Surname
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Knights
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Forename
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Stella
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Date of recording
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Nov 2008
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Year of birth
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1925
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Place of Birth
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Aldeburgh
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Occupation
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Fathers occupation
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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 |
Doreen Bartlett
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Duration
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5 Mins
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No of tracks: 6
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This recording consists of 6 tracks.
Track 1 [13 secs] Introduction by Doreen Bartlett, interviewing Stella Knights on 24th November, 2008. Track 2 [10 mins] Stella was born in 1925 at 3 Leiston Road, Aldeburgh. Describes this house as being '2 up 2 down' with a scullery at the end of the garden, no bathroom. Remembers there being a coal fire in the kitchen which was moved on Sunday to the sitting room. Remembers there being ice on the inside of the windows in the winter months. Mentions the neighbours and how they would help one another. Remembers the house backed on to the train station and they would watch the trains coming and going. Remembers playing in the street outside, skipping, balls, tops and also going to the recreation ground, (which is now the caravan park) where there were swings, slides and sand pit. Describes how the only water at the house was from a tap in the scullery, which also had a brick floor. Describes the other families in the road, many had 6 or 7 children and lived in the same '2up 2 down' cottages. Mentions that she was lucky as she had a room of her own. Remembers a small garden at the front of the property. Describes how the butcher and baker would come to the house and take orders and then later these orders would be delivered by the errand boy on a bike. Remembers a shop opposite the station that sold everything. Also remembers a fish and chip shop on the Leiston Road which later became a grocery shop. Remembers there was a Smiths bookshop on the station. Describes how they had to collect their milk in an enamel jug from Hall Farm Dairy and would always have a small pot of cream on Sundays to go with the tinned fruit. Also mentions that they had tinned salmon for tea on Sundays. Describes how her mother was a very good cook and did all the cooking on a coal fired range in the kitchen. Remembers the toilet was outside next to the coal bunker. Describes how she spent a lot of her time playing on the beach and swimming in the sea. Remembers learning to swim in the sea and a Mr. Pellham would be watching over them in his boat. Remembers reading Rupert Bear Annuals and a comic called The Rainbow. Remembers having friends to tea and playing silly games on her birthdays. Describes playing cards with the family at Christmas. Also mentions Christmas parties at the British Legion Hall and also the Buffaloes ran a party for the children. Track 3 [1 min 51 secs] Remembers having a party for the Coronation and having donuts, a great treat, and receiving a mug. Remembers making paper chains for Christmas, and remembers her mother making the paste to glue them together. Describes going to Sunday School and sometimes being taken to the top of the Church tower, mentions the lovely views. Mentions that they received a sticker to put in a book every time they went to Sunday School. Track 4 [10 mins] Describes Bonfire Nights as a child and they would have the fireworks in their garden and the neighbours would come along as well. Remembers a Police Sergeant who used to organised bonfires on the beach. Describes how the Scouts would collect the wood and one time they camped next to the bonfire in case someone stole the wood or set light to it. Describes going to school in Aldeburgh and mentions various teachers, Miss Cooper, Miss Marsh who was very strict, Miss King, Miss Kelly, Mr. Simonds and Mr. Wytham, the Head Master. Remembers there were about 20 to 30 children in each class. Mentions that she left school at 15. Mentions that the children and the school were evacuated to Worksop during the war but she had left by then. Remembers coming home for lunch and walking to and from school until such time as you were able to get a bicycle. Remembers wearing a gymslip with a sash round the waist, and also grey knee length shorts for p.e. Mentions that she liked mathematics and that the girls also learned to cook on a range, and oil stove and learnt how to use a copper for washing. Remembers during the war the beach was mined and had concrete blocks set all over it and there was a lot a iron work. Remembers one occasion when a dog ran along the beach and set the mines off and when she came home her bedroom ceiling was on top of her bed. Describes going to night school for a few weeks but this stopped as the war came along. Describes working in the department store, which is now the bookshop, and mentions one occasion when they could see all the little boats coming down the coast on their way to Dunkirk. Remembers that the Aldeburgh lifeboat went but not the crew, as the boat had been taken over by a naval crew. Remembers going to dances and the cinema. Mentions that she joined the Guides as a young girl. This was situated at Belstead Girls School, and she went hiking and learnt how to make "good hospital bed corners". Remembers wearing a dress with a large hat and that she was in the Kingfisher patrol. Mentions the various badges she won including a gardening badge. Mentions that they used to go on parades and that there was a big Guide rally just before the war when Lady Baden-Powell came along. Also mentions another rally after the war, again with Lady Baden-Powell. Track 5 [5 mins 15 secs] Continues to talk about the Guide Rallies held at Helmingham Hall and describes the camp fires and singing. Mentions that she then became a Guider herself and was one for 30 years. Remembers that during the 1950's when television became more popular it was more difficult to keep the guides going but it soon recovered once the novelty had worn off. Remembers going to her cousin's in Dartford to watch the Queen's coronation on a television. Mentions that during the war she was evacuated to an aunt. Describes coming back to Aldeburgh and working in the Cottage Hospital, clearing up and doing the cooking. Mentions that it was mainly soldiers and sometimes these were transferred to a Military Hospital in Colchester. Mentions that there was only one doctor at the hospital, Dr. Nora, who also had a surgery in the town. Describes how she looked after her grandparents and an uncle who had left the navy before becoming housekeeper to the two Dr. Taits. Mentions that she worked for them for 30 years looking after the children and running the house. Track 6 [3 mins 26 secs] Mentions that her Grandfather was a signalman for the railway until he had a stroke whilst in the signal box. Remembers she used to carry his tea over to him in a blue enamel can which had a lid on it. Describes one occasion when she swung it around too much and the tea came out. Remembers planting trees by the station through to Victoria Road, possibly the time of the coronation, and that the trains used to sometimes send off sparks and these set light to a few of the trees but the rest did survive and are still there today. Remembers the holiday makers arriving at the station and being picked up by Wards Bus and taken to the hotels in town. Mentions that he was known a Busman Ward. Remembers the carnivals and that she once dressed up as a red Indian and another time went as a bottle of O.K. sauce. Also remembers the guides taking part and winning prizes. |