Oral History collection: Jack Tanner (born 1917, Pilton Green, ploughman) interviewed by J. Mansel Thomas about Gower life

Track 1. [00:01:04] Family: Family begins in Gower, speaker (Jack Tanner) had a father who was the last weaver. Father died in 1932 when speaker was 13 years old. [00:01:34] Industry: In 1932 the loom was still driven by a water mill and horse and trap used for travelling. [00:02:04] Industry: Memories of the wool being made into blankets and cloth for dispatch to local tailors. [00:03:00] Industry: Cambrian leader and Evening post were at their 60th anniversary writing a story about the life of a weaver. [00:04:00] Neath fair: Blankets were sold by his father at Neath Fair, weights of blankets and how he would get back and forth to Neath discussed. [00:05:10] Family: Family used to grow corn. [00:05:29] Farming: 12 year old Arwel Thomas used to take Beer and breakfast out to the fields in 1860 description of job in the day. [00:06:22] Family: Will Tanner is the Uncle of speaker and Phil Tanner is the speakers great uncle, talk about the 2 characters and what they were like in the community. [00:08:10] Family: Talk about Uncle Phil Tanner marrying a widow to get free pints from her pub and he nursed her whilst she was ill in later years. [00:09:23] Family: The Tanner family are all singers, his father was a tenor and sang in Coulston Hall in Glasgow. [00:09:41] Family: 7 sons 5 were tenors and 2 were baritones there were also 2 daughters who could sing. [00:09:59] Community: Songs he recorded for people, terrific memory from his childhood years. [00:10:50] Family: Born in Pilton Green moved to Scurlage age 6 months. [00:11:04] Community: Had a farm next door to his present residents until 10 years previous. [00:11:14] Family & Farming: Jack Tanner's father worked on Hughes farms at New Henllys. [00:11:54] Family: Jack Tanner's father worked in flour mills later on and developed dust on the lungs like sclerosis then he moved into rabbit catching. [00:12:30] Farming: Size of the farm and its growth over the years discussed. [00:13:28] Family: Committed poacher but had no wages when he was leaving school. [00:13:52] First World War: Jack Tanner was 20/21 when the war broke out and out of 33 people in his Gowerton school class 16 were killed at war and are listed on the Roll of Honour at Gowerton School. [00:14:26] Farming: Pheasants and costings to buy them. Poached Pheasants from private land but was caught in the woods at night. [00:14:47] Estates: Mr Pritchard was the agent at the time when Jack Tanner was poaching and by being caught doing so the poachers were not allowed to take on the land rented by their parents from the land holders. [00:15:02] Farming: Being a class A farmer in 1940 when the war was on. Details about how this helped him. [00:15:45] Farming: Shooting of pheasants. [00:16:50] Farming: Rabbits and their interference with farming. [00:18:01] Farming: Myxomatosis and how it killed 100 rabbits in 6 weeks. [00:18:40] Farming: How the Myxomatosis lead to changes on the farm with breeding and selling of animals. [00:19:20] Farming: Talk about a occasion where he drove into his field and was met by many rabbits. [00:19:58] Farming: Damage caused by the rabbits to the land. [00:20:52] Farming: Talk about his interest in ploughing and about ploughing competitions. [00:21:53] Farming: Jacks father bought new harness and kitted him out for the competition. [00:22:45] Farming: Preparation for the ploughing competition what would be completed and maintained. [00:25:15] Farming: Ploughing directors required in Herefordshire and Yorkshire. Director of British Ploughing. [00:25:54] Farming: Mr Worthing site director who Jack Tanner reported to. [00:26:17] Farming: 1970 the Ploughing world match came to Taunton and Jack Tanner was asked to take over Mr Worthington's job. [00:27:56] Farming: First ever World Gold Award for Ploughing. [00:28:32] Farming: Matches held at Ross/Lincolnshire details of layout of fields and stands. [00:31:25] Farming: Details on the classes submitted for the trials. [00:33:52] Farming: Rules of ploughing and best practice information. [00:37:05] Farming: Jack Tanner was picked for the trials in America and had his trip funded. [00:37:22] Farming: Coaching and teaching ploughing and good practice taught. [00:39:16] Farming: Ploughing with horses. [00:39:39] Farming: Singing whilst ploughing with a horse, neighbours would listen. [00:40:33] Farming: Ploughing in a straight line as opposed to any other pattern. [00:42:15] Farming: Women ploughing. Details of a very good ploughwoman from London called Poppy. [00:45:32] Farming: Ploughing Rules, number of competitors and countries involved Track 2. [00:00:15] Farming: Ploughing in different countries. [00:00:36] Farming: List of countries who compete in ploughing competitions. [00:02:10] Farming: Difference between modern ploughs and different blades used by various countries. [00:02:54] Farming: Average blades used in the UK. [00:03:00] Farming: Hugh Barr from northern Ireland won the competition on a number of occasions. Lots of changes in ploughing over the past 10 years. [00:05:28] Farming: Convernan plough the Norwegian plough. [00:07:06] Farming: 2 winners get equipment sent out, sponsors are Barclays Bank and an oil company (unknown). [00:07:22] Farming: Ransom Ploughs left at Liverpool Docks during the Dock strikes and privately chartered flights to America to get ploughs to competition. [00:07:51] Farming: Ransom Ploughs arrive in America. Details about the flat packing of ploughs. [00:08:43] Farming: Ransom is the preferred make of ploughs in the British Isles. [00:08:57] Farming: Steam engine ploughing demonstrations. [00:09:41] Farming: northern vintage tractors sponsoring a class at the competition. [00:11:20] Farming: Discussion about equipment used for ploughing and how ploughing today is far better than before. [00:12:12] Farming: Discussion about World competitions and British events. Jack Tanners nephew started ploughing and entered competitions. [00:12:35] Farming: Selling of Jack Tanners farm and employment and hours on the farm before the sale. Jack Tanner wanted his nephew to become partner. [00:13:58] Farming: Today Jack Tanner still goes around farms and markets and is still known. [00:14:57] Farming: American camps taking over the surrounding farm land and how it affected their work. [00:16:47] Farming: Camp set up time and damage caused. [00:19:20] Farming: The changes in the area and employing different nationalities. [00:20:00] Farming: Italian workers were lazy and would make chips from potatoes even before they started working. Germans were good workers. [00:20:42] Farming: Americans were advanced landing ducks. Twenty thousand went from this area. [00:21:13] Gower: The road from Overton was built because the advanced landing ducks could not get through Port Eynon village. [00:23:23] Farming & Gower: Founder member of the South Gower Young Farmers Club pre war Mr James and Mr Turnbull were on the education committee. [00:24:10] Education: Victor Waters - useful education work. [00:25:52] Community: The size of the old community, hotelier from Scurlage and the King Arthur where locals went on a Saturday