Interview with Ernie Smith and Muriel Smith (b.1920 and 1918).
Mr & Mrs Smith, born in Somerset and Bucks, met through their army service in rifle regiments, in the Cotswolds. They came to Bletchley in 1947, and have now lived in Stony Stratford for 20 years. Mr Smith worked for the London Brick company, then British Rail, and then for MK Development Corporation on street lighting till he retired. Mrs Smith has worked as a caterer for the Education Service.
They remember the early days of Bletchley, the ‘tin shops’, the excitement of Woolworths’ opening, and growth of housing estates. Their children attended the Grammar School in its first year. As District Commissioner for Guiding, Mrs Smith had to visit all the new areas in MK; she comments on the incomers’ lifestyles. They talk of the effect of the development of MK on the existing towns and have mixed feelings about it: ‘I think the best thing that came about was that the population became big enough for us to have a hospital.’ They appreciate the landscaping and the Theatre. Finally they talk of the MBE awarded to Mrs Smith for her services to guiding, and remember the ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
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