‘The Way It Was’ written by Ronald (Ron) A. W. Perry

Reference Number

1514/3

Alternative Reference Number

1514
PP/1065

Level of Description

Item

Title

‘The Way It Was’ written by Ronald (Ron) A. W. Perry

Creator(s) & Administrative History

Perry, Ronald Archibald Worron

Date

1918-1947

Extent

Extent: 49 pages of typescript, contained in 1 envelope

Description

Ron Perry compiled this 49 page document to record his memoirs for his daughter Jean, with the piece of work being dedicated to her.

This version has been photocopied and so the black and white photographs of Ron and his family, which are dispersed throughout the pages, are not overly clear. The document includes Ron’s recollections of his life, from his birth on the 24th July 1918 at 44 Rivers Street, Bath, up to 1947.

Themes include: his mother's death of influenza and his fostering by the Perry family and his childhood and teenage years growing up in Bath and living at 16 Fairfield Avenue; his education at Walcot School; his working life as an apprentice mechanic at Widcombe Garage and Pierrepont Garage, Manvers Street, Bath; and his time serving in the army during the Second World War.

The piece includes a detailed recollection of the motor traders and motor trade in Bath in the 1930s.

‘The Way It Was’ has also been recorded by Ron on to eight audio cassettes as a way of creating an oral history (see reference:1514/4). The audio recordings do deviate from the 'The Way It Was' text and so they are not an exact recording of the typed script.