This page contains information, resources and links for the Brockley Voices project. Any queries/problems, please contact Richard. NB: there are no links to this page from the main website pages. Save the URL of this page as a bookmark in your browser, or somewhere handy:
http://www.brockleysociety.org.uk/brockley-voices-info-page-1/
Contents of this page:
1. About the project
2. Equipment
3. Instructions for creating an Interview Content Summary or Transcript
4. Example Abstract (content summary) from British Library collection
5. Audio recordings
1. About the project
What is Brockley Voices? Our aim is to record the memories, thoughts and feelings of anyone who lives in or is connected to SE4, capturing for posterity a snapshot of Brockley in the early 21st Century. Recording ‘oral histories’ is therefore integral to the Brockley Society’s intention to preserve this often-overlooked aspect of history. We are hoping that the Brockley Voices recordings will be of interest to anyone currently living in or connected to Brockley, particular those studying or interested in the area’s history.
Why record oral histories? Recording ‘oral histories’ is now an established and hugely valuable way of documenting a ‘people’s version’ of history. They provide a great insight into an area and its social history, from the personal viewpoints of individuals with a connection to the area. Your recorded interview will become part of the heritage collection cared for by the Brockley Society, where it will be preserved as a public reference resource for use in research, publication, education, lectures, broadcasting and the internet.
When is it happening? A small group of volunteers made a start during 2016 and 2017 but since then it has been dormant. We are planning to reviuatlise the project now (November 2021).
Who can take part? Anyone with an interesting story to tell! But we are particularly keen to talk with older residents who have lived in the area for a long time.
How we will record conversations? We want interviews to feel as informal as possible. We will arrive with an unobtrusive digital recorder and a basic list of questions, but ultimately we hope to have a conversation which develops naturally as we find out more about you. Generally we would aim to record you at your home – where you feel most relaxed. For both practical and safeguarding reasons, there will usually be at least two Brockley Society volunteers present. You may want to have a friend or relative with you for reassurance. This is doubly useful as someone close to you may also remember things relevant to the conversation.
If you are not comfortable with doing the recording at home, we will arrange a suitable alternative venue. Before the recording, it can be very helpful to already have dug out any old photos, letters or documents that might help jog your memory, or feature subjects that you would like to talk about. NB: Before we do anything with your recording, you will have the chance to read through the transcript or listen to the recording, so that you have the opportunity to identify any sections that you would prefer we did not include in the final version.
What sort of topics should we talk about? That’s up to you, but questions might include:
- How did you come to live in Brockley?
- How has the area changed over the years?
- Can you remember any real characters from the area?
- What are the best things about living in Brockley?
What will you do with the interview? Our primary goal is to make a series of the recordings available for anyone to listen to via the Brockley Society website. These will also be ‘transcribed’ (written down), so that those without internet access or with hearing difficulties can also access them.
2. Equipment
We have extensive written instructions on how to use digital recording equipment: both professional recorders such as the Zoom H4N, and just a smartphone. This information will be uploaded here soon.
3. Creating an Abstract (content summary) or Transcript of an interview
Section 4 (below) has playable links to all the Interview recordings we have done so far on the project. They are the unedited ‘Master’ recordings, many of which were over an hour long. To make them easier to work with, they have been split into short 10 minute sections.
It is important that each recording is ‘summarised’, in a document called an ‘Interview Content Summary’ or a ‘Full Transcript’. This vital but sometimes time-consuming stage converts the ‘raw’ material (the interview audio files, which are just the sound of a voice speaking) into typed text words.
This text then makes it much easier to identify the different sections of the speech (separate themes such as Family, World War 2, Education etc). It is used to make shorter edited ‘clips’ covering these themes, which can be combined in different ways. It also makes the material (often known as ‘content’) searchable by computers and the internet (if it is ‘published’). And finally, it helps identify any Interviewer dialogue, which can be removed.
Ideally we would have a ‘Full Transcription’ (see below) for all the interviews, but whilst ‘gold-standard’, such verbatim (word-for-word) documents can be time-consuming to produce. The alternative is a briefer ‘Content Summary’.
a. Abstract / Content Summary
An alternative to a full Transcript which does not seek to record every word. See the attached photo, and downloadable template.
