| AdminHistory | Betsy Miller (ne Hendry) was born c.1886 and came from Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland. Both she and her husband, William Miller, an iron moulder, were active socialists. Their son, Jimmie Miller, later known as Ewan MacColl (1915-1989), inherited their political consciousness and had a full and prestigious career of political activity, performance, lecturing, music and song writing, and promotion of traditional music and the folk revival.
Betsy Miller talks about her own childhood and attitudes to her parents and older people for 'actuality' for the sixth radio ballad 'On The Edge' about teenagers in England and Scotland (MS 4000/5/1/3/1). Other recordings of the same date were also probably made with the third radio ballad in mind and extend to discussion of her married life. The upbringing of Ewan MacColl features strongly in MS 4000/5/1/3/5-6 and her Scottish accent is demonstrated in MS 4000/5/1/3/7. The recordings cover a number of subjects including attitudes to the young and the elderly, left wing socialism, poverty, the role of women, life during the two World Wars and emigration to Australia.
The interviews are all conducted by Charles Parker who worked closely with Ewan MacColl on the radio ballads amongst other projects. |