| Ref No | WIN/075 |
| Collection | Winstanley Oral History Collection |
| Title | Mr. A. H. Hambrook interviewed by Michael Winstanley |
| Name of creator | Winstanley, Michael |
| Date | 28/07/1976 |
| Duration | 1 hr. 06 min. 43 sec. |
| Extent | 1 sound tape reel |
| 1 audio file Waveform Audio |
| Description | Mr. A. H. Hambrook, born 1901, interviewed in Stelling Minnis. Her father was a small farmer (predominantly dairy), her mother helped occasionally on the farm. Her jobs were she helped her fatker on farm and spent rest of his life in farming, and was from the eldest of the family.
Track 1 [1:06:43] [Session 1: first interview: 28th July 1976] [0:00:00] Introduction: interview of Mr A Fred Hambrook [FH] at Hambrook’s house by Mr Michael Winstanley of the University of Kent at Canterbury on 28th July 1976. FH born the 9th January, 1901. Grew up around Hawkinge and Folkestone under his farmer father. [0:01:05] Continues explanation of his father’s milk rounds and delivery vans. [0:02:14] Explains the cleaning technology for the milk cans and his father’s original confusion of the milk cooler. [0:03:26] In addition to milk, FH’s father also made butter and skimmed milk. This was the milk with the cream skimmed off the top that was then sold for a lower price. There is also an explanation of the Ministry of Food and the inspector’s job in relation to the milk rounds. [0:07:08] The inspectors would then come to view the dairy and cows. FH discusses how he preferred to care for his cows and maintain cleanliness. However, in his father’s day, it was never inspected, simply put out in the pans and cold water. [0:09:50] FH’s father began in the business with a small farm and a few cows to sell milk in Folkestone. As a child, his father would pick blackberries and sell them to earn some pennies. In addition, FH describes his father’s childhood and how he began as a farmer. [0:16:20] FH began working for his father as a teenager with no experience but describes it as “one of the best things I ever done in my life”. [0:18:47] The men working on the farm would be paid Saturday nights. The five men would stay in the house with the family, and they would eat the same food as the family, all cooked and prepared by his mother. [0:25:07] These men would be hired by the week. They were treated very well, and FH explains how they continued to be friendly throughout their lives. [0:27:27] FH describes how he would take care of his horses. For example, what they eat and how to groom them to ensure they are clean and behave. FH used to use condition powders to keep the horses healthy. [0:32:35] FH describes the first time he saw an airplane and the Hawkinge Aerodrome when he was a boy at school. His family had a horse and cart, and a car when he was older. [0:40:32] On their land, they had a variety of machinery to work the farm, such as a mowing machine. His father used to always leave a barrel of beer out for the men after their shift. [0:42:48] Description of where the beer came from. [0:45:31] In addition to a dairy farm, his father also grew hay and cabbage fields for the cows. [0:50:16] FH describes pubs and markets of the time. [0:55:04] The farm was sold in 1918. FH then goes on to describe the sale of farms in the area and how they went on the purchase another at an auction. He says that it is all gone now having been bulldozed. They had the farm for the next 22 years and he continued to work it until he bought his own 30 acres and started fresh himself.
Summary created by Reese Wix, volunteer, June 2025. |
| 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 | Hawkinge, Kent |
| Minnis, Kent |
| Access filename | WIN-075-001A-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 |