Z1205/179

Male. Engineering mechanic. Resident of Marston Moretaine. b. 26.11.1941 SIDE A (00 mins)Born and raised in Marston Moretaine. Mother's family form there; father's family from Houghton Conquest. Both were strong Methodists. Childhood in Marstone - few houses; first expansion in Moretaine Road in late 1940s- pre-fabs for London overspill. Village run very much by the farmers and chapel-goers. Had a sister and three brothers. (05 mins)(Paternal) grandfather was one of the first men to plough with a tractor. Grandfather later worked for the Bovril factory (moved out from London0 just outside Ampthill, during the war, which later became a rubber factory. Maternal grandfather in Marston believed to have worked in a brickyard locally. There was a kiln opposite the Rose and Crown, behind mother's house where tiles were made, with clay prepared with machinery worked by a horse which walked around to power a mill. (10 mins)(Now under Stewartby Lake.) Brickworks in area. (15 mins)His younger brother worked on a local farm in his spare time. He got caught by a local policeman when driving a tractor, aged 14, on the public road, with a shotgun in his possession. The policeman said, "I didn't see you". Father worked for local farms. Rifle butts, where the Millbrook Proving Ground is now, were used by the soldiers form Kempston Barracks. Remembers the car testing ground being built. Increased traffic in village in recent years and building of by-pass. (20 mins)When he was a youngster, he knew 90% of villagers' names; now he barely knows 5% of them, because of the growth of housing estates locally. The everybody used to speak to you; now you have to speak to them to make them speak to you. Very little for youngsters aged 12 - 18 to do in the village. When he was a teenager, there was never any trouble with youth clubs; these days so many people would come form other places and with drugs, so nobody wants to take running a club on. Then table tennis, carts and other games were enough, with occasional trips to shows in London plus inter-club competitions. Supervision was strict, involving a local policeman. One evening a week from 7 - 10pm for 12 - 16 year olds. After that, young people started going to Bedford for social activities. Attended village school in Church End. Left at 15 and did a five-year apprenticeship in engineering at W.H. Robinson, attending day-release classes once a week at Bedford (the Technical) College. (25 mins)Cycled to Bedford for 6 years with 3 other people. Very bad winters. Thick smog, occasionally. Stayed with Robinson until it closed down. Moved to work for Vauxhall Motors, Luton, for 30 years and bought a car. (30 mins)Now he is retired, does community work including P3 group to improve footpaths in area. Helped plant 20,000 bulbs along verges to brighten place up. (32 mins)End of Side A SIDE B (00 mins)Father is still alive and he helps look after him. Reflections on the brickmaking industry in the area. (05 mins)Improved standard of living over the last 60 years. Mothers washing in an old copper, lighting its fire in the morning and putting washing through the mangle to wring it out. Bathing in a tin bath in front of the fire. Freezing cold houses. Yet people seemed more contented then, Mother would spend about four hours shopping on a Saturday afternoon. Everything cut fresh in a grocers shop by assistants who served you individually. Women gossiped together while they waited. Older people had experienced the hardships of wartime Britain. Life was concentrated locally; you rarely went into Bedford, perhaps once a month. (10 mins)End of Side B END OF INTERVIEW. Original Interview 40 mins.

3 December 2002

From: 1935 To: 2002

item

Robinson,
Vauxhall

mechanic, Methodist chapels, farmer, tractors, brick worker, tilemaker, power mill, child labour, drug abuse, policeman, Leisure, village halls, Bedford College, pollution, cycling, wash houses, shopping, grocers, MARSTON MORETAINE, HOUGHTON CONQUEST, AMPTHILL, STEWARTBY, Kempston Barracks, Millbrook Proving Ground