Doris Hallas |
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Surname
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Hallas
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Forename
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Doris May
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Date of recording
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Jan 2009
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Year of birth
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1929
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Place of Birth
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Aldeburgh
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Occupation
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Retired
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Fathers occupation
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Carpenter
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Present Address
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Aldeburgh
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Location Interview
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Aldeburgh
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Interviewer
Summary |
Heather Mabey
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Duration
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27 mins
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No of tracks: 3
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his recording consists of 3 tracks.
Track 1 [10 mins] Interview by Heather Mabey with Doris Hallas at 16 Linden Close, Aldeburgh. Doris was born on 16th August 1929 at the Cottage Hospital in the High Street. Doris does mention that the hospital was bombed during the war and moved to its present site in Park Road. Mentions that her parents lived in Saxmundham Road and she went to Aldeburgh School, leaving at 15 years old. Mentions that due to illness she did not start school until she was six years old and was always behind with her work and therefore did not like school very much. Remembers her mother told her she had been in hospital for 18 months but she did not really know what for. Remembers she lived on a diet of water biscuits and bananas. Remembers her father making a small table and chair and this was put underneath the family table so that Doris could not see what they were eating. Mentions that her father was a carpenter and worked for Reades all his life, he was originally from Rentham. Describes leaving school and working for Mr. Echells doing housework. Mr. Echells was a greengrocer in the High Street. She then worked for Mrs. Dicks in Saxmundham Road as a nanny and moved with them to Portsmouth as Mr. Dicks was in the navy. Remembers she had several jobs and mentions travelling to London to work as an under-nanny to a family who lived next to the Albert Hall, Albert Hall Mansions. Remembers moving with them to Hertfordshire. Describes how she then came back to Aldeburgh to work at Gower House for the De Quincy's. Gower House is now Garrett House. Mentions getting married to Ian at Aldeburgh Church in 1951 and having the reception at the Young Peoples' Club opposite the library. Mentions that this was a wooden hut and her father started the Young Peoples' Club. Mentions the club had dancing and people also had their wedding receptions there. Mentions that they used to put on pantomimes at the Jubilee Hall. Remembers being evacuated to Worksop and living with a family who worked in a public house. Remembers being taken to the public house on a Saturday and having crisps and lemonade. Mentions that she was eventually moved to another elderly couple who were also very nice. Remembers they had canaries in the back bedroom and also mentions that the gentleman who lived there would have to go out into the garden every time Doris had a bath in a large tin bath. Mentions coming back to Aldeburgh and then going to an aunt in Beccles. Describes seeing planes coming over Aldeburgh and dropping "sticks". Track 2 [10 mins] Continues with the story about the "sticks" and was told that they were bombs not sticks. Remembers hearing the explosion in Oakleigh Square when the mine depot blew up. Describes the beach during the war and mentions that there was only a small stretch of beach open the rest was covered in barbed wire and big concrete blocks. Remembers when the post office was bombed and Ian's mother was killed. Mentions there is now a plaque in the post office with the names of the people who died. Remembers when the SS Magdapor was blown up of the coast of Aldeburgh and remembers seeing the rescued crew sitting cross legged at the East Suffolk Hotel. Mentions that this was an interesting sight as the crew were coloured and she had not seen any coloured people before. Mentions that her father, who was a member of the St. Johns Ambulance, took some of the crew members who were badly burned to Ipswich Hospital. Describes how the lifeboat went out to rescue the crew. Thinks the boat hit a mine. Describes how her husband who was at Leiston Secondary School was evacuated to Sudbury, and later came home to work for his father growing vegetables and flowers for his father's greengrocers shop. He was 16 years old. Mentions that Ian had originally intended to something with forestry but worked for his father instead. Mentions that Ian's father came to Aldeburgh to recover from T.B and opened the greengrocers, where Lawsons is now. This was called Hallas and the sold vegetables and flowers. Mentions that Ian's father remarried a lady called Gladys who worked as a nanny for Lady Lambert in Aldeburgh. Mentions Ian going off to do his National Service and joining the air force. Mentions that while he was away she went to London to work for the family in Albert Hall Mansions. Remembers Ian's father giving up the shop in 1971 as he could not cope with the decimalisation and Ian took it over. Mentions getting married and living in a flat in Crossways, Park Road. This was the old Belstead School Sanitorium. Mentions that her daughter, Jane, was born at this time. Track 3 [6 mins 55 secs] Remembers moving from Park Road to a new council house in Fairfield Road. Mentions that when Ian's father retired he lived at the back of the greengrocers and Ian and Doris had a bungalow built on the land in Linden Road, where they now live. This was in 1961. Mentions that Ian retired in 1990 and sold the shop and house behind it to a wine merchant from London. Mentions that during their time running the greengrocers they only had perhaps two holidays. Mentions one to Norway. Mentions her grandparents, her grandmother came from Kessingland and her grandfather was a Lowestoft trawlerman who died at sea when she was very young. Mentions that her father's father came from Rentham and was a blacksmith. Ian's grandparents came from the North. Describes when she was very young she used to attend the Plymouth Brethren meetings and remembers having her hair in plaits as they were not allowed to cut it. |