During lockdown, I have been having a virtual party! I’ve
- socialised with the ex-servicemen of World War Two,
- attended Simon and Garfunkel’s concert with the hip Folk Club in Swansea,
- travelled the world far and wide,
- climbed the peaks of the High Tatras in Slovakia, and witnessed near-death experiences climbing on the Kurdistan-Afghanistan border,
- visited just about every pub in Mumbles and Swansea and dined more than once in the exclusive Berni Inns.
While working from home as a part-time Archives Assistant with the Richard Burton Archives, I have been lucky enough to be creating interview summaries for the Voices of Swansea University, 1920-2020 oral history project. The project, set up by Dr Sam Blaxland, aimed to capture the memories and experiences of individuals who have studied and/or worked at Swansea University. My job has been to listen to the interviews and create time coded summaries that will enable researchers to access this valuable historical information.
Join me on a journey into the lives of 1950s, 1960s and 1970s university students through their undergraduate years.
The fabulous location of the University and magnificent vista of Swansea Bay, could be an important factor for students deciding to come to study at Swansea. Chris Dullage, an Engineering student in the 1960s, initially feared he’d landed on the moon, until he arrived at the university campus. Listen to Chris describe his first experiences of arriving at Swansea (Chris Dullage interviewed by Sam Blaxland, Voices of Swansea University (VOSU), C0001/35 [00:01:31-00:02:27]).
Jenny Dullage, who trained as a teacher, describes the day she arrived onto campus: ‘My mum and dad drive me down…I drove up the drive and thought ‘This is fabulous, I’ll be alright here…I just loved it, absolutely loved it.’ (Jenny Dullage interviewed by Sam Blaxland, VOSU, C0001/35 [00:05:15-00:05:25].
Rules had to be adhered to when living in the halls of residence that Swansea offered, with the University acting in loco parentis. Beck Hall was reputed as being ‘ruled with a rod of iron’ with one English student in the 1950s preferring to live at home with her schoolmaster dad as a less strict option.
Many students lived in ‘digs’, lodging with local people in the surrounding area. This could come with different rules and challenges! In this clip, David Snoswell (mentioned earlier) describes his experiences residing with a family in Brynmill: from the gastronomic delights of gelatinous gravy to a very unusual house layout especially if you needed the bathroom in the middle of the night. (David Snoswell interviewed by Sam Blaxland, VOSU, C0001/45 [00:08:59-00:10:17].
As well as the academic pressure (‘being recognised as a failure if [I] didn’t achieve academic success’ quotes one student) and a rigid timetable, students could always find time to have fun. It was ‘any excuse for a party’, with some believing that it was as important as their degrees. The following clip from former Economics student Sal Lalani, shares with us the hilarity that was had in halls and how over fifty years later, he is still tickled pink by the whole affair (Sal Lalani interviewed by Sam Blaxland, VOSU, C0001/68 [00:17:54-01:18:38).
Societies in the sixties allowed students to make friends and socialise, with the Folk Club being mentioned by many. Music bands that visited Swansea in the 1960s included The Moody Blues, Rod Stewart, Long John Baldry and a pair of lesser known musicians, satirically mentioned by Chris Dullage, the soon to be massive, Simon and Garfunkel. (Chris Dullage interviewed by Sam Blaxland, VOSU, C0001/35 [00:26:02-00:27:17).
I can see similarities between my sons’ experiences at Swansea University now, in 2020, and the students in the 1960s. As an officer with the Swansea University Mountaineering Club one of my sons took fellow students up to north Wales to climb and lodge in a bunkhouse, as they did nearly 50 years ago. Comparably David Snoswell, who organised many of the climbing expeditions in the 1960s, recounts his weekend trips with the Mountaineering Club. (David Snoswell interviewed by Sam Blaxland, VOSA, C0001/45 [00:17:28-00:18:09]).
Plans for a trip to the French Alps this summer during COVID-19 complications for my son compare with the High Tatras expedition albeit without the Cold War complications but still with barriers of their own kind. Again it is David Snoswell who gives an account of the state of unrest in Czechoslovakia, in his recollections of the expedition showing how actually the climbing was actually the least adventurous aspect of the trip. (David Snoswell interviewed by Sam Blaxland, VOSA, C0001/45 [00:55:33-00:56:45]).
He goes on to describe the near-death experiences climbing on the Kurdistan-Afghanistan border with an gripping story of having to sleep on their climbing boots with ensuing gun fire from soldiers. (David Snoswell interviewed by Sam Blaxland, VOSA, C0001/45 [00:18:21-00:19:02]).
Despite every challenge faced, it is reassuring to see that the Swansea University wheel keeps on turning, with every generation of student navigating their own way through the university experience. Through the means of oral history, I feel fortunate to have joined former students on some of their journeys and I wish to thank Sam Blaxland for creating this oral history project. When we reopen, the recordings will be available to access at the Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University, where they are preserved for posterity.
Sarah Thompson
Archives Assistant