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OH613 Interview with Mike Pemberton (Tales of the Vale)
Please note this is not a full complete transcript but a detailed summary of the recording
Interview is on 2 recordings
Name Mike Pemberton born 22 April 1953. His Mother was already living in Shirehampton, when she met Mike’s Dad and they got married in 1941 and spent the first six years of their marriage living with their parents. His parents moved into the Prefab in 1947 when his older brother was six years old. Mike remembers what an odd colour the outside walls were, corrugated asbestos grey whilst across the road red brick houses. There was no central heating, only heating was a coal fire. There were vents in the bedroom doors to bring heat into the bedrooms; the reality was in fact only smoke from the fire entered the vents so they were always kept closed. The windows were single glazed and metal, so very cold. Mike remembers the odd paraffin heater, or one bar electric fire, also when he was very young his mother would put on all the rings on the cooker and even open the oven door to stay warm.
4.17 1997 there was an article in the paper entitled Pre Fabtastic, a builder had done an amazing job of turning pre fabs into houses. Mikes Dad got in touch with the builder who came and priced up the job and then did the work. His Father was in the air force, and his Mother was a telephonist she used a PBX system, they both worked in Bristol. The Pre fabs in Walton Road were unusual in that there were only seven houses, unlike the huge estates of prefabs built in Bristol after the war. His parents stayed in the house until the end of their lives. Mike imagined his Father would want to move out, once the 1960's he'd want to buy own place especially as his Father hated gardening, and the garden was a wilderness, which annoyed the neighbours.
8.55 There were only 2 bedrooms, Mike's twin brother shared one room, and his Parents slept in the back bedroom. His older brother slept in the lounge on the put up bed, which turned into a sofa during the day when he was home on leave.
9.48 Mike has had cerebral palsy since childhood. He said it hadn't been a problem at school or in his working life as a barman at the Shirehampton Working Mans Club; the only problem was walking when he needed to keep his weight evenly distributed and use a stick.
11.21Photographs The photos show the prefab 8 years after the parents moved in. Neighbours were friendly, and understood that due to the war and loss of housing there was a shortage and accepted that the market garden land had to be used to site the temporary homes. Later on the Council moved people out to rebuild houses where the prefabs had been.
13.38 In 1997 Mikes house was rebuilt to get rid of the asbestos in the walls and roof. They removed the asbestos and replaced with five-ply board and rendered over it. The original fire glass insulation had been put into small compartments, and they added to this but kept the same structure. The Council put in central heating to his Gran's prefab; she lived at the top of the road. His parents asked council to put heating in, they said No so they put their own heating in which saved them a rent increase when the council put heating into the neighbours properties. The rent was 5 shillings a week, money was so different then. The rent man called once a fortnight, he had a little book with pinkish red cover.
Track ends 17.35
TOTV034-02 0.13 Behind the house there's a street called Church Leaze, it was all market gardens when Mike was a child and before they built the prefabs there was lots of market gardens. He said 'we used to hop over the fence and run across the land and climb the trees'. It wasn't till 1963 -64 they built houses on Church Leaze. The Docks were pretty active till the 90's. Mike used to do bar work at the working men's club. On Friday evening Dockers were in there straight after work till late, stomping their feet and singing. Working men's clubs are dying on their feet now. The neighbours worked on the docks, and there were other industries. Mike’s father worked for BOCM, he drove a lorry from Avonmouth to Gloucester. Two trips a day was a day's work.
3.10 Looking at photographs Playing on the building site great big concrete pipes, Mike was about 9 – 10 years old. Earliest memories first three-wheeled bike, a safety bar on the back that our parents held on to make sure you didn't crash. It had a proper boot and was v expensive… Very few cars, and only one car in the street. Mast at the bottom of the road was next to a tin hut for the sea cadets, they used to wear uniforms. Sea Cadets still meet in Shirehampton near to Lamplighters pub. Looking at photograph of his Dad's car 'That car is a 1959 Ford Zodiac, cream and grey bought second hand, with AA badge. Used to get 3 in the front, column change with hand brake on the dashboard and three in the back. Driver and adult with child in between. 1963 seat belt law came in and the next car father had was new model Ford Zodiac and had to have seat belts fitted, Father not very happy about spending money on seat belts. Trips to Weston S M for day out, no holidays. Dad wouldn't take the car out if it were raining, washed every Sunday. Dad left home at 3am every day for work. He'd pick me up on his second trip and take me to Gloucester, very noisy so no talking. Lorry had wooden floors. All lorries were Scammell. Dad would get home at 6pm in the evening, hard work too. Drive up to Gloucester, guys in Gloucester load the lorry take back a full load.
