| Description | An interview with Sue SWORD, a married woman with three sons, two daughters, who is a Part-time auditor, born in Birmingham and now living in Birmingham. Sue SWORD’s father was a Radio & T.V. engineer, born in Isle of Man and her mother a Housewife born in England. In the interview, she talks about …
'Sue Sword M52255/2/134 Logged by Helen Butcher
01
“I was born on the 6th July 1948 in Summer Road, Edgbaston.” Second oldest of nine children. Back-to-back house.
1:00 Description of the house. Stayed at this house until she was ten. Good memories.
4:10 Attended St Catherine’s School in the Horsefair. Father very devout Catholic.
02
Talked about what Sundays were like. Going to Mass
03
Describes St Catherine’s Church and the school.
0:48 Description of the Gun Barrels Pub.
04
Father was a radio engineer.
0:48 What it was like to have a big family with not much money.
1:23 Talks about the pawnshop.
3:24 hiding under the stairs from the rent man.
4:16 Father became a television engineer. He had a spare set in the back of his van, one night brought it home, all the kids in the neighbourhood came to watch it, no one else had a television, it had to go back the next day.
05
1954 talks about how good it was to have a television in the house sometimes.
06
Left their house in 1958. Talks about the religious festivals that they went to.
Talks about their community, very close.
2:11 going to the cinema on a Saturday if they could afford it at the Bristol Cinema.
3:39 Catholic sisters would come and look after them when her mother had a baby.
07
08
Talks about the shopping areas in Birmingham, Gooch Street.
Getting the tram to The Lickeys.
3:24 what errands they had to do as children.
09
0:48 never really had holidays. But a family in the street took her to Ireland for 2 weeks.
10
Five Ways clock. The church at Five Ways. Botanical gardens.
11
Talks about moving out of the area to Yardley Wood Road in 1958. The family was too big.
0:29 Talks about the new house. Attended Our Lady of Lourdes junior and infant school.
1:01 did very well at school.
2:12 describes the pawnshop. Hamilton’s.
2:45 times started to get harder.
3:24 free dinner tickets.
4:24 Billesley Secondary School.
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1:09 stealing coal to keep warm.
2:48 father was quite strict and old fashioned.
2:46 Left school and worked in an office. 15 years old 1963
13
Worked at Lawtons on Warstock Road. Moved to work in a factory.
2:43 Describes meeting husband when she was 14.
14
Boyfriend’s parents were better off than they were.
3:59 Describes what the neighbours were like.
4:36 Black family moves into the street - very unusual in 1964.
15
Explains how the other people in the area treated this family.
16
Social life. Boyfriend wasn’t Catholic, father didn’t like them going out together.
17
Disobeyed parents and stayed out all night at a party. Back- chatted her father who smacked her around the face.
Left home at 18 because father wouldn’t let her go on holiday with her friend.
3:29 Father asked her to come back home.
Talks about the holiday she spent in Skegness.
18
Oldest sister got pregnant at 16.
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Talks about getting married. Fell pregnant. Got married in 1966 in a registry office. Catholics don’t recognise registry office weddings, so Father did not attend.
2:34 got a flat in Moseley. 1967.
20
Times were hard with 2 children. Son had to go to a special school because of his asthma - describes his first day.
21
Daughter went to Conway Road Junior school. 3rd child James was born on the day her father died. Father died in 1971 from cancer.
22
0:22 1972 fell pregnant again. Went to Solihull hospital to have a termination.
3:18 after the termination she was in terrible pain - had to have another operation. “They took me down to theatre, I found out later that is was twins and they had only aborted one.”
3:29 Talks about not following the Catholic religion.
4:15 Went on to have 2 more children.
23
Talks about husband having a vasectomy.
Moved to Kings Heath 1975. Not happy.
24
Talks about how bad the area has become.
2:29 Talks about where they used to live in Sparkhill.
4:00 Talks about how she got on with Asian people in the area.
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Talks about how multi-racial the community where they live is.
House has been broken in to twice.
4:02 in 1976 her husband went to work at Longbridge.
27
Discusses politics. Going on demonstrations.
28
Used to spend weekends in Skegness, going on rallies. 1979-1985
4:35 went for an interview at Sutton Coldfield College to do a clerical course.
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2:00 obtained first 0-Level at 35.
Started work at the Regional Health Authority.
30
Started a BTEC course in accounting in 1982. Passed driving test at 40.
Talks more about what her children have been doing.
31
Made redundant in 1994.
32
Talks more about how involved her husband is in politics.
ENDS |