The Swanshurst History Channel grew out of the wonderful experience we have had in hosting Veterans’ Days from 2008 onwards. On these occasions we met such incredible people that it seemed a waste for their testimony to be told on just one day to a small group of people, hence the collection of interviews below.

History can never just be about the rich and famous but should acknowledge that we all have a story to tell. Like all oral history there are limitations as the events told happened a long time ago but what cannot be disputed is that the interviewees were there! They saw the events they mentioned and experienced them first hand. It is the purpose of oral history to provide this first-hand testimony rather than the transmission of knowledge.

We hope that the interviews listed will be useful to a wide variety of different people and institutions raging from schools, to universities, the general public and academic historians. It has been our honour and privilege to conduct these interviews and to record them for posterity. We humbly thank all those who have allowed themselves to be interviewed, for giving up their time and for sharing their experiences with us. We are all richer for it and I am sure that you will be too if you take the time to watch and to listen.

(Army) Len was interviewed by Sumiya Ahmed and Suzanne Sherwin. Len was a member of the Royal Army Service Corps and drove an amphibious truck on D-Day. He talks about his experiences on that memorable day.
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(Combined Ops) – was interviewed by Madeline Cottam-Allan and Aneesha Bhardwa. Len was a member of the Special Operations Executive. He was parachuted into occupied France in 1944 as a member of the Phantom Signals Party supporting the SAS. He was awarded the Military Medal for his work.
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(Army) Ron was interviewed by Tahreem Tahir. Ron was conscripted towards the end of the war. He was sent to East Africa. On the way the USA dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
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(Army) Ron was interviewed by Tahreem Tahir and Fiona Hughes. Ron was a member of the famous Chindits and fought in the jungles of the Far East against the Japanese Army.
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(Army) – Interviewed by Rebecca Salt. Frank was a Coldstream Guard. He talks about bombing in Birmingham and about how he was involved in the liberation of Holland.
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(Army) was interviewed by Seerat Ghory. Sid was present at D-Day. He was also amongst the first soldiers to enter the Belsen Concentration Camp and was on guard duty at the Nuremburg Trails.
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(Air Force) Interviewed by Kirsten Campbell. Tom was a member of Aircrew. He took part in bombing missions during the Burma campaign. He explains about how he was trained and the problems he faced in Burma.
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(Air Force) Interviewed by Isabella Daly. Eric was a pilot in the war flying spitfires and hurricanes. He took part in Operation Benedict, which was a mission to help the Russians fight against the Germans in the dark days of late 1940. Later he served in Burma.
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(Air Force) Victoria Wainwright – Albert was a member of Aircrew. He flew planes in what was known as costal command. Their main task was to patrol the shipping lanes around Britain and to be on the lookout for German submarines.
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Les was in the army during the Second World War. He served in North Africa and Italy. He tells of his time guarding Italian prisoners of war after their defeat in 1942. After this he took part in the invasion of Italy. Les was part of the forces who pushed the Germans backwards into Italy. Les explains how eventually he was wounded near Rimini when friendly fire took off part of his hand.
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Ian was interviewed by Mr Smith. Ian talks about life in Birmingham during the blitz and then describes his life in the Royal Navy. He was on board destroyers and had the very skilled job of being an ASDIC operator. ASDIC was a device for detecting submarines under water and was vital for the protection of ships in the Mediterranean. Ian gives a very vivid account of life onboard ship. He tells of his respect for Captain Tyson who led him for most of his time in the Navy. he also describes a very funny Christmas at sea.
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Leon was interviewed by Stevie Elkington and Ruby Brown. Leon joined the Royal Air Force Reserve before the war. He tells of life in Birmingham during the blitz and goes on to talk about his service in the RAF. He was trained to fly Catalinas, flying boats, in the USA. Coming back to Britain he flew on missions hunting about submarines as far away as the Bay of Biscay. Later he was transferred to North Africa where again his mission was submarine hunting. In late 1944 he flew to cover the allied invasion of Southern France. He left the RAF with the rank of Squadron Leader. Watch the interview
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John Mudie was interviewed by Kate Rattery. John served on HMT Leicester City during the war. Their task was to protect convoys and to sweep for submarines. This involved using sonar to detect the submarine and if one was found a depth charge would be launched. John talks about life in Birmingham before the war; his life on HMT Leicester City and about the end of the war where he was involved in searching for mines. Watch the interview
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Bruni was interviewed by Mr Smith. Bruni was born in what used to be East Prussia, which was part of Germany before 1945. She talks about how she and a friend found themselves in a very dangerous situation as the Russian Army began to move through Poland and Germany. She has an amazing escape over a frozen river.
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Anna was interviewed by Eve Bolt. Anna was born in Germany before the war. She tells an incredibly fascinating story about her mother and father who opposed Hitler and the Nazis. They were Socilaists and as such their views went against the ideas of the Nazis. As a result of this both parents were sent to prison and Anna and the rest of the family put into an orpahange. Anna talks movingly about her parents and life at that time. She also talks about life in germany during the war and her later arrival in England.
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Sabine was born in Germany during the Second World War. her father was a pilot in the Luftwaffe, the German airforce and was killed flying over Italy. Sabine and her mother lived in Berlin and as a result suffered the heavy Allied bombing as well as the invasion by the Russians. Sabine tells of those harrowing times when no woman was safe in the city as the Russians tightened their grip on the German people. fortunately her part of Berlin was put under the control of the Allies and Sabine and her mother were saved. Sabine was interviewed by Isobel Dix.
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– Ruth was interviewed by Mr Smith. Ruth was born in Germany of a Jewish father. She describes her life in Germany before the war, especially how the Jews were treated by the Nazis. She escaped to England on the Kinder transport, which was almost the only way that Jewish children could escape from Germany in 1939. She talks about the different families she lived with when she came to England.
