Z1205/003

Well-educated farmer's wife, not directly involved in farming, reflects on middle-class rural life. b.25/11/1918 SIDE A Retired farmer's wife reflects on her childhood and education outside of Bedfordshire. Only child of middle class background. Large detached house in Reading, with gardener and domestic staff. Father: wool merchant. Boarding school from 8 -16 yrs. Strict "Victorian" parents. Aunts widowed by World War One. Two aunts in Isle of White, each owing a hotel (as a girl, placed on train alone, under care of guard, to Portsmouth, for ferry), but most holidays in Scotland. (00 mins)Mother drove family car (large Austin). Informant passed driving test aged 17yrs and drove straight to Norfolk. Learned on Sussex Downs, aged 14-16. Hand signals. (05 mins)Accepted for Art School when 17yrs. To study art: drawing & design at Reading University. Met husband to be, Dick. (10 mins)When World War Two started, became Red Cross auxiliary nurse for 2 year (worked from 7am- 2pm) at Royal Berkshire Hospital. (15 mins)Married in 1940 by special licence (during War). Few friends able to attend wedding due to petrol shortage. Close family only, at Maple Durham, Pangbourne. Wedding suit in red (on coupons) from John Lewis. Only one-night honeymoon in London hotel. After university, husband and friend, John Smith, pooled money they had left to rent a farm. Chose one in Bedfordshire, because it was the only one that had toilet inside the house. Side B (00 mins)Was a dress designer in London when a young woman. Met husband, Dick, at Reading University. Married and moved to March Layse Farm. (5 mins)Farm was very cold, but had a log fire which was a lot of fun. Trolley lunches, informally. Wonderful for children to be brought up in such an atmosphere, meeting a lot of different people. Mr Carpenter, their Farm Manager for 10-15 years, moved to Bedfordshire after being bombed out from the East Coast. He suggested planting Poplar trees as a crop for making matches, but that business never really took off.Had 70 - 100 milking cows. Milk sent to a Kempston dairy for processing. (10 mins)After Mr Carpenter, J. Bris became the manager, straight from college. Informant and husband took holidays in a mobile home to Italy, in April- May to fit in with farming. Children left with grand parents + domestic staff. While children were at school, locally, she liked gardening, visiting friends in local cottages and painting. After school, children rode horses. Family had two swimming pools built on the farm, also used by farm staff when there was less work to do during the winter. She designed one of them. All in the family swam. The winter pool was built by her son. They swam every day and lots of people came to swim there. (15 mins)Italian prisoners of war used to put eggs in their pockets at the end of the day but her husband went around with a stick to tap them to break the eggs, without saying anything, not to be nasty but just to show them he knew what they were doing. Later they took to hiding them in their Wellingtons. Rite of passage for children fox hunting for the first time: they had to have a spot of blood of the killed fox on their forehead until bedtime. (20 mins)Family bred Labrador and Spaniel dogs and sold their puppies. Children helped to feed puppies. (25 mins)Most of her children took up farming but her daughter became cordon bleu cook. Their sons went to agricultural colleges in Cirencester and Shuttleworth, followed by one year stays on farms in America and Australia . informant and husband went to America, invited by the family from the farm where Rupert (oldest son) was staying. Went on the ship, Queen Mary. Not good weather; swam on board but got depressed. (30 mins)End of Side B END OF INTERVIEW Original Interview 50 mins.

22 March 2001

From: 1910 To: 2001

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Reading University, farmer, domestic servant, designer, wool merchant, World War One, works of art, Red Cross, nurse, World War Two, toilets, Wootton Marsh Leys Farm, horse riding, swimming, prisoners of war, Italians, fox hunting, canine specialist, cook, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Reading, Scotland, Australia, WOOTTON