Oral History Recordings

The Society’s Oral History Project was set up to record and preserve some of the memories and personal experiences of Cheltonians in audio form, and the interviews, which include memories of schools, town businesses, and work and social life in the 1950s and 1960s, are available here. We would like to hear from potential interviewees – please email us if you are interested.

Three CLHS volunteers, Janet Graham, Irene Finlayson and Jenny Miller were trained at Gloucestershire Archives in the techniques of carrying out interviews and making recordings, and a Digital Audio Voice Recorder was purchased. Allen Miller later joined the team to assist with technical issues.

Please visit the CLHS Youtube channel or click the links below to hear the recordings.

All recordings are © Cheltenham Local History Society and Gloucestershire Archives. Please refer to our Copyright page before reproducing any items.

Dave Wheeler‘s memories of his first job working as an apprentice at Cavendish House in 1965.

Carol Oddy talks about her life in Cheltenham in the early 1960’s, including memories of Pate’s Grammar School, Secretarial College, Arcuprint and the Leicester Permanent Building Society, and The Beatles

Lyn Morgan talks about her first jobs in banking and Cheltenham’s High Street banks in the early 1960s.

Ann Warne remembers relocating from London to Cheltenham with the Universities Central Council on Admissions (UCCA), later UCAS.

Heather Coeur recalls her life as a shopkeeper in the Lower High Street, retraining as a teacher of English as a foreign language, and her students.

Carolyn Greet’s memories of teaching at Pate’s Grammar School, the re-organisation of secondary education, town centre shops, cinemas and theatre, Parabola Road and Montpellier, and musical activities.

Joan Whiting Moon’s life in Cheltenham:

Part 1 1960s-1970s Department stores, antique shops and the Civic Society

Part 2 1970s-1980s Lansdown area, urban changes, Literature Festival and bookshops

Part 3 1970s-1980s Pate’s Grammar School, bomb threats, The Queen Mother and the Races

Part 4 1960s-1980s Magisterial duties

Rod Bowden’s memories of Whitefriars School, playing rugby, work as a hairdresser, and male voice choirs.

Tim Deeks talks about the early days of Bournside school, student life at the Technical College, playing cricket and golf, and his memories of his father and grandfathers.