This chapter will give you an idea of how much research you might like to undertake before you put pen to paper. Some people will be happy simply to record what they remember; others will look to external resources and adopt a more exhaustive approach to their research. The choice is purely an individual one.

You might also like to read the next chapter which considers the process of writing before you return to this chapter and actively work through it.

Glancing through the Appendices is sure to open some memory floodgates, and for those born before 1945, Times of Our Lives should prove invaluable, especially in recalling the childhood years. Details can be found under Further Reading at the back of this book.

Being selective

There are an amazing number of sources available to you. What follows is not exhaustive, but hopefully will give you a few ideas. While the emphasis here will be on your early life, the techniques are relevant for the whole project.

Before you go trekking round the country, it is worth looking around your own home. You’ll be amazed at what you can remember without even going out of your front door.

Thankfully, the long-term memory appears to get better with age – remembering the name of our first school teacher is often easier than recalling what we had for lunch yesterday.

Prepare for the avalanche of memories!

Mental imaging

Thinking of your childhood home

With a pad of paper and pen to hand, try to picture your childhood home. If you moved house at the age of three or four you will probably want to picture your second home. Essentially, the focus should be on the residence that meant most to you in your early formative years.

Walking round the house

In your mind wander round the house trying to get your bearings and the general layout. If it helps, you might want to sketch a plan of the house noting down details, like who slept in which bedrooms and where the large pieces of furniture were situated.

Walk through the house and up the stairs. You might even remember odd things like the broken banister, how many stairs there were or the colour of that awful wallpaper. Think of the pictures on the walls, the light fittings and ceilings . . . sticky flypapers and a hole in the ceiling made from your catapult!

Going into the garden

Picture yourself standing in the garden. Was there an outside toilet . . . and where did Mum keep the mangle? This might even evoke the memory of your father’s pre-Christmas custom of hanging a chicken by its feet in the mangle to drain the blood!

As memories come, jot down notes that you can later weave into stories.

Refining the research

Try to think of events that took place in each of the rooms – breaking the sitting room window with a tennis ball when playing football in the garden with your brother . . . it was his fault of course. Mum was particularly annoyed as there was a field the other side of the garden wall and so there was no excuse for playing ball games in the garden!

In your mind, spend time in each of the main rooms of the house: the kitchen, parlour and living rooms particularly.

Picturing furniture

Even some individual pieces of furniture may reveal a few anecdotes. If only that big old wooden kitchen table covered with the wax cloth could tell a story:

• We ate all our meals round it (no sitting with a tray on our lap watching TV . . . there was no TV anyway).
• We did our homework on it . . . sometimes.
• It was Mum’s sewing table for ‘make do and mend’.
• Bill had his head stitched on it.
• Dad plucked the chicken on it at Christmas.
• Scamp saw out his last hours on it before the vet arrived.
• Mum used it for making jam and Dad his homemade wine – Yuk.
• We even hid under it during the air raids.

Don’t ignore any room – you might uncover a rare gem, like the antimacassars on the armchairs in the front room that was only ever used on high days and holidays.

Painting character portraits

The way you portray people in your writing will have a large impact on the readability of your book.

Significant people from childhood have helped to shape us and our characters. For example, traits from our parents will be recognisable in ourselves – both the admirable qualities and the frustrating ones! Readers of your book will also recognise those characteristics in you.

Defining the detail

Thinking about the following may help in describing key characters:

• What they looked like.
• What they usually wore . . . including the type of hat.
• Mannerisms – Dad’s pipe and the nightly ritual in trying to light it.
• Their general disposition: happy, sad, jolly, always singing, whistling, nagging, clicking their fingers . . .
• What they liked doing to relax.
• Special sayings, like their first words on coming in from outside.
• Their habits.
• How they addressed you.
• How you addressed them. etc.

Sketching a brief family tree

Obviously, siblings, parents, grandparents and anyone else who might have lived with you will warrant special attention. To this end, sketching a brief family tree may ensure you don’t forget any close relatives – for example, Uncle Jack who stayed with you for a few months after Aunt Maggie died.

