These sound files are extracts (short, edited pieces) from longer oral history interviews preserved by Northumberland Archives. These interviews were made as part of a project to collect the memories of people who lived and worked on the Northumberland coast; “Sustaining Our Coastal Heritage”, 2006-2008.

Doreen was born in the 1920s, Cynthia was born in the 1940s. They were interviewed 9 November 2006 by Sarah Belcher. 

Q. And the harbour as well, do you remember how different that was when you were younger?

Oh yes yes, um walking from the ferry to come to where I was working, it was past the shipyard and it was very very high walls, as the ships were being built you could see them, towering, towering above. But the harbour was very very busy. Um the ships as we were saying were three deep. And then during the war it was a submarine base. And it was a very big submarine base, I don’t think people realised just how busy it was, and of course ships were fitted at Bolckows,* it was no longer a ship breaking, but ships were being built and then brought into Bolckows to be fitted out. Um with you know…Actually one of, I don’t know if you met Irene, she worked in Bolckows, there was a big staff of girls in there. And one of the girls who married, once the ships were fitted out in Bolckows, the crew that were going to go on the ship, were brought up to get used to it before going it sailed. And one of the girls in the office married one of the crew of the HMS Fancy. And it’s their diamond wedding this year. And Irene is going down to it, she is flying down to that. She will be 82 now I think. But Blyth was absolutely full of Navy, Army, Air force. It was very very busy. 

Q. So would a lot of girls, as the men would go and work in the shipyards and the coal, would a lot of girls go and work in the offices of the ship yard.

Yes yes there was an enormous office at the shipyard, and a lot of girls naturally, it was a good job. Bolckows had a big staff, and to get into Bolckows was quite difficult because the wages were good. Most of the girls travelled over from Blyth but some came from Cambois. And then of course the coal board after it became nationalised, the coal board offices, there was a lot of girls that worked in there. Yes employed a lot of people. The Blyth Harbour Commission offices as well, they employed a lot of people. 

And with all the boats coming in, I think you mentioned there were more fishing boats as well? 

Now there are more fishing boats, but there was not so many fishing boats as was coal exporting. It was mainly exporting yes. 

* Bolckows – see resource with Bolckows brochure 

Can you remember the travellers rest hotel? 

Yes 

Which looked onto the shipyard. 

That’s right. 

Well when we came back from Canada, 1949 we could not get anywhere to live because there was a housing shortage after the war. 

Yes of course there was. 

So when I was 11 I had lived in 12 different houses, we just kept moving around, getting a room, renting a room off someone that had a spare room. And we ended up in the travellers rest hotel for a few weeks. Right at the very top and you could look over into the shipyard. And I saw a ship being launched 

Did you? 

Which was very emotional, very emotional, you know they smash the bottle and then nothing happens for a while and then you hear all the chains and everything and then the ship would start moving, quite emotional. But what I was going to say was, my mother, they asked her if she would come and give a hand in the bar, this night because someone was off. What they had not told her was it was the start of the shipyard holidays. The Friday night, it was absolutely heaving, my poor mother did not know what to do. There were people left, right and centre. I will always remember that. 

When a ship was launched anyone that had fathers that were working on the shipyard were allowed to stay off school, to go and watch the launch. And of course the other kids were very envious of these children getting the day off to watch the ship being launched. 

I would love to see another ship launch, it’s one of my ambitions now. 

I have only ever seen it on television 

I will have to go abroad now to see a ship launch. 

Yes yes. It was Blyth shipyard was huge, it really was.