Consists of the following information:
-
- Interviewee name
- Interview date
- Interviewer name
- Interview location
- Duration of recording
- Filename
- Summary of dialogue (see example from the British Library below)
Most of this information is straightforward. The summary of the dialogue is a little trickier: Using ‘keywords’, including people’s names, place names, places, dates, topics, themes etc, and frequent time references (elapsed time from the start; approx 1-2 per minute). A good example can be seen on the British Library’s Oral History collection website. (The text is also copied at the foot of this page). Note how well the ‘Abstract’ summarises thousands more words, from over 90 minutes of recording.
It is highly recommended you type directly whilst listening to playback. However, sometimes (eg on the bus!), writing by hand can be easier; it just needs to typed up later.
b. Full Transcript
These are exactly as above, the only difference being that the summary is replaced by a word-for-word transcription of the dialogue:
- Interviewee name
- Interview date
- Interviewer name
- Interview location
- Duration of recording
- Filename
- Word-for-word transcript of dialogue
Several of our recordings do already have full, verbatim transcripts: Len Thorpe Pt 1, and Violet Spooner Pts 1,2,3. See here. These will now be a great help with identifying the different theme sections, the keywords, the Interviewer junk etc.
Any completed summaries or transcripts should be sent to Richard by email. This new text information will be added to the recordings on these pages as we go…
It would be great if any volunteers felt like having a go at completing some of these documents. Any queries: just ask Richard!
4. Interview audio recordings
1. Clare Cowan talks with Mr Lennox. 22mins
2. Noel and Jenny Varney Interview1 150916 Pt1of1 31m13s Chunk1of3
3. Noel and Jenny Varney Interview1 150916 Pt1of1 29m19s Chunk2of3
4. Noel and Jenny Varney Interview1 150916 Pt1of1 29m19s Chunk3of3
5. Violet Spooner Interview 240815 27m 1of3
6. Violet Spooner Interview 240815 29m 2of3
7. Violet Spooner Interview 240815 23m 3of3
8. Len Thorpe 260615 Pt1of2 Chunk 1of2 31m03s
9. Len Thorpe 260615 Pt1of2 Chunk 2of2 31m04s
10. Len Thorpe 260615 Pt2of2 58m 44s WAV chunk1 0-10min
11. Len Thorpe 260615 Pt2of2 58m 44s WAV chunk2 10-20min
12. Len Thorpe 260615 Pt2of2 58m 44s WAV chunk3 20-30min
13. Len Thorpe 260615 Pt2of2 58m 44s WAV chunk4 30-40min
14. Len Thorpe 260615 Pt2of2 58m 44s WAV chunk5 40-50min
15. Len Thorpe 260615 Pt2of2 58m 44s WAV chunk6 50-60min
16. Arthur Guidotti. Interview1 220316. 1of1 WAV MASTER Chunk1of2 36m26s
17. Arthur Guidotti. Interview1 220316. 1of1 WAV MASTER chunk2of2 34m38s
18. Arthur Guidotti. Interview2 070416. 1of1 WAV MASTER 29m22s chunk 1of3
19. Arthur Guidotti. Interview2 070416. 1of1 WAV MASTER 29m22s chunk 2of3
20. Arthur Guidotti. Interview2 070416. 1of1 WAV MASTER 29m22s chunk 3of3
21. Arthur Guidotti. Interview3 060516. 1of4 WAV MASTER chunk1of4 29m 32s WAV
22. Arthur Guidotti. Interview3 060516. 1of4 WAV MASTER chunk2of4 30m31s WAV
23. Arthur Guidotti. Interview3 060516. 1of4 WAV MASTER chunk3of4 30m09s WAV
24. Arthur Guidotti. Interview3 060516. 1of4 WAV MASTER chunk4of4 33m33s WAV
5. Sample ‘Abstract’ from the British Library
An alternative to a full transcript of an interview (containing all the spoken words) is to produce an ‘abstract’. This is summary of the content of the interview which includes as many keywords, place names and key dates as possible. It also includes numerous time-codes within the recording, to help locate particular sections. Such a digital text is searchable: a researcher can look for specific keywords in the text, then go to the relevant section of the recording itself to listen to the actual source material.
An example is shown below, taken from the British library’s oral hisrories collection.
