| Collection | Winstanley Oral History Collection |
| Description | Mr. B. Houghton, born 1894, interviewed in Shorne. His father was a baker, and his mother died in childbirth, father remarried. He came from a family of four step brothers and nine step sisters. His job was in a bakery.
[01:00:38] [00:00:55] B. Houghton begins by talking about his place of birth and what his village was like. [00:02:02] He then talks about how he would travel to school and how much it would cost him. [00:03:04] Details about his family as well as the death of his mother during childbirth when he was around nine or ten. [00:04:19] He describes his fathers work before going on to talk about his school on Peacock Street in Gravesend. [00:06:29] Details about the jobs him and his siblings would do for his dad at their home in Shorne. [00:07:50] Describes how he saved up one shilling a week to buy his own bike and travelled to London just to get the bike. [00:10:56] Details about his job in delivery alongside his brother once they left school. [00:13:06] Describes what his typical day would have been like at the time including when he would wake up, attend work and where he made his rounds. [00:14:48] Describes the timings of his fathers day before describing how his brother joined the Royal West Kent during the first world war and his experiences in the Somme, then his death. [00:17:30] Details of who worked for his father prior to the war including whether there were any women present. [00:19:14] B. Houghton describes the rivalries between other bakers in the area as well as where his company would trade specifically. [00:22:15] Details about his fathers different mills and the blends of flour he used to own. [00:28:28] He describes how the business would run including who would take orders, where the horses were from, what happened to the leftover bread and a brief description of the prices. [00:40:48] Brief description of the pigs they had and Houghton’s first wife. [00:44:55] Details about cooking other families' Sunday Roasts including around Christmas time and how much that would cost those who bought from them. [00:47:18] Brief descriptions of their milk business prior to the first world war. [00:50:10] Houghton describes the credit they would allow their customers and how they would settle it. [00:55:54] Details about his childhood games including whether there were any popular organised games like cricket and football. [00:58:23] Brief description of who would play cricket and mentions of his uncle Jack.
Summary created by Olivia Bauckham, volunteer, September 2025. |