| Description | An interview with Patricia WATSON, a single woman with no children, who is a Retired social worker/lectuer, born in Scotland and now living in Birmingham. Patricia WATSON’s father was a Clerical worker, born in Scotland and her mother a Milliner born in England. In the interview, she talks about …
'PATRICIA WATSON MS2255/2/082 Logged by Lorraine Blakemore
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I was born in Glasgow in October, 1920….Moved to a rural area when she was a small child. Father built their home. Describes the environment.
1.04 Class structure in Scotland not so rigid. Describes herself as lower middle-class.
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Parents’ occupation. Mother worked for a milliner, father was an engineer.
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Unfortunately, this idyllic childhood…. didn’t prepare me very well for coming to Birmingham. At first it was a great adventure and then difficulties began to arise. We lived in a flat again…
40” We moved down here in 1932…I was 12 then…Contrasts schooling in Scotland with that in Birmingham.
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Tutored by sixth former during the year she was not in school.
This girl lived in Winson Green in a very small tunnel-back house, and I think we talked about social conditions…
53” First impressions of Birmingham.
1.40 The class structure…Every body else who was anybody in Edgbaston sent their children to a private school….I hadn’t got anybody around me…
05
Compares attitudes to public houses between Scotland and England.
50” Fond of headmistress at George Dixon Grammar School.
2.27 I can remember Miss Ritchie saying at one of the assemblies that she didn’t expect girls to waste their education on marriage….
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Pressure of sitting exams.
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Describes the school building and the staff.
No discipline problems.
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School days began with bible study. Describes assemblies.
53” Usually when school ended there was a dash for the buses. Ordinary citizens waiting for the bus would sometimes write in complaining about boisterous behaviour….
1.25 Social events were jointly participated by the boys and girls.
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How parents financed her education during the 1930s.
1.12 Account of visiting Paris with the school.
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Headmistress keen for pupils to go into teaching.
There were virtually no careers available for the ordinary girl and most people had gone into shop work or something like that as being a bit better than factory work….
48” Christmas play centres at school.
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Describes participating in the play centres.
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Continued.
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I left school in 1937….Father wanted her to find work in an office but she was keen to do social work. Too young to start a social work course. Went to Birmingham Commercial College in Oozells Street.
1.21 However I was still keen to go into social work…I began at Birmingham University in 1938-9….The university had accepted the possibility of academic training for social workers. It was a 2 year diploma course….All our practical work was done at the Birmingham Settlement….The children locally did run about the street with no shoes, even in snowy weather….
2.22 The settlement was, and still is, in Summer Lane in Birmingham….It was run on a shoestring in those days, with private sponsors. Now it’s corporate fundraising and is providing a rather different menu for those who come there….
4.15 Difficulties for pensioners during that time.
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Continued.
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Describes the boys’ club at the settlement.
24” Some of the older boys…. who came to Saturday night hops, although they weren’t supposed to drink were sent packing…Every now and again the club got bashed up and it was wrecked and closed….
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In the 30s and perhaps very much later until 1948, social work was very much a female activity like nursing….
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Experiences during wartime.
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The Settlement Movement is very old….the idea was you provided a centre for people. It was much more community work than it is now. There was no case work in those days….
43” I had an extra year at The Settlement as warden’s secretary and we ran the Mothers’ Clubs during that time….There was no legislation that said people were below the poverty line or going off their heads and must have help….
1.27 The abiding memory was of the smallness of people’s homes…Describes the conditions.
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Details the work at the children’s clubs.
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Was called up in 1943 and left The Settlement.
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Wanted to join the WRENS but told to go and work at Joseph Lucas in the personnel department.
50” That was the time when Irish and Scottish girls were being brought down to work in the factories and there were a lot of social problems and lots of work problems….Describes the working day.
2.42 Wages were very low, especially for women.
3.22 Account of an industrial accident at the factory.
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Continued.
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Continued.
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Enjoyed working at Joseph Lucas.
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Social life out of work. Attended dances at the YMCA.
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Cycling tours out of Birmingham.
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I left Lucas’ in 1946…I decided it was time to leave home. Applied for a job in London.
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Describes living in London.
1.58 Explains the legislation for child care.
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Many of our girls went on to have babies and were not married…this is still a problem and it won't go away. The sad thing is that most of these girls were illegitimate themselves and they were just repeating a pattern….
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Remained there for 2 years.
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In 1948 I came back to Birmingham. I’d been accepted to do a home office course at the university in preparation for the new child-care legislation….
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Course content.
54” The 1948 Act….followed a very unfortunate scandal in children’s work….Gives details.
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26” Chose to apply to Cumberland. Wanted to leave Birmingham.
1.31 At that time the emphasis was really on fostering…children’s homes were really thought to be quite damaging….We visited foster homes….Describes the work undertaken.
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Took up post of area children’s officer in Whitehaven. Describes role.
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Remained in Cumberland for 4 years. Father died. Moved back to Midlands.
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Gradually more men were becoming social workers. Describes a fellow colleague.
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Married couples were beginning to run children’s homes.
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In the early 60s there was a change in attitude….Explains how.
Became more career orientated.
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In 1969 there was more emphasis on allowing a child to remain in his/her own home.
48
Applied to set up a child care course in Nottingham.
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Details changes in course structure.
50
Took early retirement at the end of 1980. Moved back to Birmingham.
2.06 Reasons for not feeling settled in Birmingham.
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Scottish identity.
52
Renovated house. Attended extra-mural classes.
3.03 Church going. Converted to C of E.
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Local neighbourhood in Edgbaston and changes in the area.
3.39 This business of Christmas and celebrations that the local authorities have set up…Somebody in our local church wrote to the mayor about this saying they were downplaying Christmas and pointed to the fact that a lot of people from ethnic minorities see no reason why we shouldn’t celebrate Christmas if we want….It’s very difficult to get this right….
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Member of the Tory party.
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Doesn’t generally attend political events.
ENDS. |