Gillian Capon-Browning was born in East Chitlingley in 1933. She spoke to us about her childhood memories of people from the Guardianship. She knew three young men who came to live and work on her grandparents’ farm. This was over 80 years ago.
Gillian in her pram, with Ron in the background.
Gillian told us she thought they were not treated very well. Her grandfather shouted at them and they worked hard. They didn’t have much fun on the farm. She wrote a moving article for the Sussex Family Historian magazine. She said that she felt sad to think about their lives.
In her interview she talked about someone called Ron. She tried to teach him to read. She shared this picture with us – Ron is at the very edge of the picture. This is the only picture we have of him.
You can read Gillian’s article here: ‘The Guardianship Society’, G Capon-Browning (SFH June 2016)
Here are the audio recordings of her interviews: