion of keeping pigs. [00: 34:28] discussion of water usage. [00:35:00] AF talks about his mother doing laundry for older ladies. [00:35:30] the details of a wooden mangle. [00:37:21] the storage location of the mangle. [00:37:28] mention of sheds. [00:37:54] discussion of AF mother charging for washing. [00:38:10] AF mentions being paid to do washing. [00:38:34] children using the mangle as a chore. [00:38:57] discussion of soap [00:39:24] effect of the soap on hands. [00:39:48] timings for washing day. [00:40:09] AF discusses his job giving out handbills. [00:41:14] discussion of job schedule. [00:41:47] discussion of how AF got the job. [00:42:04] mention of odd jobs students did. [00:42:37] discussion of the labour exam. [00:43:53] discussion of sister’s work after they left school, incl. pay. [00:44:58] discussion of preparatory schools. [00:45:17] mention of transport for the schools. [00:46:06] speculation on who went to the schools. [00:46:41] mention of meeting the students of preparatory schools. [00:47:00] discussion of the schools' tradespeople children attended, and the transportation taken. [00:47:42] AF discusses his journey to school and how they had dinner on school days. [00:48:28] brief discussion of West Wood poverty. [00:48:44] AF talks about family financial status. [00:49:05] AF talks about his views on finances and being jealous(?). [00:50:20] AF talks about his views on labour rights. [00:51:04] AF discusses the pay difference for railway drivers, incl. working hours and the location and mileage differences. [00:53:20] mention of his pay at the ironmongers. [00:53:41] the difference between AF’s work and other retail workers on the street. [00:54:08] AF talks about store closing times and the Shop Act. [00:54:55] AF talks about being an errand boy and the chap who worked at the china shop. [00:56:01] discussion of outfit for the job. [00:56:50] AF talks about job prospects of staying in the trade. [00:57:16] AF talks about what he learned about ironmongery. [00:57:38] discussion of ready-mix paint and what they had before it. [00:58:26] brief mention of brother-in-law’s work with paint. [00:58:59] AF discusses his allowance. [00:59:17] AF talks about buying suits and shopping at second-hand stores. [01:00:00] AF discusses his father’s purchases. [01:00:21] discussion about AF’s jobs while at school and the four-quart beer. [00:01:34] AF discusses who collected the money. [01:02:17] AF talks about his siblings and family. [01:03:13] AF talks about the lack of public transport before 1912 and the running of the brakes. [01:04:30] discussion on the people who come down for the holiday, and the route the brakes took. [01:05:35] AF talks about going to the beach events when he handed out bills for Titbits, and the price the place paid. [01:06:45] AF talks about hearing about the Hippodrome and the changing of entertainment in the area. [01:07:47] discussion of the hotels in Margate before WW1. [01:09:11] AF talks about missing the Franco/British exhibition due to being poor. [01:10:03] recalling the Salmstone area’s financial situation and the summer/winter difference in work. [01:11:26] AF discusses penny dinners. [01:11:46] AF talks about boots given to the very poor. [01:12:19] discussion of soup kitchen and pawnshops. [01:13:07] AF talks about his memory of the Poor Law. [01:14:17] discussion of house furnishing and structure. [01:14:56] recalling stoves and how they boiled water. [01:15:25] AF recalls the beds in the house. [01:15:37] AF talks about the dust they used to have. [01:16:21] discussion of the dust in cornfields and how the people who worked the threshing machine were affected. [01:17:30] AF talks about bicycles. [01:18:29] AF discusses motorcars and the people who had cars. [01:19:31] AF recalls the Chandlers and their living. [01:20:30] AF discusses the Chandlers old gardener. [01:21:24] brief mention of mother and sisters being in service jobs. [01:21:42] AF talks about walking to places to save money on rail fare. [01:22:32] AF recalls the rail route. [01:23:13] AF discusses pubs in Margate and them being a source of comfort. [01:24:20] AF talks about counting the pubs on the high street. [01:25:21] AF discusses pubs running health and sickness clubs. [01:25:30] AF recalls pubs having savings clubs and why it came about. [01:26:09] AF talks about father going to the pub and bringing a drink home. [01:26:40] discussion of drink glasses. [01:27:02] discussion of drinks had at mealtimes. [01:27:35] AF talks about doctors and payments to doctors. [01:28:36] brief mention of home cures. [01:28:57] Margate Cottage Hospital and father's accident. [01:30:20] AF talks about saving money up. [01:30:56] AF discusses his attitude on the ‘good old days’, and what made them good [01:31:49] AF talks about saving bones and jam jars to sell. [01:23:57] AF discusses the area called Blue Mountain and hawkers.
Summary created by Roberta Stewart, volunteer, June 2026. Please note, this summary is reflective of the existing audio file which does not contain the full interview as indicated by the accompanying transcript. |
| 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 | Margate, Kent |
| Access filename | WIN-061-001A-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 |