In 1988-1994 Pat Hughes, residing in Yondover, interviewed 16 villagers as part of the Heritage Lottery Fund oral history project called Spinning Yarns. The idea behind doing these oral tapes was to build up a picture of the village from the early days of the 20th century to the present day (1994). A mixture of the eldest people I could find were chosen, Netta (Henrietta) Taylor being born in 1902 and Hilda Greening in 1904 for example. Sadly only one person is still with us (2021). I used a questionnaire to keep us on the right track, not always succeeding! Some of the anecdotes were used in A Walk Through Long Loders. It goes without saying your father (Rev O L Willmott) was an excellent interviewee!
It also needs mentioning that each person was given a disc of their interview. When Spinning Yarns took place in Bridport, they very kindly converted the Local History Museum's copies of the my tapes to CDs and also sent me the copies that you have for our History Group. They also interviewed me, which I hadn't asked for! Pat Hughes 2021.
Copies of the oral recordings and transcripts are held by Loders Local History Group, Bridport Museum and the Dorset Sound Archive.
Bridport Local History Centre
Dorset Sound Archive - Loders Local History Group recordings and transcripts
Until we are able to make the tapes available, transcripts will have to suffice. Due to the quality of printing and they are recorded in Dorset dialect, they are not suitable for reading out loud mode.
Arthur Crabb Part 1 Arthur Crabb Part 2 Arthur Crabb Part 3
Bill Budden Part 1 Bill Budden Part 2 Bill Budden Part 3 Bill Budden Part 4
Doug Darby Part 1 Doug Darby Part 2
Edgar Bishop
George Hyde
Hilda Greening Part 1 Hilda Greening Part 2
John Ellis Part 1 John Ellis Part 2
Lady Perronnelle Laskey Part 1 Lady Perronnelle Laskey Part 2
Netta Taylor Part 1 Netta Taylor Part 2 Netta Taylor Part 3
Percy Bowditch Part 1 Percy Bowditch Part 2
Philip Symes Part 1 Philip Symes Part 2
Phyllis Bunnel
Rev O L Willmott Part 1 Rev O L Willmott Part 2
Rob Wrixon Part 1 Rob Wrixon Part 2 Rob Wrixon Part 3