Catalogue

Interview
1093, LO/439/390
Leicester Oral History Archive Collection

Speaker: Hastings, Jim, 1909 - , Interviewee, Male, Railwayman
Speaker: Carswell, J, Interviewer, Female

Summary of interview item: Describes starting on Great Central Railway (GCR), Leicester, in goods department, then becoming cleaner. Explains pay scales, slow progression from fireman to driver. Mentions engines, destinations; lists trips in order of preference. Various anecdotes about bad conditions worked in. Briefly mentions belonging to Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), men gambling on fruit machine in mess rooms, using blackout sheet during air raids. Anecdotes about keeping to schedule, a bad fireman, a drunk guard. Talks about what makes a good fireman, cooking breakfast on a shovel, amount of coal used by different engines. More anecdotes, particularly about long hours worked.
Place of birth: Bourton on the Water, Gloucestershire
Education: Westcotes School, Narborough Road, Leicester
Marital Status: , Children:
Father's Occupation:
Mother's Occupation:
Location: County: Leicestershire
Location: Town/Place: Leicester
Periods Covered: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s
Language: English

Recording Date: 3/12/1987
Playing time: 1 hr 4 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.