Oral history interview with Lesley Wilson conducted by Jo Bath on 24 March 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 29 minutes. [Track 01] Born in Shildon, family background, grand-father worked at Shildon railway works, father’s bricklayer, education, being a pupil and now (2004) teacher at Timothy Hackworth school; 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, Shildon Wesleyan Youth Club, Gerody’s Pinker group, Iron Road song for anniversary, local singing performances, studio recording of Iron Road, relationship with group members now; performing on day of cavalcade, Cleaveland radio broadcast, event security; [00:05:46] Iron Road song played at opening the Timothy Hackworth Victorian Railway Museum in Shildon by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, 1975; Iron Road disc record; cavalcade event, crowds, Shildon people offering bed and breakfast, static engines display, Shildon works; [00:09:00] Shildon works visit as a child, noises, meeting her grandad when he finished work; [00:11:00] parents, father’s choice to not work for Shildon works; school, children of Shildon works workers had extra holiday; 1975, youth group, helping churches, special services, churches offered catering and sleeping arrangements for visitors to 1975 celebrations, Timothy Hackworth memorabilia [00:14:07] [end of track 01] [Track 02] teaching trip to India, bringing posters about Timothy Hackworth; childhood, learning about Timothy Hackworth; teaching about him at Timothy Hackworth school now (2004); group singing performance for Thimothy Hackworth museum opening 1975; reflecting on Iron Road song, performing at Royal Albert Hall in London; childhood, youth group, churches activities; [00:05:38] Shildon now (2004), hope with new museum (Locomotion), local community involved with local heritage, new housing; younger generations rarely coming back to Shildon after university, different sense of community in Shildon compared to childhood; [00:08:00] Shildon railway works closure, marches against closure, impact of closure, people moved to Doncaster and Eastleigh, impact on community; starting career with office work, becoming a teacher after having a family; 1975 celebrations, excitement for the events and having a lot of people visiting; [00:12:00] childhood, children of parents working at Geist banana factory bringing insects at school; hot summers in childhood, playing on grass bank with friends [00:15:02] [end of track 02] [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.