| Description | An interview with Josie LOFTUS, a married woman with no children, who is a Stewardess, born in Birmingham and now living in Birmingham. Josie LOFTUS’s father was a Shop owner, born in UK and her mother a Shop owner born in UK. In the interview, she talks about …
01
Josephine Georgina Loftus. I was born in August 1935, in Loveday Street in a hospital in the middle of Birmingham, which is now a part of the Dental Hospital.
25” I went to Greet school in Warwick Road in 1940, at which point I was 5 years old.
Went on to Forman’s Road school in Sparkhill, in 1942 she was evacuated to Chadwick End out in the country because the Greet school that she went to was bombed in the night.
1:15” She had a happy childhood and enjoyed her school years.
1:20” Story: “I had some school friends”, Christine Beard and Yvonne Schelcher and they all lived in the same street. Recalls childhood games e.g. Polly on the Mop Stick.
2:00” Her parents owned three shops when the war was on, she explained about the family business.
4:30” She had three brother but one died when he was young, she is the eldest.
02
Story: “We live in Albion Road”. Tells of how she lived above the shop and how they were seen as well off as she had one of the first bathrooms and recalls watching television and how it went off air and played the National Anthem. Discusses the Monarchy and being a Royalist.
3:00” Discusses rationing and how fortunate she was to have parents who ran a shop, as she always ate well.
4:20” My father worked during the war, making Merlin Engines that went into the Spitfires and always worked for the fire service.
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“I had to be evacuated in the war”, Talks about the Ser5ck and the factory leading to the evacuation.
1:54” Recalls her schooling at Greet School and a teacher called Mrs Hill. Talks of the air raid shelter they had at school.
2:50” Discusses the subjects that she was better at, maths and RE
4:38” Story about attending Saint Bede's.
04
Continues story and talks of the work that she did for the church.
2:40” 1950, left school and her parents wanted her to follow in the shop trade, so she got a job at Lewis's, which was on the corner of Bull Street, in hope of becoming a buyer for the company.
4:00” She worked at finance companies for twenty years and spent her final employment at West Midlands Gas until she retired in 1990.
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Story of meeting her first husband and the employment and training that she did.
1:23” Recalls attending the Law Court and listening to the cases and tells of how the Law was different then in comparison to today with rules on shoplifting.
3:00” Work culture “Lewis’s were wonderful”, talks of her employment at the store.
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Story about Mutual Finance “I remember my Boss there Mr Allport”, she was a cashier and a dictaphone typist.
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Story, about meeting her first husband and their marriage, they were married for 12 years and they split in 1958. Talks of meeting her current husband Mr Loftus.
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Continues story, discusses Birmingham Motorcycle Club that she used to go to with her first husband. Tells of her marriage to Bernard Loftus and their love of music.
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Tells of societies and a phrase called "living over the brus" that represented people who are sinners. Re-start.
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“When Bernard and I first lived together UN-married”, recalls their accommodation and how they were treated by their neighbours and the church.
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Re-start
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Talks of moving to Chelmsley Wood from Sparkbrook. They moved into a flat on this large housing estate and she recalls that there was lots of greenery. Tells of the development of the area and the opportunity to buy their own home.
2:30” Explains how Chelmsley Wood consisted of young families and that it was built because of any overspill from the inner cities.
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Recalls racial inequality and the community in which her husband and herself live in.
3:20” Her religious background and her UN-acceptance of being a divorcee and joining the United Reformed Church.
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Concludes.
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Tells of how friendly and approachable the church is and how she would recommend it to anyone.
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The cinema and the holidays that she went on. Tells about being blessed by the Pope.
4:20” Tells of how a ten day holiday to Rome was worth £34, which is incredible in comparison to today.
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“1985 Bernard and I did a world round trip”, tells of all the countries that they visited. The round the world trip cost £5000.
3:00” Talks of how travel has become more accessible and the difference in cost.
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Health issues and how she was unable to bear children, she was wrongly advised that she could not have children in 1958.
3:30” She tells of her hysterectomy and her treatment by the National Health Service.
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Re-start
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Retired from the Gas Board in Aug 1990 at 55, and became involved with the Woman’s Royal Voluntary Service at Solihull. Gives a description of the work that she does for the service.
2:39” Member of a singing group called Solihull Singing for Pleasure group, rehearsals take place at the Methodist Church and they travel around and sing for the elderly.
4:14” Members of the Cinema Organ Society.
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Concludes.
45” “Now I want to tell you why I did this interview”, tells of how proud she is to be a ‘Brummie’. Talks of how the concept of the ‘Brummie’ is changing, “we don’t want the true ‘Brummie’ of Birmingham to ever fade away”. |