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Oral history audio recording of Jim Jones (c.1890)

ALC/002

Interview about Wolverton, including working conditions and opportunities at Wolverton Works from 1904. Observations on local housing and personal and local anecdotes.
Oral history audio recording of Jack Rowledge (b.1905).

ALC/003

Interview covering working conditions and management at McCorquodales print works from 1918. Family life, outings and events in Wolverton.
Oral history audio recordings of George Boddington (1906-1986).

ALC/004

Three interviews referring to documents and memorabilia relating to the Post Office at McCorquodales the printers. Early family history, war service and social events in Wolverton.
Clay Lands Us In The Usual Mess (5 January 1973)

TRM/001

So the development corporation are determined to keep their new roads clean. I wish them luck; they have a big job on their hands – and feet – as all we older citizens of Bletchley know only too well. Remember the mess when lorries were running through the town for the making of the M1? Remember ...
That Reminds Me

TRM

That Reminds Me was a weekly column published in the Bletchley Gazette from January 1973 to December 1978. Originally from Yorkshire, Harold (Heppy) Hepworth had worked on The Gazette for twenty years. He preferred to describe himself as a reporter, though his title was officially Leader Writer or Assistant Editor. Later, we believe after his retirement, ...
See our Home Front online exhibition here

VED

Welcome to our online exhibition about life on the Home Front in the local area during World War II. Click on the downloadable PDF to have a look at words and images from local people as they talk about their lives and experiences during this time, as now we celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE ...
If Something's Worth Doing, Give Yourself Plenty Of Time (12 January 1973)

TRM/002

This week, my friends, I draw attention to three items of “news.” ITEM 1. Fears about the possible disappearance of some of the smaller local authorities and dissatisfaction because their work is already being frustrated have been expressed at a meeting of the Winslow Rural Council. ITEM 2. Because as yet there has been no announcement about ...
See Fred Bavey's film of a VE Day street party in Wolverton here

VED/001

Watch Fred Bavey’s film of a street party in Wolverton (possibly Aylesbury Street?) here!
Loos Problem Has Still Not Been Resolved (19 January 1973)

TRM/003

When I first saw the photograph with this column – which for once in a while was after, not before the paper was published – I thought it would do me fine. No-one would recognise me from that. I did the photographer less than justice. Next day people in the town met me with grins and ...
First Impressions Of Parish Law - And Rationing (16 February 1973)

TRM/007

Looking at Bletchley’s big new police station at the end of Sherwood Drive I find it hard to believe that I arrived in Bletchley in time to know the last of its long line of parish constables – those lawmen who were appointed in every parish long before regular police were thought of. He was Mr. ...
We've Had Our Own European Community Here For Years (26 January 1973)

TRM/004

The possibility that foreign workers may come to take up jobs in the new city of Milton Keynes has a very old familiar ring about it. Ever since that war, foreign workers have been settling in the district, sometimes in not-inconsiderable numbers. We have absorbed Poles, Latvians, Estonians, Italians, Pakistanis, Hungarians, even Russians. Could the brickworks in ...
Miners Have Always Been The Salt of The Earth (9 February 1973)

TRM/006

MINERS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE SALT OF THE EARTH One day my father said: “How’d you like to be a journalist?” “What’s that?” I asked, in all innocence and ignorance. I am not sure I know the full answer yet. There are almost as many sorts of journalists as there are sorts of men and women. But I ...
The Day I Sought The Judge's Advice (16 March 1973)

TRM/011

With all Bletchley’s progress over the past 27 years in terms of population and employment, it is interesting to note that in one respect at least it has sustained a fall in status during that times. I refer to the removal of the area’s County Court from Bletchley to Leighton Buzzard which occurred some few years ...
Week 25: TRICKS OF THE TRADE

WOF/026

Roger Tanner describes some of the practical jokes that were played on young apprentices at Wolverton Railway Works.
Dad's Army Tells Only Half The Story (9 March 1973)

TRM/010

I did not arrive in Bletchley in time to see its Home Guard companies. I wish I had. I heard quite a bit about them in my first few years here. In fact, the references still crop up – but sadly most of them are now found in the death notices of former members. I hope ...
Week 7: THE WORKS

WOF/008

Back in 1986 when British Rail Engineering made the decision to shrink the Railway Works to a third of its size, Living Archive employed photographer Dave Runnacles to photograph the Works and its employees before the changes were made. At the same time Roger Kitchen did 20 audio interviews. Dave’s exhibition was held in the ...
Week 8: SCOUTING FOR WOLVERTON BOYS

WOF/009

Scouting has been an important part of life for boys in Wolverton. On 23rd February 1908, just 6 months after Baden Powell held an inaugural camp for boys on Brownsea Island, the Wolverton Scout Troop was formed. Two former members of the troop, Leo Coleman and Syd Pearson, share their memories of their scouting days ...
Week 14: THE CREATION OF THE SECRET GARDEN SCULPTURE

WOF/015

Renowned Milton Keynes community artist Bill Billings (who created the famous dinosaur at Peartree Bridge) worked with Paul Smith and pupils at Radcliffe School Wolverton to create a new sculpture for the Secret Garden in Wolverton in September/ October 2007. Sadly, this was Bill’s last piece of work before his death in December that year. The ...
Week 24: WOLVERTON SWIMMING POOL

WOF/025

Wolverton’s Open Air swimming pool was an incredibly popular destination when the sun shone from May to September and many people were sad to see it go, to be replaced by the current indoor pool and gym. This film was shot by students on a Living Archive Media Skills course in 1987, under the guidance ...
Week 23: AFLOAT WITH SUCCESS

WOF/024

From 1963 to 1976, the annual carnival was an important feature of Wolverton’s summer. Eye-witnesses and participants share their memories of these events, illustrated by film footage shot at the time. If you enjoyed watching this film please consider clicking on the link below to make a £1 donation and help us make lots more films ...
Week 2: SPORTS IN WOLVERTON

WOF/003

When a deceased neighbour’s house was being cleared, Jane and Steve Bryant rescued about 30 films that had been thrown into a skip . That neighbor was Ernie Arthur. He was a keen amateur film maker whose films captured local events and places in and around Wolverton. This very short sequence features the former open-air ...
Week 1: SOLE TRADER

WOF/002

Essam’s shoe shop in Church Street is a unique institution, a shop that harks back to the days of true service, carried out by a man who is a real expert in his field. The film records a day in a life of the shop in 2014. The customer Raymond Essam is serving is Leo Coleman, ...
Week 12: VISIONS HAIRDRESSING SALON

WOF/013

A feature of the shops on Stratford Road in the 1990s was Visions Hairdressing Salon, run by a larger-than-life character, Jackie Coates. This film was made in 1997 by students on a Living Archive Media Skills course, tutored by Louise Roche. If you enjoyed watching this film please consider clicking on the link below to make ...
Week 18: THE TUESDAY TEA DANCE

WOF/019

Students on a Living Archive IT and Media Skills course in 1997 had to make films inspired by Wolverton. This is a portrait of the Tuesday Tea Dance held then at the Old Bath House Community Centre. The Tuesday Tea Dance is part of the Wolverton on Film 4 DVD, which can be purchased from our ...