Looking at old photos

Rifling through any photograph albums or old pictures stuffed in a shoe box will also stimulate the memory enormously.

These pictures will also remind you of the fashions of the day – describe them.

Incidentally, if there are no names on the back of the photos and you are struggling to remember who everyone is, imagine how much more difficult it will be for those younger than you. Do them a favour and mark the photos accordingly.

Using anecdotes

Try to think of at least one anecdote about each of the main characters from your childhood, about all characters if you can – even the postman with his funny little habit of stopping his whistle mid-flow as he poked the letters through the box, only to start up again from exactly die right point as soon as the letters hit the mat . . . and the tune was always the same – The Lambeth Walk.

Recalling routines

Routines, particularly your mother’s, probably dictated much of your childhood existence. Such a routine might have been:

• Monday – wash day
• Tuesday – ironing
• Wednesday – cleaning the house upstairs
• Thursday – baking
• Friday – cleaning the house downstairs.

And there was always shopping to fit in. In the absence of a fridge this may well have involved walking to the shops several times a week.

You might even be able to remember the meals associated with each day’s routine.

Then there were the different routines throughout the year:

• jam making
• potato clamping
• rearing day-old chicks
• storing eggs in isinglass
• making wine
• spring cleaning.

Remembering annual events

Annual events will also stimulate dozens of memories, particularly the way you celebrated birthdays and Christmas. Remember, it is often the smallest detail that is the most endearing.

There are likely to have been many other significant days in your calendar:

• Easter
• Empire Day (24 May)
• May Day
• sports day
• end of school
• harvest festival
• Guy Fawkes night
• Christmas pantomime
• carol service.

There may also have been special annual events associated with your town or village:

• an inter-village football match
• church fete
• village fayre
• ox roast
• well dressing.

Using diaries

Any appointment diaries you have kept will be invaluable in jogging your memory. If you also have the type of diary you used to confide in, so much the better, as there will be a wealth of information to draw upon. However, care needs to be exercised. Whilst the diaries of Tony Benn and Kenneth Williams can be reproduced verbatim, most of us do not fall into that category and so the dilemma is how much information to include. Too much detail can be tedious, so it is advisable to read the diaries then put them aside for a few weeks. When you then come to writing about that period of your life, you will remember only the more important episodes to be included.

Of course, certain extracts may make for fascinating reading, like courting days. You could even include a few of the actual entries, like your first thoughts on meeting your future spouse . . . especially if your impressions were not that favourable! Obviously, how much you are prepared to share with your reader is up to you.

If there is the potential for an imbalance within the book, you could always include a few extracts in the body of the book and then place the rest in an appendix for those who want to read more.

Describing the neighbourhood

The neighbourhood where you lived as a child was probably your whole world for your first few years. Describing this will create wonderful pictures in the minds of your readers.

Consider walking your reader round the neighbourhood, introducing the main families as you proceed. Explain what sort of town or village it was, where most of the men worked and the type of shops. It might also be significant to note who owned cars in those days.

Then there were the various tradesmen:

• lamplighter
• coalman
• milkman
• the baker’s boy
• the grocery boy
• muffin man
• knife sharpener
• Carter Paterson collection & delivery service
• organ grinder
• rag and bone man
• policeman.

Did any of the above have horse-drawn vehicles?

Descriptions of your environment will be all the more important if you lived abroad as a child where the wealth of customs will warrant special attention.

Tapping into the senses

What were the main sounds of your childhood? The siren and the all-clear klaxon during the war . . . there were certainly no church bells during the war years as they were only for warning of an invasion. Perhaps other sounds might be associated with the street traders. Was music a feature of your childhood?

Colours were also significant:

• Zebo black lead for the kitchen range
• the donkey stone for the front doorstep
• the smuts from the fireplace
• steam engines spoiling pristine white shirts
• the dull yellow sulphur of the smog.

Smells will also produce memories:

• moth balls
• disinfectants
• Sunlight soap in a solid block
• the gazunder!

Continuing the process

Even these few short pages have probably sent your mind spinning back many years. You can continue with the same techniques to encompass your school days, the church, youth club, etc.

