Rose Hails interviewed by Robert Aitchison

Oral history interview with Rose Hails conducted by Robert Aitchison on 29 January 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Original duration: 1 hour 15 minutes, however there are many distortions throughout the recording, resulting in 16 minutes of audible recording via the digital access file. Buildings remaining in Shildon; Railway Institute; [00:01:40] childhood, family background, maiden name (Rosena Wardle), born in Shildon, mother born in Shields, father a joiner in the pit, parents’ house, tin bath, larder, no cockroaches trouble, grandmother baked every day, one big meal per day, ate garden produce, livestock, plain food, little meat; [00:05:50] health aids, cod liver oil; [00:07:00] traders in Shildon; allotments, most had an allotment, well in garden; [00:08:30] Recreation Ground, in New Shildon, shops, cinemas; [00:10:30] housing, flat, open toilet, kitchen straight out into the yard, cleaning out toilet, gas lighting, two bedrooms; [00:12:40] other memories; able to read, learning to play piano, piano teacher, grandma had an organ, deaths in family [00:16:10] [end of interview]

Time Tracks, Shildon Railway Village Community Project was an initiative funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund that encouraged members of the public to bring photographs and documents at Locomotion to form a community archive, when Locomotion museum was opened in Shildon, 2004. Over 50 oral history interviews were also recorded with members of the community. They shared their memories of Shildon as they knew it in their childhood and throughout their lives, from as early as the 1920s, as well as their work experiences in local factories and industries, including Shildon railway works.