Title:
Interview with Nelzine (Nell) Green, 6 November 2017
Level: Category
Sound Archive
Level: Fonds
EVEWRIGHT ARTS FOUNDATION
Level: Series
Caribbean Takeaway Takeover: Identities and Stories
Scope and Content:
Interview with Nelzine (Nell) Green about her life in Jamaica and England, and her work as a midwife.

[00:00:] Her early life in Jamaica; British advertising in West Indies for workers to move to England; relatives who had moved to England before her, including her brother and aunt; flight to London then train journey to Dudley where her brother lived; first impressions of the Midlands, especially the houses; her aunt’s house and the other Jamaicans renting rooms.
[05:05:] Heating in her aunt’s house; adjusting to the cold weather; applying for nursing jobs near her aunt; her first job interview; getting initial work experience prior to starting nursing training; socialising with other nurses, who were mostly Irish and West Indian.
[08:40:] Buying West Indian food and cooking it at the hospital; local shopkeepers; experiences of racism, worst for the first generation of immigrants; West Indians housing together because English people would not rent rooms to Black people.
[12:00:] Move to Moorfields Hospital, London for further nursing training; completing midwifery training in Scotland, at maternity hospital just outside Paisley; finding Scottish people more friendly than English people; story of meeting her husband, courting, and his proposal; joining husband at his military posting in Malaya after her midwifery training; other military postings in Germany and Aldershot; return to Jamaica when her husband left the army.
[16:10:] Multiculturalism in Jamaica; lack of racism in the army, judged more by rank than race.
[19:45:] Experiences of racism outside the army; attacks by Teddy Boys; situation in Jamaica in the 1950s that led to her becoming a nurse; desire to prevent deaths in childbirth due to inadequate medical provision; family’s opposition to her career choice.
[26:10:] Their move back to England after about eighteen months, to work in military hospital where the medical facilities were better; working in Colchester; finding a home; reflections on her life in England; living in Brightlingsea; lack of racism in Brightlingsea now despite low numbers of Black people in the area.
Dates of Creation:
6 November 2017
Extent:
30 minutes 10 seconds
Creator Name:
Cherina Darrell-Sutherland and Everton Wright
Admin History:
Nelzine Green was born in Jamaica in 1938. She moved to Dudley in 1962 to train as a nurse. She completed her training in nursing, then midwifery, in London and Scotland. While in Scotland, she met her future husband through a mutual friend. Her husband's job in the army took them to Malaya and Germany.

Nell returned to Jamaica with her husband after he left the army. Later, they returned to England with their three children, living in Brightlingsea while Nell worked in Colchester.

(Information from depositor as well as from interview.)
Archivist Note:
SJM 10 October 2018
Custodial History:
Recording of oral history interview was edited into approximately 30 minutes before deposit.
Copyright:
Copyright Evewright Arts Foundation; ask permission before allowing publication or allowing profit-making organisations to use.
Physical Characteristics:
Digital MP3 file created from original WAV recording
Not Available:
Use digital copy available on Soundcloud

Key terms

TypeKey termsDescription
Subjects Midwifery Interview with Nell Green, 6 November 2017 Former midwife
Subjects Nursing Interview with Nell Green, 6 November 2017 Former nurse
Place Names America, West Indies, Jamaica Interview with Nell Green, 6 November 2017 Former resident of Jamaica
Place Names West Midlands, Dudley Interview with Nell Green, 6 November 2017 Former resident of Dudley in the 1960s
Document Types Sound recording Interview with Nell Green, 6 November 2017