Surname
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Harrison
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Forename
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Susan Harrison
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Date of recording
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2009
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Year of birth
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1939
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Place of Birth
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Aldeburgh
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Occupation
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Cinema Manager
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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 |
John Hambley
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Duration
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93 Mins over 2 interviews
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No of tracks: 11
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This recording consists of two interviews, one of 6 tracks and one of 5 tracks. Only 1 track of the second interview has been summarised to date but all tracks are here. The sound on the second interview has a bad background hum. First Interview at Aldeburgh Cinema on 26th February 2009 Track 1 [10 mins] Susan was born in March, 1939. Mentions that her mother was brought up by her step-grandmother at the Railway Hotel on the roundabout. Mentions that her mother's parents were divorced. Mentions her father Bertie Collis Ward whose father owned the Suffolk Hotel in the High Street, and he was born there. Mentions that she was born in a bungalow in the Leiston Road and was evacuated to Yoxford at the beginning of the war with her sister, Rita. Remembers her three brothers, Ron, Geoff and Alan were evacuated to Worksop. Mentions that her father was a prisoner of war in Germany during the war and she did not see him until he came home in 1945. Describes that it must have been a tough time for her mother bringing the family up but they were clean and fed. Describes her first day at Yoxford Primary School when she was five years old and one occasion when she had to go into her older brother, Ron's, classroom to get her dinner money from him. Describes all the boys sitting with their arms folded not daring to move. Remembers her mother waiting at the gate of the house everyday and washing their hair in order to remove 'any livestock' before they went into the house. Describes moving back to Aldeburgh in 1945 and going to Aldeburgh Primary School. Describes going to Leiston Modern School when she was 11 years old. Describes leaving school at 15, but in order to leave school you had to have a job to go to. Describes her first job working at North Laundry, where the dry cleaners is now, as a shop assistant. Mentions that she worked from 8.00 a.m to 6.00 p.m. Monday to Friday and Saturday from 8.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. Describes going to the Ipswich School of Commerce and Social Studies in Ipswich (now Suffolk College) and doing a secretarial course. Mentions that she was 16 years old. Describes working for a builder in Aldeburgh called George Knowles, his yard being where Coastguard Court is now. Mentions this was later taken over by Walter French. Describes meeting her husband here, he was a carpenter and joiner and they were engaged when she was 17 years old. Describes how the building firm went bankrupt and she lost her job and then worked in the shop at Hill Farm Dairy at the bottom of Church Hill, (where Keanes is now). Describes Aldeburgh Primary School having five classes with perhaps 35-40 pupils in each class. Remembers there were five classrooms and the children had their meal in the main hall. This was cooked on site and the children were made to eat everything on their plate, including gristly meat. Remembers one occasion when she put the meat in her handkerchief and her mother found it. Remembers sitting her 11 plus exam and being the only girl sitting in the hall at school. Describes that there were other girls putting up the Christmas tree and she was distracted. Mentions that she failed her 11 plus. Remembers Class 1 at the school and the teacher was called Miss Peach. Describes an occasion when she (Susan) got out of her seat without permission and was taken to the front of the class the Miss Peach smacked her on the arm. Remembers some school books, especially the Little Red Hen books. Mentions that they had very little homework and sometimes were sent home with a book to read. Track 2 [10 mins] Describes going to Leiston Modern School and getting the train from Aldeburgh to Leiston. Remember her favourite subject was Domestic Science and in Needlework classes they had to make aprons ready for the Domestic Science classes. Remembers they had to take their own ingredients for cooking which was not easy as things were a bit tight at home. Remembers in the last year they made Christmas cakes in November and then decorated them ready to take home. Mentions that her three brothers were all at HMS Ganges at Shotley and she was very proud of them when they came home in their uniforms. Remembers going to their Passing Out Parades and seeing the sailors up the mast, with the Button Boy at the top Describes working at Hill Farm Dairy, which had been bombed during the war. Mentions that the managers lived on site. Describes how she was left in charge when they went away. Her duties included sorting the cash