Looking round your house

Your home is likely to be a treasure-trove of memorabilia. Dozens of stories will emerge as you look round each room:

• ornaments bought on holiday or given by special friends long since gone
• messages in the front of books kept since childhood
• your father’s fob watch presented to him after 25 years at the bank.

The attic should not be forgotten either – this is where some of the best material may be found . . . old school reports, 78 rpm gramophone records, etc.

You might want to take some of the smaller items of memorabilia to your special writing area. Certain photographs are likely to be required for the final production and you may want to store these together. As they will be out of circulation for some months, you may prefer to make notes referring to the photos in question rather than removing them from walls and shelves all over your home. If you are planning a surprise book, the absence of special photos in the house will be a give-away.

Those proficient with a scanner can scan the photos and other documents in readiness for the final book. (See Chapter 17 for further details.) The back-up procedures outlined earlier should also be adopted.

Including everything

Don’t forget to take your note pad with you as you look at such things as:

• framed photographs
• pictures on the wall
• bric-à-brac
• books
• ornaments
• jewellery
• old greetings cards
• documents
• certificates
• school reports
• gramophone records
• old toys
• dried flowers
• your wedding dress.

You may also have an old family Bible containing a record of family names and important dates.

Let your imagination roam, and take your time . . . you are likely to experience many different emotions.

Enlisting the help of others

Reminiscing with friends

You might like to discuss particular ideas with friends or perhaps your partner. One thing will lead to another and, before you know it, a further chapter is in the making.

Asking elderly relatives

It may be that you have decided not to tell anyone about your book as you want it to be a surprise. However, even if that is the case, it still may be worth having a chat with any older relatives who might be around. They are too valuable a source to ignore, and will undoubtedly be happy to keep your secret safe.

Such relatives may be able to tell you details you never knew about your parents and provide you with fantastic background information. The odds are that they should be writing their own life story!

Carrying out wider research

You may feel that you have enough information for your purposes already without undertaking any wider research. However, if you want greater stimulation, there is plenty at hand.

Making use of the library

You may have plenty of reference books at home, but the local library will offer many more tempting opportunities.

• Q:Are there any books in particular that you would recommend?
• A:There are many excellent reference books available. However, one stands head and shoulders above the rest, Dorling Kindersley’s Chronicle of the 20th Century. Featuring one month per page, this huge tome trawls through the twentieth century. As each page bears a date, you can work out how old you were and place events accurately within your story. The book also contains many pictures, and in addition to reminding you of all major world events, you can see who won Wimbledon, changes in fashion and relive the hit songs and films of the year. Despite being out of print, copies can often be obtained from secondhand bookshops, and they also occasionally turn up in charity shops.

Watching videos and films

Videos can provide a wealth of information, especially those that focus on a particular year. It might be worth watching the videos of some of the key years in your life to help get into the mood and to remind you of the social history.

Remembering the big films of that era will also help. You might recall where you first saw Disney’s Snow White or Gone with the Wind and who you went with.

Listening to music and nostalgic tapes

Whether your idol was Frank Sinatra, Deanna Durbin or Bill Haley, certain songs will undoubtedly evoke particular memories.

Nostalgia tapes are also available of such classics as Round the Home, The Goons and Dick Barton, Special Agent. Memories will pour forth when listening to these, and they may also have been the catalyst for in-jokes and family sayings. Alternatively they may have been the cause of family conflict if you were not allowed to listen to such programmes as Valentine Dyall – The Man in Black, yet your school friends were!

Reading specialist magazines

There are many nostalgia magazines available:

• Yours
• Evergreen
• Best of British
• Goodtimes
• Saga etc.

Service magazines might also be of help, as well as specialist organisations like The Overseas Pensioner Association for those who worked abroad.

Visiting museums

There are dozens of fabulous nostalgia museums that will send your memory reeling back to your childhood. Your nearest tourist information office and library will provide details of those in your area.

For those who want a trip to London, the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising will not disappoint. You will see the packaging of hundreds of products from your childhood:

• Reckitt’s blue
• Robin Starch
• Strand cigarettes
• Beechams pills
• cod liver oil

. . . the list is endless.

