Jo, born in 1922, was interviewed by Laura Kennedy and Marie-Claire Thake on 30th June 1999 at Archers Court, Salisbury.

What has been the biggest change in technology in the 20th century?

There hasn't been one significant change, but there has been much improvement in domestic appliances so we have less housework to do. Washing machines and better cookers and dishwashers. At the beginning of the war there were no refrigerators so we had to store our milk in buckets with a cloth over the top. I had to wash my first child's nappies by hand. There tended to be a wash day on Mondays.

Did you have irons?

We used to have flat irons that we heated up by the fire, two were on the go at a time, and they had to be continuously heated up. Everyone had open fires there were only a few people who had central heating. There were fire places in almost every room. Coal was delivered to our house by horse and cart. There used to be a coal mine a couple of miles from where I lived, before they put baths at the mines, the miners had to come home covered in soot. On the railways they had signal boxes with hand pulled signals.

Do you think all the changes have been for the good, has there been any disadvantages?

I think they're all for the good, but before the changes we felt a terrific sense of achievement if we got through the day and managed to do everything. Nowadays I think housework comes second to careers.

What source of energy did you use for the cooking?

I started with gas. Before the war, there was no electricity. My parents were quite well off and we had a generator to make our own electricity. There were oil lamps and people had grates for coal. We cooked on an old fashioned grate but we had electric lights. Previously you needed a lot of people to do one job but now only one person is needed to run a machine. My parents had an ash pit where we dumped our rubbish it was emptied once a month by a horse and cart. When I was younger in the shop in town there was a little railway to take your money to the till. The money went along a wire to the cashier at the till. People used to serve you in shops it wasn't help yourself, there was much more personal contact.

How did you keep all your food fresh at home without a refrigerator? How did you keep all your food fresh at home without a refrigerator? How did you keep all your food fresh at home without a refrigerator?

We had larders or pantries, which usually faced north. There were zinc ventilation holes to keep air circulating. You just had to eat things up quickly and make fresh food. So you were buying food everyday? We managed shopping once a week. We got milk from a farm with a can, before the war, it was not pasteurised. After the war it was delivered in the normal way. Before the war my parents, who were a bit ahead of their time, had a fridge. They had ice blocks delivered which they put at the top of "the fridge" gradually it all melted away and ran off, and a new block was delivered, that was very advanced, that was the 1930's.

When you were a teenager what did you do for entertainment?

I went to the cinema, they didn't have wide screens, they had smaller screens. It was in black and white.

What did they show, apart from films at the cinema?

They did have adverts but they also had news because not many people had televisions. There were cinemas that just showed news all the time. Radios started about the 1920's . In certain cinemas during the interval a man appeared from under the ground playing the organ, and then returned before the film started again. When I went to dances there was nearly always a live band not tapes.

Can you remember the first film you saw?

We were rather vetted about what we were allowed to see. We had to pay 9 pence for the cheap seats. We used to see things like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. I think films were nicer subjects. They were either funny or dancing entertainment. Cinemas were going strong in the 1930's.

When did televisions arrive?

We stayed with some people in South London in the 30's and they had a television. We watched the coronation of King George. That was the first I ever heard of TVS. After the war the first time I really saw it was the present Queen's coronation. My mother-in -law didn't allow my husband and me to have a television because she thought it was bad for the children. Did some people find it difficult to accept televisions? I remember when I first saw the news, I thought it was rather strange, it felt like there was another man in the house. I felt it was a intrusion. Radios maintained their popularity.

Did better communication improve relationships between you and the rest of your family?

Yes, we were very early to have a telephone. No memory stores, you had to tell the operator the number you wanted and they connected you. We had operators manning the exchange. Telegrams were used a lot during the war, it was delivered as a piece of paper. My Father had a teleprinter to send messages in his office, that was considered very advanced.

When you were a child, did you spend more time with your family for entertainment, to play games etc..?

We used to play cards a lot, we had a wireless, there was nothing else, you had to make your own fun.

Contribute your memories

Return to Archers Court