11.28 High days and holidays, I remember we got half way to Weston and it started to rain. Dad turned round and came home; he didn't want the car to get wet. Good relationship with neighbours, older people been through the war. Garden was a wilderness till 1963, brother and girl friend sorted out the garden, till Mike sorted it out in 1970's. Photos In Grans garden, Mothers mother. Father from West Bromwich, his brother moved from West Bromwich and bought one of the houses at top of Walton Road. My mother's brother and sister were also local, loads of us in Shirehampton. There was no sense of urgency, small shops, you knew the person behind the counter. Salmon and Hutchins had a carbon copy book, and wrote down shopping list. They'd deliver on Friday. Mike remembers the man arriving with the shopping. Milk deliveries. Go to the Co-op to buy milk checks to avoid leaving cash out.
17.20 Walking around the house Dining room – prefabs had a pull out table in the kitchen. So in 2001 we added a dining room, mother always wanted a dining room. I am a titanic nut said Mike. In 2011 I went on an anniversary voyage, 100 years after the sinking of the Titanic we had a memorial service at the exact spot. During history lessons at school, he remembers seeing the first film 'a night to remember', sinking as one whole piece and singing a song about the Titanic has been fascinated ever since. Lounge area now has a gas fire; where there was the coal fire that also did the hot water bit like a parker. Huge towel rail in the bathroom. There was a bath, no showers. Low ceilings, reason this ceiling is so low accommodates heating pipes. Two bedrooms, behind double wardrobe doors, pull out single bed. Imagine without fitted furniture, corridor between beds, tallboy and built in wardrobe. Room was 10 by 8 feet.
25.14 Larger bedroom parents would have slept, almost the same. Free standing furniture, fitted cupboards and dressing table. TV when Mike was growing up their were only 2 channels, he said ' most people used to rent their TV, but my parents bought a big TV with doors, the neighbours came into watch the coronation.
Renting you just phone up the landlord, Mum used to say call the corporation, and they had a little wooden hut down the road with one guy who was only responsible for the 7 prefabs in Walton Road.
The doors were originally plain wood and external doors were made of metal, v heavy and half glazed. Might have been metal left over after the war. There was plenty of storage. Bathroom now has a shower. In the old days bath would have run the length of the room, and then a washbasin. Not a lot of space.
Track ends 33.00
Name Mike Pemberton born 22 April 1953. His Mother was already living in Shirehampton, when she met Mike’s Dad and they got married in 1941 and spent the first six years of their marriage living with their parents. His parents moved into the Prefab in 1947 when his older brother was six years old. Mike remembers what an odd colour the outside walls were, corrugated asbestos grey whilst across the road red brick houses. There was no central heating, only heating was a coal fire. There were vents in the bedroom doors to bring heat into the bedrooms; the reality was in fact only smoke from the fire entered the vents so they were always kept closed. The windows were single glazed and metal, so very cold. Mike remembers the odd paraffin heater, or one bar electric fire, also when he was very young his mother would put on all the rings on the cooker and even open the oven door to stay warm.
4.17 1997 there was an article in the paper entitled Pre Fabtastic, a builder had done an amazing job of turning pre fabs into houses. Mikes Dad got in touch with the builder who came and priced up the job and then did the work. His Father was in the air force, and his Mother was a telephonist she used a PBX system, they both worked in Bristol. The Pre fabs in Walton Road were unusual in that there were only seven houses, unlike the huge estates of prefabs built in Bristol after the war. His parents stayed in the house until the end of their lives. Mike imagined his Father would want to move out, once the 1960's he'd want to buy own place especially as his Father hated gardening, and the garden was a wilderness, which annoyed the neighbours.
8.55 There were only 2 bedrooms, Mike's twin brother shared one room, and his Parents slept in the back bedroom. His older brother slept in the lounge on the put up bed, which turned into a sofa during the day when he was home on leave.
9.48 Mike has had cerebral palsy since childhood. He said it hadn't been a problem at school or in his working life as a barman at the Shirehampton Working Mans Club; the only problem was walking when he needed to keep his weight evenly distributed and use a stick.
11.21Photographs The photos show the prefab 8 years after the parents moved in. Neighbours were friendly, and understood that due to the war and loss of housing there was a shortage and accepted that the market garden land had to be used to site the temporary homes. Later on the Council moved people out to rebuild houses where the prefabs had been.
