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Interview
888, LO/252/203
Leicester Oral History Archive Collection

Speaker: Beeby, Phillip, 1920 - , Interviewee, Male, Agricultural contractor; farmer
Speaker: Simpson, T, Interviewer, Male

Summary of interview item: Recalls family history as agricultural contractors in Rempstone, Leicestershire since 1873, originally using steam ploughs around the East Midlands. Describes driving engines when he started work in 1936 and mentions the need for other work in winter. Explains how he originally trained to be an engineer. Describes using Fowler ploughing engines, and the worker's pay and conditions. Talks about Irish casual labour and the changes in the labour force, briefly mentions Farmworkers' Union. Describes the move from steam machinery to tractors such as Fordson, Marshalls, and then combine harvesters. Describes how father bought farm when Remptone estate sold, and names local market days. Lists the seven bus companies who once ran through the village. Reflects on Rempstone, and suggests that without changes in building use it may have died. Mentions that newcomers work elsewhere, and describes the amenities the village used to have before the First World War and how they have disappeared. Talks about local housing, the popularity of allotments, the change in land use in the Second World War. Mentions the crops grown, and the changes in all of these, and in farming generally, over the years.
Place of birth: Rempstone, Leicester
Education: Grammar school
Marital Status: , Children:
Father's Occupation: Agricultural contractor; drainage contractor
Mother's Occupation:
Location: County: Leicestershire
Location: Town/Place: Loughborough, Rempstone
Periods Covered: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Language: English

Recording Date: 2/12/1986
Playing time: 50 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
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