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The transcript is an interview with Philip Dunne as transcribed by Microsoft Word and summarised by ChatGPT and subject to errors.
Childhood & Home Life
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Grew up in Cross Moor, Stubbins, a substantial family home with coal fires, later some coke stoves.
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Heating was coal-based; deliveries were from local firms (Heaton’s, Morris’s). Families sometimes checked coal deliveries by counting sacks.
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Frequent problems with burst pipes during the harsh 1962–63 winter.
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Household had servants pre-WWII (maids, chauffeur, gardener). Chauffeur Tom Ward, a WWI veteran, remained until 1965.
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The garden was formal, with lawns, shrubberies, and a lily pond—requiring full-time gardening.
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Cars: family owned Humber and later Austin Cambridge, usually chauffeur-driven.
Daily Life & Food
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Entertaining was limited after his grandfather’s early death.
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Meals were simple and patterned: Sunday teas, leftovers on Mondays, modest daily food.
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Breakfast was light (toast, cereal).
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Main living space was the large kitchen with a range; the dining room was rarely used.
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Grandmother suffered heart attacks (1960) and was treated at home with tablets under private doctors, never hospitalized.
Local Community & Services
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Coal, gas, and water infrastructure described in detail.
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Strong community networks, e.g., gardeners, plumbers, chemists connected with mills.
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Shops in Stubbins included butchers, bakers, newsagents, sweet shops, and Co-op.
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Local pubs: “Corner Pin” (Railway Hotel).
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Churches: St. Philip’s (Anglican), Stubbins Congregational, and Edenfield Methodist were central to community life.
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Events: Sunday School anniversaries, sermons, and daffodil decorations in the churchyard were significant traditions.
Education
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Began school at Stubbins Day School in 1958 (age 4).
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Recalled teachers vividly (Miss Hamm, Miss Wills, Mrs Haslett, Miss Allen, etc.).
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School had strong academic reputation compared with Edenfield School.
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Passed the 11-plus in 1965 and attended Bury Grammar School on a Lancashire County Scholarship.
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Noted honours boards in the old school (since lost).
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Transport: frequent local bus services, double-deckers run by Ramsbottom Urban District Council; also rail options.
Social Observations
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Stubbins strongly identified with Ramsbottom rather than Edenfield, despite proximity.
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WWII and postwar years marked a cultural dividing line—many practices stopped “during the war.”
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Phillip described childhood as sheltered and atypical, without many peers nearby.
👉 Overall, the transcript is both a personal memoir and a local history record, weaving Phillip’s family story into the broader history of the Lancashire textile industry, postwar domestic life, village communities, and education in the 1950s–60s.
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