Oral Histories
Throughout the project, 10 volunteers recorded oral histories with former Marconi Company employees. Here you can listen to clips from interviews to hear about workers’ stories of their time at Marconi’s. Find out more about the interviews on Essex Archives Online.
Maria looks back on her time working in the drawing offices at Marconi's. She remembers enjoying her job, and had the flexibility to work remotely when she had her children.
Peter joined Marconi as an apprentice, moving from Manchester to Chelmsford to study. In this clip he talks about his accommodation at Springfield Place during his first year, living in what he called the 'ship room'.
Like many others, Charlie met his wife whilst they were both working at Marconi's. Here, he tells the story of how they first began courting.
Barbara is a trailblazer in the world of engineering, and began her career as an apprentice at Marconi. She recalls being the only female apprentice on her course in 1974, and being the first female apprentice since Marconi's took on women in engineering roles during the Second World War.
Brian also began his career as a Marconi apprentice. In this clip he talks about his life as an apprentice in the 1950s.
Joyce worked at Marconi Avionics in Basildon, and then went on to become an Information Centre Manager for Marconi in Chelmsford. She remembers her time fondly.
In this clip Malcolm talks about his time working on stabilised platforms in aircrafts. He explains a piece of Marconi technology called "Hele-tele" which was sold to the BBC in order to record television from the air.
In this clip Martyn talks about the social side of working at Marconi's. He used to co-edit a monthly magazine, where he would review films at the Odeon cinema. He also talks about Chelmsford Carnival and making a Marconi float.
Cyril worked at Marconi for 15 years, before moving on to ITN as Chief Engineer after being headhunted. One of his main tasks there was to implement colour television. After 3 years at ITN he returned to the Marconi Company, but discovered that it had changed dramatically.
Mike worked in manufacturing and development costing at Marconi for a number of years. In this clip he talks about the Union presence at Marconi, and the lack of strikes at the Company.
Image courtesy of the Marconi Veterans Association