( http://sounds.bl.uk/Oral-history/Industry-water-steel-and-energy/021M-C1495X0039XX-0001V0 )
Part 1: Remarks introducing self and family background: Born 28 February 1938; in Boscombe Hospital Bournemouth; parents Nora Butterfield, née Fleay and, John Rysdale Butterfield; father born in India, where MB paternal grandfather was a civil servant, anecdote about father pretending to speak Indian; grandparents sharing a large Victorian house in Brook Green with MB paternal great aunts; mentions mother visiting Germany in 1938. [03:15] Remarks on wartime evacuation with mother: mentions maternal aunt giving him a shaving set as 21st birthday present; anecdotes about awful conditions in evacuation billet in Towyn and mother fortunately finding a billet in Aberdovey; subsequent move to Stoke-under-ham, billeted with local vicar and his kleptomaniac daughter; mentions subsequent move to Bournemouth; mentions mother being a qualified nurse and midwife. [06:05] MB only recalling poetry from Kindergarten in Bournemouth; anecdote about Grandfather being a contemporary of Rudyard Kipling; lodgings at Winton in Bournemouth, landlady Mrs Mac’s cooking and health problems; mentions mother working in Price’s music shop, drinking goats’ milk in wartime, Betty’s cake shop cakes for afternoon tea whilst working; MB listening to folk music, ‘The Big Rock Candy Mountain’, in music shop booth; return to house in London; anecdote about MB not able to read when he returned to London, mother convincing Latymer Foundation School to accept him; MB enjoying Hank Janson, Ellery Queen, Faulkner, Hemingway, and Steinbeck novels. [10:30] Anecdote about later visit to America with wife, visiting Steinbeck Museum, visit to Monterey fish restaurant, discovering a beer that shared his name, narrowly avoiding arrest for drunken driving. [15:00] Remarks on: anecdote about trying to teach a fellow child to read at school; anecdote about school motto about punctuality; MB trying not to promise things he couldn’t deliver; mentions MB passing scholarship aged 11; mentions bicycles, one bought with holiday job money; later cycling holiday in Dolomites with friends ‘Flash’ Fowler and YHA [Youth Hostel Association] Johnny Walker, MB first holiday abroad; anecdote about primitive conditions on childhood holiday to Isle of Wight; MB attending Latymer upper school, anecdote about difficult essay question, MB O levels and A levels, good physics teaching; MB joining YHA [Youth Hostel Association] with friend Graham Fowler, YHA talks on travel, YHA weekend hostel activities. [22:20] Anecdotes about difficult relationship between MB mother and grandmother at home, father deferring to grandmother. [23:45] Anecdote about father, a former pupil of St Paul’s school, making MB sit entrance exams in Greek and Latin despite MB lack of understanding. [24:40] Remarks on Student Apprenticeship with London Electricity Board [LEB]: anecdote about how MB came to get an apprenticeship with London Electricity Board; fair treatment, good salaries and good pensions in LEB, MB part of lucky generation avoiding Second World War. [26:20] Remarks on training centre workshops at Dorset Rise: practical skills, mentoring from experienced craftsman, making tools, anecdote about pranks in workshop, MB cycling to training centre daily, mentions son-in-law having similar commute. [29:15]Remarks on apprenticeship: failing technical drawing at London City University, MB studying for HNC at Wandsworth technical college instead; outline of structure of nationalised electricity industry, anecdote about great many different voltages used prior to nationalisation; MB starting to work on apprenticeship at Fulham Palace Road Depot, with Stewart and Rainbow and Bill Crossman; anecdote about manager who was also a publican offering MB a pub job during LEB holidays; joining pension fund optional at time but made compulsory later; [33:15] MB becoming visits secretary for student organisation, anecdote about excellent hospitality at Shell oil refinery at Fawley; mentions visit to Dinorwig Power Station; MB joining EPEA, [Electrical Power Engineers Association]; MB working in West End District, including Buckingham Palace; out-of-hours standby for faults [36:30] [Due to high profile of consumers in area] LEB provided hostel for standby staff to spend the night; shift workers swapping shifts with each other to get long weekends; anecdote about Chinese colleague Ray Leo twisting fly fishing lures; personal relationships building up with standby staff; anecdote about down to earth frankness of colleague Tony Frith, who moonlighted as a building electrician; 1960s atmosphere of anything being possible; anecdote about friend getting sacked after a night out, and quickly getting another job; [42:20] mentions colleague, ‘Fatty’ Cheeseman; examples of typical repair work done at night; anecdote about being called out to restore