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Pegswood - Sound
Oral History Recording of George Smith having (13th September 1976)
Transcription of an interview with George Smith recorded on the 13th September 1976.
During the full interview Mr. Smith talks about his employment in the coal mines of the Pegwood area. He also recalls various aspects of community life in Pegswood.
During this extract he talks about the coalminer strikes of 1921 and 1926 in Northumberland. He recalls how the children of the village had to use the soup kitchens.
[Transcription]
At Pegswood we had a rough time, I was the oldest of nine, then my mother and dad after that, and we had a rough time mind. We had a rough time in 1921 strike; soup kitchens. 1926 strike, I was working then like but all the kiddies had to go to the soup kitchens, of course everybody then was on national, well its national security now, but my dad had to pay all that money back, when he started work, they kept so much a week off his cheque, all that time.
This tape recording comes from the large collection of oral history recordings held by the Northumberland Archive Service. Interviews were conducted by Record Office staff from the early 1970's right through until the mid 1980's. The purpose of the recordings was to capture the essence of life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many different subjects were covered, including coalmining, farming, fishing, domestic life, World Wars and entertainment. Over 350 recordings have been collected comprising approximately 700 hours of recollections.