Dances, Dates and Writing Home

As a new member of the Archive team here at Corsham Court, I was excited to see some more of the collection this week. I really enjoyed reading the letters of Vivianne Ollerearnshaw, who studied on the teacher training course at Newton Park from 1951- 53. Her interview and the letters which she kindly gave to the Archive cover her two years at the college, and provide a wonderful glimpse into life as a student at that time.

During her first year Vivianne lived on the top floor of No. 19 of the Royal Crescent, along with 8 other girls. They shared one big bathroom between them and ate in the large basement; 'our first meal was rabbit stew, which was gorgeous, and custard with banana in it which I shall never forget because we were rationed, we never had enough to eat at home.' In her second year Vivianne lived at Newton Park, in Main House. The had 'a huge breakfast, a huge dinner and a huge supper and tea' everyday in the East Wing, which today is a small cafe. I love the little openings into the details of her life as a student; among other things Vivianne writes to her parents about playing hockey and netball matches between Newton Park and The Elms (P.S. We've won the netball match!'), about going to see Wuthering Heights 'with Lawrence Olivier in' and also about holidays; 'For the Coronation we get not far off a week!'.

'Wuthering Heights will be at Bath next weekend, with Lawrence Olivier in. I've seen it once, but would love to see it again if time.' 

Many of her letters are signed with 'xxxx' and use shortenings such as 'if poss'. This is surprisingly similar to texts and informal emails today- my friends and I use them! In one of the letters, Vivianne is asking her parents for references. The language used seems quite abrupt, and as with the similarities to texts mentioned above, this reminded me that letters were the main form of communication (apart from the telephone', so in a way they did the job of what texts and emails do now. On the other hand, one of the main differences is that many were written over several days. The envelopes have very readable postmarks, unlike today, and the range of stamps is interesting.

Her handwriting is very twirly compared to how my generation were taught to write!

Another thing that surprised me is that the term 'going out' was also in use then. In Vivianne's time it often meant going to dances; she writes about the Weston in Bath ('a little dance place') and about a Valentine's Ball at Bristol University, whereas now 'dances' is clubbing! A little later she wrote about refusing to see 'a partner', meaning a male dancing partner, because she 'musn't go out this term'. I think this shows how some phrases have become outdated, while some are still very much in use amongst people my age. And now that 50s style is back in fashion, it makes me think that maybe some things about youth culture never really change!

By Alice Meigh, 2nd year student at Bath Spa University

Mrs Thatcher's Generation

Whatever your politics, you will not have been able to ignore the death of Margaret Thatcher, a woman we all know something about. Whether through direct experience, or through the stories which have been published over the past weeks, we all know something of the life, work and achievements of this country's first woman Prime Minister.

Mrs Thatcher's generation? The Class of 1949 at Newton Park

I can see many parallels between women like Margaret Thatcher and the generations of former staff and students we have interviewed. These interviewees are predominantly women, as in the past we produced mostly women teachers. And because these women trained to be teachers, they had careers, some long, some short.  Some married, some had children. Most continued to work to some degree or another. They are the generations who grew up in the shadow of war, who attained a certain standard of living, promised in the aftermath of the thirties and forties in Britain. This cultural background coloured their opinions, their upbringing and their education, in a way which we struggle to understand today. 

1948: A student attends an interview with Miss Dawson, accompanied by her parents (and younger sister?) . Newton Park was not ready for use until 1949, so may only have been visited for the interview and annual Commemoration Day in June.

It seems to me that people then got on with things in a different way. Instead of fussing about things, you put your head down and worked hard, since, by contrast to wartime conditions, life was a good deal better. The privations of their youth (wartime restrictions and so on) coloured their future lives. My generation ridiculed this tendency; we certainly didn't understand it.

During the oral history interviews, I've been ready to hear about issues of feminism, of equal rights, and of unfair treatment towards working women. Although on one hand it seems a little disappointing when these things are absent, it also makes me feel humble to know that in the 1950s and 1960s, you proved yourself by simply getting out there and getting on with it. The only 'complaint' was around the firm expectation that a woman teacher should wear a skirt!

Sue, at Wellow Station on her way to teaching practice, early 1960s.
(Photo: S.Tewson)

I myself come from a family of similarly strong women, who ran businesses with their families, and tackled any tasks which happened to need doing. I'm not sure if my feisty grandmother would have described herself as a feminist (or whatever the term would have been for her generation) but she certainly expected people to work hard and make a difference to their lives - the difference being dependent on the amount of hard work one was willing to put in. This attitude, born of a particular time and place, is perhaps now passing from our culture (discuss?!)

Famous people like Margaret Thatcher will have their stories told many times. The history books will be filled with details, opinions and analysis of the part they played in the nation's story. Not so the thousands who got on with the job every day, and lived through the same years. 

Oral History is a way to counteract this. By talking to the people who experienced life here, we hope to bring the nuanced details of history to the archival record.

Commemoration Day choir performance, 1964 (Photo: S. Tewson)

We continue to welcome a host of fascinating people to interview. Next month will be the turn of a former Newton Park student from the 1950s and a music lecturer who saw several decades of change in the same setting. Its always a pleasure to hear their words, and we look forward to sharing their stories.