This audio recording is unedited, raw footage of an interview with Edna Alderwick (born 1906) discussing her life experiences, with her sister Hilda Stacey also present and continuing the interview.

After an initial introduction by the interviewer, the interviewee begins by speaking about her parents, the work they did and her time at the Conduit Street and Melbourne Road schools. She mentions school uniforms, teachers and the food provided. She goes on to discuss pawn shops, tramps as “gentlemen of the road” and crime, citing an incident of her grandfather confronting and getting stabbed by a burgular Tommy Nutting, who was sent to prison.

She speaks about her work, firstly in hosiery, some telephone work and then as an usherette at the Palace Theatre. Later, she worked for her father at the Fish and Quart public house in Leicester, and she includes some anecdotes from the time relating to the theatre and circus people that visited the pub. Marrying in 1927, her husband was one of the first bus drivers in Leicester whilst he also studied to be a chiropodist.

Hilda Stacey continues the interview, speaking about schooldays and going on to work at Ellis Hosiery in Chancery Street, Leicester for 10’6d a week before becoming a needlemaker. She describes the needlemaking process and discusses trade union activity.

She describes her husband (who died in the 1940s) and her five children, her surviving children all over the age of 50 at the time of recording. She recalls working for the Women’s Land Army. The interviewee recounts a number of incidents about local people and places, including a story about the General Hospital and teeth extraction. She also recalls having treatment for rheumatic fever and St Vitas Dance, and the birth of her four children.

Other topics covered include lamplighters, shopping trips, fishing, holidays to Skegness and household pets. Please note, as this is a raw recording, the piece ends midway through a sentence. This audio recording last 45 minutes and 00 seconds.

The original recording is held by the East Midlands Oral History Archive, (EMOHA ref: 0789, LO/153/104/A/B).