supply to a Carlton House Terrace gambling club. [45:00] Remarks on father: Chief Clerk at North Acton bank; wryly humoured gentleman; traditional attitudes to money, wider context of traditional social attitudes. [47:05] Remarks on folk music: MB recording ‘Radio 4′ broadcasts of folk music by Ewan MacColl and Burt Lloyd; history of people collecting folk music, anecdote about 19th century cleric and folk music collector Sabine Baring-Gould. [48:35] Further remarks on parents and family history: anecdote about father teasing mother; mother’s assertive attitude; story about how parents met through mutual friends, the Butt family; MB relatives; family tree research; Irish-Welsh background of MB mother; mentions father’s family being snobby; origins and geographical preponderance of name Butterfield; likely Dutch connections of MB ancestors; [53:58] MB maternal grandfather killed in trolley bus accident; anecdote about first aid examinations whilst an apprentice; short description of MB charming mother; outline of MB daughter’s career and perfectionist tendencies; mentions future son-in-law’s proposal to daughter; MB’s younger daughter marriage and children; MB parenting style. [59:15] Further remarks on MB childhood: quite strict father; anecdotes about pet dog; pets not fitting MB active lifestyle in adulthood. [1:02:15] Remarks on politics: parents’ Conservative politics; anecdote about French fondness for royal family, MB republican stance; politics, class system and income inequality; disaffected stance of today’s youth; MB attending recent electoral hustings, including local MP Vince Cable and a candidate from the Magna Carta Party; father’s conservative outlook conditioned by experience of empire in India and private schooling. [1:06:45]Remarks on politics: MB long retirement, good pension conditions in ESI; privatisation of ESI, Margaret Thatcher and privatisation as a watershed moment in British life and politics, policies continued by subsequent Blair and Brown Labour governments; government finance more readily available for warfare than NHS; MB being made to go to Sunday School when younger, still sometimes going to church but not religious; religion used as a means to subdue people but also doing some good, example of church involvement in local community groups, encouraging people to help others; poverty behind many of world’s problems; [1:13:20] MB liberal outlook, support for sensible proportional representation elective system, comparisons with Germany and Israel; poll tax and Iraq war rare occasions when British public took to the streets, inevitability of Iraq war; negative effects of recent cutbacks to NHS, Kew and Imperial War Museum; MB becoming more political with age, unhappy with political system. [1:17:00] Remarks on: MB an only child, only children tending to become self contained individuals; MB enjoying Rudyard Kipling, in spite of pro Empire views; MB father’s letter to his mother on outbreak of war; mentions MB marriage in 1965, move to current home in 1966. [1:19:30] Remarks on life with flat mates in 1950s: David Lovesey, Owen Simons, Ron Fergy; mentions nights out in Shepherd’s Bush; story about how David Lovesey found them a flat at Alpha Place; outline of flat; mentions old girlfriend Brenda; following ‘Sunday Times’ recipes series; varied clientèle of nearby pub; weekend breakfasts on flat roof; cooking and cleaning arrangements between flatmates; [1:25:00] anecdote about debating with flat mate Owen from Hong Kong, later MB’s best man; [CLOSED between 1:27:08 – 1:28:40 ]; lax attitudes to taking sick days off in 1960s ESI, practices tightened up later. [1:29:40] Remarks on career in ESI: anecdote about MB taking a psychometric test late in career, which revealed he should not have been an engineer; MB one of the first safety representatives in 1974, mentions investigating fatalities, many meetings involved with work, anecdote about health study connected with radiation effects on pregenant women; MB finding health and safety work interesting, emphasis on learning from accidents, MB taking honest approach to engineers trying to cover their mistakes; accidents often attributable to minor human errors; [1:35:25] description of ‘solid system’ used with distribution system to guarantee robust supply to London, potentially causing burn injuries; itinerant Irish labourers employed by other companies to dig the road without [using cable avoidance tools CAT or] checking location of electricity cables with LEB, potentially causing accidents and burn injuries to labourers; [1:39:20] direct labour employed by board at first; later, labourers hired from [43] ‘Green Murphy’ [J Murphy & Sons Ltd]; MB work with hard working Murphy gang in 1960s; anecdote about working with a [LEB] digger named Quinn; anecdotes about labourers Bob Morris and Johnny Vile; anecdote about out of work actors working as LEB clerks.