Barry Gibson
Barry was born in 1942 at 37 Broadfield Road. At the age of three he began attending Calgarth Primary School with Mrs Heighton as his teacher. His dad was from Windermere and worked at the Short’s factory at White Cross Bay. When Barry was fourteen the family moved from Calgarth to the new Droomer estate in Windermere.
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- Ref.Number: FB014
- Date: 2.3.07
- Interviewer (I): Rose Smith
- Subject: Life as a child on Calgarth
- Period: 1942-1956
I
So what age did you go to school? Was it 5 or 6?
B
I can’t remember, but I know we used to go to school. We used to go to nursery.
I
Did you?
B
Yes, when we were little tiny, ‘cause we used to go to nursery.
I
On the estate?
B
In Calgarth, yes. And then in the afternoon, after dinner, you would have a sleep. And you all had these camp beds and you all had a symbol. Mine was an apple. And you got on your bed, and you covered yourself up and you went to sleep. You had, well, a couple of hours, I presume, and then you got up and did a bit and went home.
I
Great.
B
My Mum worked at -
I
What did your parents do?
B
Well my Mother worked at Water Edge Hotel, you see. And she used to go in the morning ‘till half past two in the afternoon, then go back again at 6 o’clock ‘till 9 o’clock so we were, like.
I
So who looked after you.
B
Well, just neighbours and that, you know. And we used to get coupons for our clothing for school and we used to have school dinners. They were free.
I
What were the dinners like?
B
Well we used to think they were fabulous. And they used to divide, they had big room dividers and they used to pull them together and then we’d all sleep in this one half and ...
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