Voices project

Yaj Goorah 9b

2005

Personal information

• Name: Beryl May Thompson

• D.O.B: 5/07/1945

• Place of birth: Manchester

• Parents names: Joseph brown and Mary Jane

• Has a Husband and three kids

Memorable moments

• For Beryl a Moment in her life was when she married Ken Thompson in 1968.

• Another was when she had her 3 children 1)Deborah Jane Thompson in Manchester (1970)

• 2)John Kenneth Thompson born in bury (1973)• 3)Shelly Louise Thompson born in Burnley

(1981)

Facts and events• Beryl was born at the end of the war• She had 3 older sisters and a brother• 2 of her sisters were evacuated during the

war and were sent to Matlock( near Manchester)

• Beryl’s father was an aircraft fitter during the war which was an important job as aircrafts played a big part in the war. He was also a fire man who was on call through the war putting out fires and digging people out of bombed houses

Life as a child in the 1950’s

• Beryl would play out as there were no televisions in the house. She would skip, play hide and seek or perhaps tennis.

• Beryl liked to play the whip and top which was spinning a top then whipping it to see how long it would go for.

Responsibilities• Beryl had more responsibilities than the

children of today as from the age of 6 or 7 she was expected to look after her younger sister.

• From the age of 10 beryl would work to earn money that she would spend going to the picture on Saturday. Otherwise she would not be able to go out

Family life as a child in 1950’s

• When beryl was young in the winter the family would sit around the fire and there mother would tell them stories. Beryl remembers looking in the fire and imagining what was happening.

Musical life• Beryl was lucky as her mother could play piano .

When she was young she would learn from her brother.

• Beryl and her brothers and sisters would sing as there mum played the piano.

• The only other entertainment they had was a radio which always broke down but when it worked they listened to it quietly.

First Christmas

• Beryl’s first Christmas memory was when she was young and wanted a doll. She went down on Christmas and it was a real baby in a drawer as this was were they were kept until they could fit in a cot

Christmas• At Christmas Beryl would out

up a stocking and would usually get an orange ,an apple and a few coins. Beryl got a Beano and her sister got a Dandy

• In those days Christmas wasn’t about presents. It was more about the build up, baking and putting up the tree

Important memories• Beryl’s most important memory is

when man first landed on the moon she remembers the atmosphere and the joy

• The memory Beryl thinks will live on forever in history is 9/11 or the death of princess Diana

How have things changed ???• When Beryl was young only 1 man on her

estate had a car while now most families have at least 1

• There was only 1 phone in the village while now most people have more than 1

• Overbroad trips were unheard of while now its common