‘Recording our oral history is a vital part of documenting, understanding and sharing the heritage of ordinary people’
Rob Perks, Lead Curator of Oral History at the British Library and Secretary/Editor of the Oral History Society.
Much as the network of reens and watercourses criss-cross this amazing landscape, in a similar fashion, so have a team of oral historians and volunteers, quietly gathering and recording the memories, stories, and experiences of those who live, work, and play on the Caldicot and Wentlooge Levels.
From rounding up sheep on the sea wall on pony-back, to thatching hay ricks with reeds from the reens, a German POW clicking his heels each morning as a greeting, or the familiar roar of Jason the Lion from Whitson Zoo, it’s safe to say there’s no place like this place, and it’s all the more wonderful for it.
We all have stories to tell, and oral history listens to these stories. Historians have finally recognized that the everyday memories of everyday people, not just the rich, the powerful, or the famous, have historical importance. If we do not collect and preserve those memories, those stories, then one day they will disappear forever. As we travel across ‘The Moors’ recording these oral histories for the LLP, we often hear the same refrain, ‘you’re ten years too late; all the old characters are long gone’. Let us state here and now: the Gwent Levels are alive with characters, some quiet, some less so, but all with a gorgeous, vivid, honest story to tell, and it’s an utter privilege to be recording them, creating a unique historical record that will earn its place.
Oral history can complement information provided by public records, statistical data, photographs, maps, letters, diaries, and other historical materials. Eyewitnesses to events, no matter how small or innocuous, contribute various viewpoints and perspectives that fill in the gaps in documented history. It is a way of gathering, recording, and preserving a diverse range of personal experiences that generally are not well documented in written sources or traditional history in Western society. Their personal nature makes them a great primary source for people wanting to discover more about a certain event or era, providing an insight into the impact events had on the people alive and involved. This is beautifully illustrated by two transcriptions we have been working through for the project (there are dozens more).
One is that of a former Newport museum curator. Every sentence is a reminder of the phenomenal archaeological treasures the Gwent Levels has revealed. He was fortunate to be working at a time of great activity on the Levels, experiencing first-hand a whole host of pre-history discoveries. But he confesses it is the discovery of medieval boats that have excited him the most. Their existence of course attracted a great deal of interest at the time and have been dutifully recorded. Once upon a time, his vision was to create an international centre of maritime heritage in Newport, bringing together the all the sea and river vessels that have emerged, after some millennia, ‘from the deep’. It’s a fascinating interview.
As is Pam’s, whose husband also discovered a boat. Now in her eighties, she retells the story of the family business running a fleet of JCBs in the 1960s, and was on hand to witness some huge developments on the Levels, including the construction of the M4. Her claim to fame –hitherto unrecorded - was to drive the wrong way down the M4 as she delivered wage packets to contract digger drivers – of course this was before the motorway was opened. On another occasion, her husband was working on one of the many housing developments: ‘he was operating the digger, excavating, and stopped to look at something in the trench. It was a boat, like a large canoe, almost intact, and wooden. He called the foreman over, who took one look at it and said, ‘cover it up’, and he did. They never said anymore about it.’ That boat today lies under a housing estate; it’s likely never to be seen again, but its existence, at least, is noted in Pam’s interview.
Oral histories, therefore, give people, sometimes those with less power, the opportunity to say, ‘this is what it was like for me’, and we are far richer for it and the historical record benefits from it. We look forward to presenting more stories from ‘Life on the Levels’ and the area’s oral history.
Marsha O’Mahony
Oral Historian, Living Levels Project
Life on the Levels travelling exhibition
Join us to share what we’ve learned so far, alongside photographs, exhibits and performance too!