13.38 In 1997 Mikes house was rebuilt to get rid of the asbestos in the walls and roof. They removed the asbestos and replaced with five-ply board and rendered over it. The original fire glass insulation had been put into small compartments, and they added to this but kept the same structure. The Council put in central heating to his Gran's prefab; she lived at the top of the road. His parents asked council to put heating in, they said No so they put their own heating in which saved them a rent increase when the council put heating into the neighbours properties. The rent was 5 shillings a week, money was so different then. The rent man called once a fortnight, he had a little book with pinkish red cover.
Track ends 17.35
TOTV034-02 0.13 Behind the house there's a street called Church Leaze, it was all market gardens when Mike was a child and before they built the prefabs there was lots of market gardens. He said 'we used to hop over the fence and run across the land and climb the trees'. It wasn't till 1963 -64 they built houses on Church Leaze. The Docks were pretty active till the 90's. Mike used to do bar work at the working men's club. On Friday evening Dockers were in there straight after work till late, stomping their feet and singing. Working men's clubs are dying on their feet now. The neighbours worked on the docks, and there were other industries. Mike’s father worked for BOCM, he drove a lorry from Avonmouth to Gloucester. Two trips a day was a day's work.
3.10 Looking at photographs Playing on the building site great big concrete pipes, Mike was about 9 – 10 years old. Earliest memories first three-wheeled bike, a safety bar on the back that our parents held on to make sure you didn't crash. It had a proper boot and was v expensive… Very few cars, and only one car in the street. Mast at the bottom of the road was next to a tin hut for the sea cadets, they used to wear uniforms. Sea Cadets still meet in Shirehampton near to Lamplighters pub. Looking at photograph of his Dad's car 'That car is a 1959 Ford Zodiac, cream and grey bought second hand, with AA badge. Used to get 3 in the front, column change with hand brake on the dashboard and three in the back. Driver and adult with child in between. 1963 seat belt law came in and the next car father had was new model Ford Zodiac and had to have seat belts fitted, Father not very happy about spending money on seat belts. Trips to Weston S M for day out, no holidays. Dad wouldn't take the car out if it were raining, washed every Sunday. Dad left home at 3am every day for work. He'd pick me up on his second trip and take me to Gloucester, very noisy so no talking. Lorry had wooden floors. All lorries were Scammell. Dad would get home at 6pm in the evening, hard work too. Drive up to Gloucester, guys in Gloucester load the lorry take back a full load.
11.28 High days and holidays, I remember we got half way to Weston and it started to rain. Dad turned round and came home; he didn't want the car to get wet. Good relationship with neighbours, older people been through the war. Garden was a wilderness till 1963, brother and girl friend sorted out the garden, till Mike sorted it out in 1970's. Photos In Grans garden, Mothers mother. Father from West Bromwich, his brother moved from West Bromwich and bought one of the houses at top of Walton Road. My mother's brother and sister were also local, loads of us in Shirehampton. There was no sense of urgency, small shops, you knew the person behind the counter. Salmon and Hutchins had a carbon copy book, and wrote down shopping list. They'd deliver on Friday. Mike remembers the man arriving with the shopping. Milk deliveries. Go to the Co-op to buy milk checks to avoid leaving cash out.
17.20 Walking around the house Dining room – prefabs had a pull out table in the kitchen. So in 2001 we added a dining room, mother always wanted a dining room. I am a titanic nut said Mike. In 2011 I went on an anniversary voyage, 100 years after the sinking of the Titanic we had a memorial service at the exact spot. During history lessons at school, he remembers seeing the first film 'a night to remember', sinking as one whole piece and singing a song about the Titanic has been fascinated ever since. Lounge area now has a gas fire; where there was the coal fire that also did the hot water bit like a parker. Huge towel rail in the bathroom. There was a bath, no showers. Low ceilings, reason this ceiling is so low accommodates heating pipes. Two bedrooms, behind double wardrobe doors, pull out single bed. Imagine without fitted furniture, corridor between beds, tallboy and built in wardrobe. Room was 10 by 8 feet.
25.14 Larger bedroom parents would have slept, almost the same. Free standing furniture, fitted cupboards and dressing table. TV when Mike was growing up their were only 2 channels, he said ' most people used to rent their TV, but my parents bought a big TV with doors, the neighbours came into watch the coronation.
Renting you just phone up the landlord, Mum used to say call the corporation, and they had a little wooden hut down the road with one guy who was only responsible for the 7 prefabs in Walton Road.
The doors were originally plain wood and external doors were made of metal, v heavy and half glazed. Might have been metal left over after the war. There was plenty of storage. Bathroom now has a shower. In the old days bath would have run the length of the room, and then a washbasin. Not a lot of space.
Track ends 33.00