coming in, organising the delivery men and their deliveries. Mentions that not many people had fridges in those days and the delivery men would perhaps deliver ½ pint of milk in the morning and a further ½ pint milk later in the day. Remembers that she was paid £5.00 a week, 3/- more than most of the people. Mentions that in those days people earned money to keep their heads above water so to speak and not for holidays abroad etc. as they do today. Mentions that she used to give money to her mother and save £1.00 a week. Describes marrying at Aldeburgh Church in 1958, and mentions that she saved up and paid for the wedding as her parents had six children and it would have been hard. Describes how she and her finance bought a piece of land in 1957, originally to cultivate and give them something to do, but a year later they built a bungalow on it. This piece of land is where Linden Close is now. Remember paying about £70.00 for it. Describes how she was quite fortunate in the being in the right place at the right time and her husband then worked for William C Reade who designed the bungalow and built it. Describes getting a mortgage from Aldeburgh Town Council for £1500. This was at 7% and over 30 years. Mentions that her husband earned £9.00 a week and the mortgage repayment was £3.00 a week. Mentions that she always kept six months mortgage money in the bank -' just in case'. Describes how her husband did most of the internal work in the bungalow himself to save money. Track 3 [10 mins] Describes bringing her children up and in those days there were no benefits only 5/- a week family allowance for a second child. Mentions that they did not go out much, did not have a car and very few luxuries. Mentions that she still lives in the same bungalow today. Mentions that her husband died in 1992. Describes how he left Reades to set up his own business with his brother, Harrisons Joinery, and they were based at Stratford St. Andrew behind the garage. Mentions that her husband bought another business, Shedloads, which made garden furniture and they had an outlet at Stratford St. Andrew. Mentions that she had to sell this business when her husband died. Mentions that she has two sons and thinks that they are brilliant. Andrew born in 1960 is an accountant and has two children, Michael 18 and Connor 12. Paul born in 1965 and works locally gardening and general maintenance and he has two daughters, Abigail and Rebecca who both attend Leiston School. Describes how she sees her granddaughters every day as they come to her after school. Mentions that Abigail loves performing and singing and would love to make a living doing just that. Mentions that she is now 70 years old and describes how Aldeburgh has changed, although she does have more luxuries than her parents did. Describes an occasion when she bought some chips and ate them on the sea front and her mother had been horrified and told her that if she had to eat she had to eat at home properly at the table. Describes how in 1961 she got a job at the cinema helping in the box office and as an usherette. Describes how her husband was very understanding as she had to be at work at 5.30 and he did not get home until 5.10. Describes working four nights a week, and the cinema had two shows a night, one at 6.00 and one at 8.15. Describes how she would leave 2 nights at 9.00 and then 2 nights not until 11.00. Describes how she loved it. The owner of the cinema, who lived above the cinema, was a Mr. Raynor and he died in 1966 and the cinema was up for sale. Track 4 [10 mins] Continues to talk about the cinema. Describes how the Festival Office were looking for office premises and Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears, the Giffords and perhaps 13/14 people bought the building with equal shares. Describes how she still worked for the cinema during the evenings and one day the General Manger of the Festival Office, Steven Rice, asked whether she knew anyone who would work on Saturday mornings. Describes how she then took a job with the Festival Office working for them on Saturdays. Mentions that this was in 1976/77. Describes how the Festival Office then moved their offices to the East Suffolk Hotel. Mentions that she felt quite strange about this as the Hotel had been owned by her grandfather and her father had been born there. Describes how the cinema was now vacant and Lettie Gifford then took over as manager. Mentions that cinemas then, in general were in decline but Lettie fought on to try and run the cinema, putting it on a four day week, but still that was not enough. Describes how the press mentioned that the cinema would be closing and the town rallied round and held a meeting and the Cinema Club was formed. Describes how members paid £5.00 to join and this money helped with the losses the cinema was making. Remembers going to London with Lettie and walking down Wardour Street arguing with the film distributors over the costs of the films. Describes how Lettie kept asking her (Susan) to come back full time at the cinema and after 18 years with the Festival Office she went back working full time at the cinema in 1985. Mentions that the first film played was 'Desperately Seeking Susan'. Mentions that she has now been with the cinema for 48 years and that it is now owned by shareholders and that she has a large chunk of the shares. Mentions she is also a Board Member. Describes how the locals treat the cinema as their own. Mentions she has the Deeds for the cinema going back to 1919 and in that time the cinema has never been closed. Describes the front of the cinema used