Collection search - Clayton, Fred -- Interview

Record information – Brief

1

Clayton, Fred -- Interview

Item number (ISN):

379720

Series title:

[The Great War and Canadian Society]

Hierarchical level:

Item (Accession level)

Date:

1974-06-17

Item number (ISN):

379720

Type of material:

Sound recordings

Found in:

Archives / Film, Video and Sound

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Record information – Details

Fonds/collection:

THE GREAT WAR AND CANADIAN SOCIETY PROJECT

Accession:

1975-0098

Media:

Sound

Part:

1 of 1

Production date:

1974-06-17

Production company:

Opportunities for Youth

Production credit:

interviewer, Pauline Pytka

Description:

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Interview of Fred J. Clayton, who was born in Whitby, Ontario in 1897. His parents ran a dairy there. He talks about: selling milk; the family’s house being cold in winter; selling the farm; his mother’s death in 1912; moving to Toronto; studying stenography and typing at Shaw’s School of Business; getting a job with a fruit broker named W.B. Stringer from 1914 to 1916; enlisting in the Sportsmen’s Battalion in 1916; changes in Toronto during that time, such as construction of the post office on Front Street and building the Gerrard Street bridge; the streetcar line and streetcar fares; his wages as a civilian; his army pay; the cost of living; his civilian job with the broker, dealing with imports of produce such as peanuts, oranges, grapefruit and tomatoes; the excitement people felt when the war broke out; a large parade of battalions in Toronto; patriotism in Toronto; some old ladies who said “they’re taking boys now” when they saw him in uniform; cooking, cleaning and other duties at Camp Borden; a riot in camp; the decline in strength of the battalion from 1400 to 800 by the time they got to Saint John, New Brunswick; the depression of 1912-1914 and food lineups at that time; the arms trade as a cause of the war; war profiteering; his arrival in England; blackouts in England; his voting for conscription when he was in France; getting wounded; battles; trench warfare; gas masks; the fear and nervous attacks experienced by some soldiers in battle; being on leave in London; army rations and food while on leave; camp conditions; casualties in his company; how his wartime service helped him develop his potential and get a broader outlook; not being able to mingle with the local people because of fear of spies; billets in local homes; excitement after the armistice; taking a long time to get over the war; not wanting to talk about the war because civilians were not interested in hearing about it; rum rations; military training; his not encouraging his son to enlist in the Second World War; being too young to understand the full impact of war; a friend who was blown up; the infantry; taking apart a Lewis gun and putting it back together; lice; the occasional bath; heavy losses suffered by British forces and a call for volunteers to be machine gunners; attitudes of the people of France, who were critical of the British forces because of heavy losses; getting wounded; machine gunners having to hold on if there was a retreat; carrying a wounded man to a dressing station; life in Belgium and Germany; conscription; getting his old job back when he returned to Canada; the visit of the Prince of Wales to Toronto in 1919; getting a job with Hydro; and how young people felt more patriotism back then.

Language:

English

Notes:

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1. The interviews took place in 1974 and resulted in the publication of a book entitled "The Great War and Canadian Society" edited by Daphne Read - copyright 1978 - New Hogtown Press, Toronto.~2. Release forms, data sheets, and summary analysis/transcripts are available in binders labelled Opportunities for Youth - War and Canadian Society in VSA's audio-visual section.~3. Part of a series of recorded interviews with elderly citizens who lived in Canada during the period of World War I. The interview material consists of their opinions and observations about the war, the war years, and the effect on Canadian society during and after WWI.~4. The interviewee signed an agreement giving consent for a recording of this interview to be placed in the Public Archives of Canada for the purposes of historical research and also signed a publication agreement allowing any transcribed portions of the interview to be used in the book under the condition that no full names, addresses or phone numbers would be published.~5. Subject description is based on information found in the fact sheet, deposit agreement, publication agreement and summary analysis.

Detailed holdings information:

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Vault ISN:

436880

Format:

SOUND

Location number:

C01432

Vault code:

GAT

Number of items:

1

Kind of sound:

R/R

Technical description:

POLY

Made from:

FROM LOANED MATERIAL

Status:

MASTER

Vault ISN:

737113

Format:

SOUND

Location number:

1975-0098/151

Number of items:

1

Kind of sound:

CASSETTE

Made from:

DEPOSIT

Status:

ORIG

Vault ISN:

737114

Format:

SOUND

Location number:

1975-0098/152

Number of items:

1

Kind of sound:

CASSETTE

Made from:

DEPOSIT

Status:

ORIG
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

Open

Restrictions on consultation:

No Restrictions / Pas de restrictions

Reproduction access:

With written permission of Copyright Owner / Avec la permission écrite du détenteur des droits d'auteur

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