Sabotage (Florence Barton)
Florence Barton interviewed by Unknown: H.M.J.
Projectionist Florence Barton describes an incident in Leicester where a deliberate act of sabotage was carried out in order to try and sack her.
1960 it was turned into a bingo hall and because it came quite as a shock to me and I was given quite a few choices of where I'd like to work and in the end I decided to go to Leicester so I went to the Picture House, Leicester. I was only there about three years, I didn't like it because they were what I call lousy projectionists. And the thing that finished it was I came back from being away for three days and they left me on the machines and it kept going wrong and losing the loop. So I opened the top spool box and stopped the machine, it was badly damaged and it had been and it wasn't done by me because it was up there, for me it would have to be down the bottom, they didn't realise, they hadn't enough brains to realise all that. Anyway I got on the phone and the Manager was quite short and sharp, I said "Look, when you've finished throwing your weight about remember I’m in charge in this projection room now I want a new copy here before the evening show!" Because this was in the afternoon ''Never mind about what's the matter, I want it and if you don't I'll go over your head to London!" so he did that and he came up to me and he asked what was the matter and I showed him and of course he was in on it. They wanted me out, the Manager, the so-called second chief and the doorman I think, any rate there was three of them and what they tried to do was nobody's business. Well H.C. came he was the area engineer and he said to me "I'll see you first Bart." so I went into one of our rooms up in the projection suite and he listened to me and I said "You know damn well I didn't do it" and he said "I know that my dear but I've got to question you the same as everybody else'. So he had the other two in separately of course and he came back and he sent for me again and he said "Who do you think did it?" I said "Well I'll tell you H.C.," I said "Well as far as I'm concerned they're all guilty from what I can gather they've made a right muck-up of it". So those three got the sack.
Title
Sabotage (Florence Barton)
Subject
sabotage
Description
Projectionist Florence Barton describes an incident in Leicester where a deliberate act of sabotage was carried out in order to try and sack her.
Creator
Coventry History Centre
Source
Interview with Florence Barton
Publisher
University of Warwick
Date
20/03/2017
Contributor
Coventry History Centre
Format
.mp3
Language
English
Type
Sound recording
Coverage
1960s
Leicester
Interviewer
Unknown: H.M.J.
Interviewee
Florence Barton
Date of Interview
19/12/1985
Location
Unknown
Transcription
1960 it was turned into a bingo hall and because it came quite as a shock to me and I was given quite a few choices of where I'd like to work and in the end I decided to go to Leicester so I went to the Picture House, Leicester. I was only there about three years, I didn't like it because they were what I call lousy projectionists. And the thing that finished it was I came back from being away for three days and they left me on the machines and it kept going wrong and losing the loop. So I opened the top spool box and stopped the machine, it was badly damaged and it had been and it wasn't done by me because it was up there, for me it would have to be down the bottom, they didn't realise, they hadn't enough brains to realise all that. Anyway I got on the phone and the Manager was quite short and sharp, I said "Look, when you've finished throwing your weight about remember I’m in charge in this projection room now I want a new copy here before the evening show!" Because this was in the afternoon ''Never mind about what's the matter, I want it and if you don't I'll go over your head to London!" so he did that and he came up to me and he asked what was the matter and I showed him and of course he was in on it. They wanted me out, the Manager, the so-called second chief and the doorman I think, any rate there was three of them and what they tried to do was nobody's business. Well H.C. came he was the area engineer and he said to me "I'll see you first Bart." so I went into one of our rooms up in the projection suite and he listened to me and I said "You know damn well I didn't do it" and he said "I know that my dear but I've got to question you the same as everybody else'. So he had the other two in separately of course and he came back and he sent for me again and he said "Who do you think did it?" I said "Well I'll tell you H.C.," I said "Well as far as I'm concerned they're all guilty from what I can gather they've made a right muck-up of it". So those three got the sack.
Original Format
One-to-one interview
Duration
00:02:28
Bit Rate/Frequency
320kbps
Additional Information
Clip (c) Coventry History Centre. Used with permission.