to be shops. Track 5 [10 mins] Remembers the cinema used to be a house called The Chestnuts. Mentions that the Jubilee Hall also showed films and her mother had told her that there was a balcony in the Jubilee Hall. Mentions that the auditorium at the cinema was built backwards into the garden. Mentions that there were also architectural plans to build another cinema at the far end of the town, where MCT Electrical is now. Mentions a Mr. Cullum, who owned a shop, now Fat Face, who had the plans drawn up. The plans are now in the cinema. Describes how the locals come back to the cinema time after time and bring their children and grandchildren. Describes how the cinema used to have queues outside and two performances a day and if you could not get into the first one then you could always get into the second showing. Mentions that they had three films a week, one on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, one on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and one on Sundays. Mentions that she has been very proud to be part of the cinema all these years. Describes working for the Festival Office and was working for them when the Maltings were being built. Mentions that before the Maltings the concerts were held in the Jubilee Hall and surrounding churches and the Festival lasted ten days in June. Describes how Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears would hold a party on the last night at their home and remembers one time when Benjamin was playing the piano, Peter Pears was singing and Rostropovitch was also there. Mentions that although it was a very special evening all she could think about was getting home and organising the children's things for school the next day. Describes another occasion when she went to a concert at the Festival Hall to raise funds for the Maltings and they missed the last train back to Saxmundham and had to spend the night at Liverpool Street Station. Mentions that the station master let them sit in the restaurant area, although he did lock them in and they caught the milk train at 4.00 in the morning back to Saxmundham. Describes another occasion when she went to a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace and they hired a taxi from Saxmundham. Describes how they wanted the taxi driver to wear a hat and as they were coming down The Mall, told the driver to put his hat on. Describes that as the driver bent down to pick up his hat he hit the car in front and another car went into the back of him. Describes how they ended up running down The Mall to attend the Garden Party. Describes the Garden Party. Track 6 [1min 13 secs] Continues story about Garden Party and how they were waiting for their taxi and were told that the taxi had caught fire and they were to wait for another one to come from Saxmundham. This eventually arrived about 2.00 in the morning. Remembers looking up at the Palace windows and wishing they could be invited in for a cup of tea. Interview 2 at Aldeburgh Cinema by John Hambley 3rd April, 2009. (Humming noise in background.) Track 1 [10 mins] Describes her early years, going out with friends, playing tennis in the summer. Describes going to the Youth Club when she was about 13, at least nights times a week. Mentions that her mother was horrified when she said she wanted to join the youth club and had to reassure her mother that they only played table tennis, had a cup of tea and perhaps a bar of chocolate. Mentions that she was not really aware of what was going on in London or elsewhere. Remembers that the youth club used to put on shows at the Jubilee Hall and friends and family would come along, mentions these shows were always sold out. Remembers singing and dancing and also putting on plays including a production of Alice in Wonderland. Also remembers one Christmas show where they pretended to ice skate on the stage. Describes how she stopped going to the youth club when she was about 17 years old. Mentions that the youth club was opposite the library and Triangle Wood, where a block of flats is now, and that when the youth club was demolished, it was said that they found a live hand grenade under the floorboards. Remembers they also played hockey on Sunday afternoons. Mentions that the youth club was run by locals. Mentions that the school children used to go on outings and her sister when to the Exhibition in London in 1951. Describes the shops in the High Street and remembers that there were at least three butcher shops, and also mentions the co-op that was then opposite the cinema where you could buy materials, buttons, etc. Also remembers buying sugar in blue bags. Describes that the town was different then, most of the houses were owned by the locals and there were not many second homes. Mentions that she was fortunate then as her husband had a good job and they built their own bungalow. Describes playing tennis, going for long walks and mentions going to the cinema, perhaps three times a week, especially when you were 'courting'. Describes how not many people had cars and you used to cycle or walk everywhere and that you did not travel too far, perhaps Leiston or Thorpeness. Remembers having swimming lessons in the sea when she was at Aldeburgh School. Describes swimming between two ropes, which belonged to two lifeboats and these ropes went from the lifeboats out to the buoys. Remembers swimming between the ropes and gaining her 25 yard certificate. Describes that when she then went on to Leiston school, they would ride their bikes to Sizewell and swim in the sea there. Mentions swimming round the jelly fish. |