Writing Lives – Collaborative Research Project on Working-Class Autobiography

Amy Gomm (b.1899-1984): An Introduction

‘As for me – I was off to conquer the world.’ (Gomm, 163) This quotation, right at the very end of Amy’s memoir sums up her ability to defy the struggles of a typical working class girl despite the hardships throughout her childhood. Amy Gomm, born in 1899, was the …

James H. McKenzie (1862 -1952): An Introduction

“I am in conversation with them; my circus and show stories, amused them, no matter where ever I have been these stories of mine always attracted interest”. James H. McKenzie, ‘Strange Truth. The Autobiography of a Circus, Showman, Stage and Exhibition Man’ , Pg 153. James H. McKenzie’s words stand …

Leslie John Robinson (b.1929): An Introduction.

‘”Begin at the beginning……”‘ (p.20) In his nostalgic, five-part memoir, One Step at a Time, Leslie John Robinson writes with pleasure about …

Letitia Simpson (B.1926.): An Introduction

The public house or “pub” has been a common destination for many working-class people, in particularly men, for over 1000 years with …

Annie Ford, born 1920, Biographical entry

2:291 FORD, Annie, Untitled, TS, pp.7 (c.2,000 words). Brunel University Library. Born 1920 in the Collyhurst district of Manchester. Father, a …

Annie Ford, born 1920

A.W. Todd: Biographical Entry

2/1030 TODD, A.W., “The Masons of London”, TS, pp.101 + 39pp. illustrations (c.38,000 words).Modern Department, Museum of London. An extremely useful account …

Patricia Saville (B.1933) “The Daughter I Never Had”: An Introduction

“War broke out, I remember it so clearly I was playing in the garden when the first German bombers came I was …

Guy Oates: ‘The Years That Are Gone’

‘The Years That Are Gone’ is a 750 page, eight volume, memoir, which explores the history of the Oates family through the …

Harold Gill (1919-2003): An Introduction

‘Heaven, we are told, has many mansions; Hell, too, has variety in all it’s forms. What happened that day was one of …