Side A of the eighth audio cassette in a collection of eight which records Ron A. W. Perry’s memoirs entitled ‘The Way It Was’.
Side A is 00:46:09 long and has static noise interference throughout the recording. Ron’s voice breaks in at 00:00:07 and his recollections end at 00:11:17. The rest of the tape includes recorded interviews with individuals who would have been teenagers during the Second World War. Ron has given no details about how he acquired these recordings but they appear to have been taped from the radio. The interviews cut off mid-sentence at 00:36:10 and the rest of the tape is blank.
The theme explored on Side A includes Ron’s demob from the army which took place in Taunton on the 3rd of February 1946 and receiving his demob suit. He then talks about being very lonely having left his sweetheart Gerda back in Germany and ends his recollection with a song dedicated to her.
The rest of the tape includes the general interviews with a variety of people who would have been teenagers during the war. The interviews start at 00:11:17 and include the themes of: experiencing air raid attacks in Hull; going shrapnel hunting; the impact of the cinema with a description of the cinemas in Penrith and an occasion when a bomb dropped on the shelters at the back of the cinema; attending dances and meeting soldiers; the fear of getting pregnant out of wedlock; getting married young and the speed at which it would happen; and loosing loved ones to the war and receiving the telegram informing the family.
Existence and Location of Copies
A digitised MP3 version is available on Preservica via internal access at Bath Record Office.
