I am very pleased to say that the West Yorkshire Archive service have accepted the Back-Chat Collection interviews into their permanent archives thus ensuring their accessibility to the public for many generations to come.

You can hear this interview by simply clicking the West Yorkshire Archive Link where you will find all of the Back-Chat Collection interviews listed in alphabetical order along with captioned photographs.

If you would like to contact The Back-Chat Collection please do email me at carloharrison1947@gmail.com.

To listen to the interviews which are now hosted on the
West Yorkshire Archive Service click here.

Angela Klawitter

Born

February 1959 in Knossington, Leicestershire

Background

Lived in Melton Mowbray and King’s Lynn, Norfolk and now lives in London.

Date of Interview

23rd June 2021

“Hi Carlo, yes I would love to contribute to your Back Chat project.”

Angela Klawitter (12th May 2021)

Angela Klawitter has an intriguing story to tell – not just about herself but about her parents. Her father Hans was a German soldier in WW2 having volunteered at 17. He was shot and following hospitalisation became a prisoner of war in the US and then shipped to the UK as a Prisoner of War in Leicester.
It was here that her parents met, and a romance began. They wrote to each other daily and Hans also corresponded with his mother and brother trapped in East Germany after the war.
Angela has now self-published these letters in two books.
This is by no means the whole story; Angela has a tale to tell about her own life too. The dubious joys of British caravanning; skiing and the effects of age in this sport; a career in Pension Fund Management and all balanced with hobbies including learning Spanish and making stain glass windows.
It is a truly fascinating interview.

Interviewer: Carlo Harrison

Cataloguer: Fiona Quinton


HTML5 Audio Player
You can listen to the entire recording by clicking the start arrow or, you can move the slider to one of times shown for the headings opposite, they are a guide to the many things we chatted about.

 

 

 

Early Life – Leicestershire
01.10
Coronavirus
02.20
Government – Coronavirus
03.45
Parents – Father – Hans, Mother – Jean
10.10
Father Shot In France – PoW USA – PoW UK
10.35
Parents Meeting – Leicester
14.50
Siblings – Liz (Teacher) – Pip (Teacher) – Peter (Medical Equipment) – Ian (Wine Merchant)
19.35
Education – Leicester – Norfolk
22.40
Childhood Holidays – Germany – UK Caravanning
26.50
WW2
29.15
Childhood Christmas
31.30
Husband Alan – Holidays – Skiing
33.40
Working Life – Pension Funds Manager
36.50
PoW and Love Letters
43.00
Published Letters
52.35
Hobbies – Dogs – Making Stained Glass – Spanish
53.55
Brexit
56.20
Royal Family
57.50
Coronavirus
58.55
Climate Change
1.00.15

 

Please take into consideration when listening to these interviews that the meaning of language changes over time and that interviewees have not intended to cause offence by anything said which now may be thought to be unacceptable.

Recording this social history, chatting to different people about a whole host of subjects has been a real pleasure, such an interesting and I think worthwhile project for people to listen to both now and in years to come.

Thank you for visiting this website.

Carlo Harrison