St Fagan’s near Cardiff is also worth a visit. Its row of cottages furnished in different periods throughout the twentieth century is particularly fascinating. Beamish Open Air Museum in County Durham and Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood are also excellent.

There are war museums like the Cabinet War Rooms, the Imperial War Museum, Bletchley Park, etc., as well as dozens of aviation, naval and army museums.

Seeking old friends

Many nostalgia and service magazines host a ‘Where are they now?’ column for old friends trying to get back in contact. The same is available for those with access to the Internet, via friendsreunited.com. This website lists tens of thousands of schools and workplaces and is an excellent way of finding details about, and contacting, old friends and colleagues.

Taking that extra step

The above list should provide ample scope for most people, but those looking for specialist information can refer to local and national records offices.

Another source worthy of consideration for the more enthusiastic researcher is the National Newspaper Library in Colindale, London Nil. Here you can read through local and national newspapers from decades ago. It is a fascinating place, but worth booking first.

Incorporating social history

Weaving in the detail

It is important to try to encapsulate your childhood for grandchildren who have never known anything but colour TV, trainers, mobile phones, fast food restaurants and computers.

Some events will be included because of their significance in your life, like the war, rationing and going to an Adam Faith concert. Other details will be added for social background, like your encounter with American GIs who were ‘overpaid, oversexed and over here’!

Tying in important dates

Certain events in history are momentous and we can picture where we were when we heard the news. Depending on your age, events that you might want to consider include:

• the outbreak of the Second World War
• VE Day and VJ Day
• the death of King George VI
• the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
• Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile
• John F. Kennedy being shot
• Winston Churchill’s death and funeral
• man landing on the moon.

Considering more ideas

For those still not satisfied that they have enough information, here are a few more ideas you might like to ponder:

• Why I was given my name . . .
• Stories I know about my birth . . .
• A day in the life of my mum; A day in the life of my dad (at the weekend maybe) . . .
• A typical week in my childhood . . .
• The importance of religion in my childhood . . .
• Childhood illnesses . . .
• Hospital visits as a child . . .
  • stitches . . .
  • something stuck up my nose . . .
• Things I broke:
  • my Mum’s favourite vase . . .
  • my leg . . .
  • my brother’s leg . . .
  • my heart when Granny died . . .
• The street traders of my childhood . . .
• My favourite toy . . .
• Family jokes; Family sayings; Family traditions . . .
• My first taste of foreign food . . .
• My first trip to London . . .
• Why I was caned; Why I was not caned . . .
• My favourite teacher . . .
• My best sporting moment; My worst sporting moment . . .
• The five things which have given me the greatest satisfaction . . .
• My proudest moment when I was 10 (or thereabouts); My proudest moment in my teens . . .
• When I felt most:
  • frightened . . .
  • elated . . .
  • triumphant . . .
  • content . . .
  • ridiculous . . .
  • embarrassed . . .
• What I most regret . . .
• The day my world fell apart . . .
• Different houses in which I’ve lived . . .
• The jobs I’ve had . . .
• Countries I have visited . . .
• My ten most memorable holidays . . .
• Pets we have had . . .
• I remember seeing my first:
  • hair dryer . . .
  • refrigerator . . .
  • radiator . . .
  • electric cooker . . .
  • television set . . .
• I remember first travelling:
  • in a car . . .
  • in a train . . .
  • in an aeroplane . . .
• Five ‘what ifs’ in my life . . .
• My ten best decisions; My ten worst decisions . . .
• Opportunities – taken and not taken . . . etc.

Checklist

• Who were the important people in your childhood?
• How much social history do you want to include?
• What wider research do you want to undertake?
• Refer to the listings at the back of the book.

Assignments

• Decide which day trips you might like to go on.
• Research which magazines might be useful.
• In the light of this chapter and the final list of ideas, review what insights you wish to share with your readers.
• Get hold of Times of Our Lives from the library and try to locate a copy of Chronicle of the Twentieth Century.