Surname
|
Curtis
|
Forename
|
Clive
|
Date of recording
|
Jan 2014
|
Year of birth
|
1936
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Place of Birth: Blaxhall
|
Occupation
|
Maltster, Storeman, Painter
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Fathers occupation
|
Maltster
|
Present Address
|
Snape
|
Location Interview
|
Snape
|
Interviewer
Summary |
David Robertson
|
Duration
|
107 Mins
|
No of Tracks: 10
|
Track 1 Introduction
Track 2 (12.40) Home life, childhood stories and school. Brought up at Pump Square Blaxhall ( 6 cottages a mile North of the village ); 4 brothers and a sister in a two bedroom cottage. A mile to school. Later moved to an old small cottage on Mill Common in the village; furniture taken by horse and cart. Surrounded by commons - great for making your own games. In wartime played around the soldiers and watched planes and doodlebugs. Details of his home. School in Blaxhall until 11 then to Wickham market by bike even through winter 1947. Track 3 (12.40 ) School life and first jobs. Enjoyed first year at Wickham Market but later stayed away quite a bit. Often clouted by strict teachers. Absences from school due to illness. Enjoyed sports, particularly running. When 14 had Saturday job at Charles Taylor, village grocer and draper; wages 3/- . When left school became full time delivery and errand boy - biking orders all round Blaxhall area. Lively times. Three shops and a pub in the village. In 1954 shop owner died. Clive stayed for six months before he was called up for National Service. Looking forward to it. Track 4 (12.40 ) Army National Service. Joined Suffolk Regiment at Gibraltar Barracks Bury St. Edmunds. Enjoyed experience of 10 weeks basic training. Shaved for the first time! Posted to Germany- based Wuppertal. Lively training exercises around Paderborn and Sennelager. Guard duty adventures including an escapee. Lots of running time with the bonus of getting out of camp for a meal in a tracksuit instead of uniform. Track 5 (12.40 ) National Service. Job at Snape Maltings Guarding Brigade barracks. More escapees hiding in a boiler room. Near end of service Invited to sign on but came home to Roman Way barracks, Colchester. Demobbed from Bury St Edmunds. Job at Snape Maltings as Maltster Storeman and Fireman. Stayed for 9 years. No malting work in summer so worked in a painting gang. Details of the processes involved in malting. Steeping of barley,shooting, drying in kilns, forks and shovels, ‘plough, drag or turn’. Very hot so rope soled boots. Track 6 (12.40 ) Maltings work. Farm work. Coal for the boilers delivered by rail to the malting’s station, then trucks towed by tractor across the road and unloaded by the Day Gang. They also loaded 12 stone bags-’Coombs’- of barley onto lorries. (Wheat ‘coombs’ about 16stone) The train stopped in 1965. Maltings were good employers. Wages when he left in 1965 - £11.00 a week; a £1 a week more than farm workers basic wage. Hours of work 6.00am to when finished; usually about 2.00pm. 8.00am breakfast at home. Dinner about 2.00pm then free to go to other jobs usually on local farms. A variety of jobs including lifting and topping sugar beet and hoeing. Track 7 (12.40 ) Social life; Maltings closure; Sizewell A Sizewell A construction in the 60’s meant social life in Leiston and Saxmundham was very lively. Fights and various escapades. Played football for Snape and went running. Snape Summer Fair held in The Street. Details of an accident on the way home. Met Brenda in Leiston; married in 1962. In 1963 daughter Sharon born. Living in a caravan next to the Crown in Snape then a council house where he presently lives. In 1965 the Maltings closed. Took a painting job at Sizewell A climbing on reactor buildings but slapdash safety arrangements. Earned £20 in first week. Track 8 (12.40 ) Sizewell. Bentwaters - painting Dangerous work experiences offshore on Sizewell Rigs. Painting in Turbine Hall - station nearly at full power. Left after 18 months. Joined a painting gang for about 18 months, working at Bentwaters painting houses and hangers. Experienced an out of control fire and disagreements with guards of the high security area around bomber shelters. Track 9 (12.40 ) Bentwaters approach to security. Self employment. Story of being the cause of a security alert. Then self employed member of a painting gang working in Basildon, Letchworth, Brentwood etc. until 1980. Damaged nerve in his shoulder and off work for six months. When fit again went solo from 1981 to 2001. Enjoyed it. Liked being in control. Never short of work and made better money. Track 10 ( 7.40 ) Changes in Snape. What has changed in Snape over the last 50 years?. Don’t know many people now. People don’t mix so much. Pubs used to be packed and we used to hear folk talking as they returned from the pubs; not now. The Street Fair was still going when they married but no longer. Used to be a race around the village for a cup. Football teams played on the sports field. Not so much now. |