Catalogue

Interview
830, LO/194/145
Leicester Oral History Archive Collection

Speaker: Tansley, Eric, 1920 - , Interviewee, Male, Shoe industry; Royal Air Force service;
Speaker: Simpson, T., Interviewer, Male

Summary of interview item: Recalls education, describing schools attended in St Albans, Hertfordshire from infant school to college in London. Describes his father's work as manager of a shoe factory in St Albans, gives a brief history of the shoe industry in St Albans, and mentions family members working in the shoe trade. Touches on his own work in the shoe industry. Describes call up during the Second World War and volunteering for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Describes air crew training as a pilot in America (USA), detailing the training and conditions in America. Mentions the racism experienced in the southern states and anti-British sentiment expressed particularly in cities like Detroit. Also notes the lack of class distinction in the USA. Compares experience of America with time spent in Canada. Describes return to UK and conditions in Britain in wartime. Gives memories of VE Day celebrations and concern over possibilities of being sent to the Far East. Recalls the dropping of the Atomic bomb in 1945 and describes details of lecture given in the forces on the atom bomb. Recalls demobilization and return to shoe industry. Describes effects of wartime on production and conditions after the war. Describes Mr. Claw buying Trueform shoes, the development of the British Shoe Corporation and subsequent transfer to Leicester of the shoe factory from St Albans. Details the upheaval caused to workers by this, the loss in production and his disillusionment. Comments on the decline of the British shoe trade to other markets and pirating of designs to other countries
Place of birth: St Albans, Hertfordshire
Education: Secondary School;
Marital Status: , Children:
Father's Occupation: Shoe Factory Manager
Mother's Occupation:
Location: County: Hertfordshire, Leicestershire
Location: Town/Place: Leicester, St Albans
Periods Covered: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s
Language: English

Recording Date: 9/8/1985
Playing time: 1 hr 30 mins
Access Restrictions: Full clearance Item Copyright: EMOHA
Summary: Yes
Transcription: No
Copies: yes
Cross Reference:

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Last updated: 08/05/02 East Midland Oral History Archive Web maintainer This document has been approved by the head of department or section.