Z1205/095

Male. Driver for brickworks. b. 29.03.1936 Side A (00 mins)Born and raised in Northall. Father was village baker. 2 brothers and 3 sisters. Delivery round to neighbouring villages. (05 mins)Bread-making process. Advent of factory-produced sliced bread brought decline in village bakeries. Father closed business. (10 mins)No shop as such; customers who didn't bread delivered, bought it from the hallway of baker's house. (15 mins)Father's mother died in childbirth, giving birth to him. Father made 3-400 loaves a day. (20 mins)On Christmas morning, some local housewives brought in their Christmas fowls for roasting, using the baker's oven. He spent the morning, basting them. (25 mins)Passed 11+ examination to attend Cedars grammar school in Leighton Buzzard. School bus. Girls and boys. Disliked petty rules and prefect's power to discipline by giving "lines" for misdemeanours. (30 mins)Would have preferred to go to a technical secondary school. Was more practical than academic. (32 mins)End of Side A Side B (00 mins)Worked on local farm after school. Got married and moved to St. Albans. Drove buses for London Transport "Green Line". Moved to Marston Valley brickworks as lorry driver. (05 mins)Started 19963 at Ridgmont works. (10 mins)Types of vehicles driven. Manual loading, then mechanical loading and self-stacking, with crane on lorry and banded piles of bricks. (15 mins)Problems and frustrations with job. Left and joined United Glass, Flitwick, delivering glass containers to factories. (20 mins)Reflections on attitudes of Marston Valley workers to takeover by London Brick in 1968. (23 mins)End of Side BEnd of Interview. Original Interview 55 mins

24 January 2002

From: 1930 To: 2002

item

Marston Valley Brickworks,
London Brick Company

brick worker, lorry driver, baker, DEATH, employment of children, Christmas, schools, farm worker, TRANSPORT, glazier, Northall, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, St.Albans, RIDGMONT, FLITWICK