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Jack was interviewed by Shahida Khatun. Jack was conscripted into the Bevin Boys who were men who had to work in the coalfields when really he wanted he wanted to serve in the Armed Forces.
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Interviewed by Mr Smith. Malcolm talks about bombing in Birmingham and about his mother. She was an ambulance driver and was one of the first to enter the Carlton Cinema after it was bombed
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Interviewed by Heena Din. Dennis was evacuated from Birmingham in 1939 and spent the majority of the war in Worcester. He tells of life with ‘Aunt’ and ‘Uncle’ during the war years and what it was like to be evacuated.
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Fred was interviewed by Mr Smith. Fred was an evacuee. He was evacuated from Smethwick to Bewdley where he worked on farms. Fred describes his life with the family who looked after him with one horrendous story about a pig who was to be slaughtered.
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Frank Smith was interviewed by Alice Murphy. Frank has a fascinating story. He was born in a workhouse in Kent and this is where he spent a large part of his childhood. He describes life in the workhouse and his evacuation to Birmingham at the start of the Second World War. He was then evacuated to Tanworth in Arden where he was well-looked after in a lovely rural setting. Frank tells of his life in the village during the war and concludes with his return to Birmingham.
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Betty - Living in Birmingham during the war Betty was born in Birmingham. She has very vivid memories of what it was like to be a child living in Birmingham during the war and talks about air raid precaution, the bombing, food, and evacuation. She also talks about what is was like to be evacuated and was evacuated twice. One story is about a kind elderly gentleman who saw her trudging to school one day and gave her a lift in his posh car. he continued to do so every morning only Betty went back to Birmingham.
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Joan was interviewed by Mr Smith. Joan was a small girl in Runcorn in Cheshire during the war. As such she witnessed the bombing of her local town and also tells about life during the war.
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Interviewed by Sabah Arshad. Olive was a VAD nurse before the war. She was transferred to Hollymore Hospital, which was an emergency hospital on the outskirts of Birmingham. She explains about the work she did and the difficulties she faced in treated the wounded.
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Interviewed by Zoe Downes. Jean was a child living in the centre of Birmingham during the Second World War. She describes vividly what it was like to be in a shelter as bombs dropped all around. She also describes the bombing of the Birmingham Market Hall.
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Barbara Johnson was interviewed by Kayleigh Fitzgerald. Barbara was a young girl when the war broke out. She was evacuated to Evesham when the war broke out and was badly treated by the people who received her. When she came back to Birmingham she then had the trauma of her grandparents being killed in the bombing.
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June Eastlake was interviewed by . June remained in Birmingham during the war. She talks about life in the city during the bombing. Her most traumatic moment was the death of her father. She describes in vivid detail the moment when she found out that her father was dead.
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Eddie Fox was interviewed by Kelsey Evans. Eddie worked at the Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory during the Second World War. He describes the work he did in the factory and how they coped during air raids. He describes his duties as a messenger, dodging bombs on his bicycle as he moved between posts.
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Interviewed by Mr Smith. Graham was a young child in Moseley when the war began. He tells of his experiences in the air raids of 1940 and 1941 and of how he was nearly badly injured by shrapnel.
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Interviewed by Doug Smith Arthur was 8 when the war started. He now lives in Moseley but was then living in Moseley. He tells of his experiences in Merseyside but he has also done research on the bombing in Moseley and has found some very interesting facts about that.
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Interviewed by Doug Smith June was 2 when the war began on was living on Merseyside. She tells of her experiences in wartime, including seeing barrage balloons and rationing. She is now a resident of Moseley.
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Lillian was interviewed by Tahreem Tahir. Lillian was in the Land Army. She talks about her life on the farms of Warwickshire, the jobs she did and the people that she met.
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Norah was interviewed by Eleanor Ashcroft. Nora was a land girl and worked on farms in the Stratford upon Avon area. She describes the jobs she did on the farms and also how she met Italian and German prisoners of war.
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Winifred was interviewed by Fiona Hughes. Winifred was a sergeant in the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) and explained her role in helping to spot the German planes for the anti-aircraft guns.
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Flo was interviewed by Mr Smith. She describes life in Birmingham during the bombing of 1940. Later she joined the ATS as was assigned to work on an anti-aircraft battery where she worked as a spotter, identifying the planes flying overhead and directing the guns to fire. She was also involved in trying to combat the Flying Bomb campaign later in the war.
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Leonora was interviewed by La-Shaunda. Before the war she worked in the labs at the HP Sauce factory, which was an unusual job for women at that time. She enlisted in the ATS and was posted to a searchlight battery where her job was to relay the position of the incoming German planes so that the searchlight could pick them out for the anti-aircraft guns. Later in the war she was transferred to Kent where she had a similar job but this time tracking the V1 rockets (doodlebugs) as they sped across fron France to London. Leonora later became a teacher. Her story is superbly told with clear details. A lovelylady!

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Betty joined the ATS in 1941 and found herself directed to the very important Bletchley Park where a team of people deciphered the German Enigma Code and gave the Allies an important advantage in fighting the Second World War. Betty started to sorting messages into categories before moving to the section that dealt with the war against the Japanese. One of Betty's tasks was to rephrase messages so that the Japanese would not know their messages had been deciphered. As a result of her job Betty found herself being sent to the work in the USA at the Pentagon where she continued her work on messages until the war was over. Betty was interviewed by Zena Van Eekelen.
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