Talking history
You can find out more about travelling on public transport during the 1930s and 1940s in your local area by visiting your local archive or local studies library.
Other good sources of information about the past are the memories of the people who actually lived during those times. This is called ‘oral history’. Everyone has their own ideas about how things were in the past.
Find a person in their seventies or eighties who is willing to talk to you about their memories of the past. Record their memories of road transport when they were young.
When recording an oral history, you should decide in advance:
- what you want to find out and what questions you will ask
- if the person you are interviewing is happy to answer your questions – you might need to write them out first for your interviewee to look through
- if you are going to take notes or record the conversation on tape or digitally
- when and where the interview will take place
- if there will be other people present at the interview
During the interview, you should:
- listen carefully to the answers given
- ask if they have any photographs that they would be happy to show you
- remember that you are asking for a personal memory, there can be a difference between fact and opinion
After the interview, decide how you could present this historical evidence to an audience. You could produce a:
- tape, slide, or PowerPoint presentation
- drama based on people and events you have found out about
- talk presented to your class or school
- visual timeline
