James Faircliffe
James Faircliffe was born in Burwell in 1933 and has been interested in railways since he was a boy. ‘Our local station was on a branch line, Cambridge to Mildenhall, with three passenger trains each way every day and a couple of goodsers [goods trains]. As a boy I used to go into the signal box, pull the levers, give the drivers their tickets so they could travel on to the next station. I got on engine rides with the drivers and in the guards’ van with the guards. Nobody seemed to worry if a boy of about 12 pulled the levers. They’d just say, are you sure you know what you are doing?’
| Time | Topics described |
| 00:00:00 | Tape Introduction |
| 00:00:28 | James Delanoy Saverton Faircliffe born 25 May 1933 in Burwell |
| 00:01:15 | Changes in Burwell |
| 00:01:45 | Only ever lived in two houses. His parents on Swaffham Road and then his marital home in Mill Close |
| 00:02:15 | Early schooling, passed 11+, then went to Soham Grammar School where he stayed until aged 18 to get his higher certificate |
| 00:03:45 | Mainly interested in science |
| 00:04:00 | Was one of the leaders in the school’s weekly boarding scheme from age 14. Boarded Monday to Friday |
| 00:05:00 | Hopeless at all sports apart from cross country running |
| 00:06:15 | Father was a fruit grower who owned 6 orchards in Burwell |
| 00:06:30 | Description of decline in orchards after war |
| 00:07:30 | Memories of fishing from orchard beside Burwell lode |
| 00:08:15 | Helping father in orchards |
| 00:08:45 | Apple cold storage plant hijacked during war to store cheese |
| 00:09:45 | Major interest in railways |
| 00:10:00 | Story about operating signal box levers as a boy of about 12 |
| 00:14:00 | Memories of grandparents who were also fruit growers |
| 00:16:00 | Memories of Burwell when he was young |
| 00:16:30 | Always had good stores |
| 00:16:45 | Many buses |
| 00:17:15 | Church has always been large part of life. |
| 00:17:45 | Participating in St Mary’s Burwell Church choir |
| 00:18:00 | Has know 7 vicars |
| 00:18:30 | Learnt piano then moved to Church organ at aged 16 |
| 00:19:30 | National Service at aged 18, graded two. 26th September 1951 |
| 00:20:00 | Memories of basic training at Padgate near Warrington |
| 00:21:00 | Glad that weekly school boarding prepared him for being away from home. |
| 00:22:00 | Was hopeless at drill but recognised as trying his best |
| 00:23:15 | After 8 weeks was made a radar operator |
| 00:25:00 | Posted to Germany for 18 months. Looking at British planes on radar to ensure within Berlin air corridor |
| 00:26:15 | Was able to get home leaves so enjoyed the time |
| 00:26:45 | Could have stayed in RAF. However father met a senior Pye manager in local pub who said he could give him a job |
| 00:28:30 | Interview with senior Pye manager resulted in starting in September 1953 on the main Cambridge site |
| 00:28:45 | Moved after a few months to the Pye Telecommunications site on Newmarket Road |
| 00:30:00 | Travelling for work with Pye |
| 00:30:30 | Worked for a year near Carlisle, getting home once a month only |
| 00:31:45 | Most of working life at Pye was as a system design engineer for PMR installations |
| 00:32:00 | Last 10 of 38 years at Pye was a quotations controller |
| 00:33:15 | Description of early work as systems engineer |
| 00:34:30 | Descriptions of typical jobs |
| 00:37:45 | Took up writing after retiral and had non-fiction articles published |
| 00:38:45 | Memories of Church life as organist and member of choir |
| 00:40:30 | Recollection of writing for 10 years after taking a correspondence course |
| 00:41:45 | Had difficult times in his 70s with family members in poor health |
| 00:42:45 | Talking about his son born 1972 and remembering railway trips together |
| 00:45:00 | How problem with hearing lead to giving up playing organ at Church aged 70 |
| 00:45:30 | Glad to still have a reasonable singing voice at age 81 |
| 00:46:15 | Meeting Audrey at Pye and marrying in 1967 |
| 00:48:00 | Typical day at Pye |
| 00:50:00 | Interesting Pye projects including one involving 7 ariel towers |
| 00:52:00 | A typical Pye PMR system |
| 00:54:00 | Changes in church music over the years |
| 00:54:45 | Role of Church in community has got very much broader |
| 00:56:30 | Work on the Church council |
| 00:58:30 | Recollections of Steven’s Mill |
| 00:59:15 | Has his name mentioned on Museum board from school days |
| 00:59:45 | Brother and sister |
| 01:00:10 | Finish |