Okey, William Perry [oral history]
Production date
19 May 1982
Description
Recorded on his 91st birthday on 19 May 1982. Okey talks about his childhood in New Plymouth. He recalls stories of his grandparents; his grandfather owned the local paint business Okey and Son. He talks about childhood memories of his schooling and raiding orchards. He recalls a story of travelling with his brother down Carrington Street at 6.30am to light and stoke the fires ready for the engineers at his dad’s engineering works. Okey wanted to work for his dad, but WWI intervened.
Four cousins served in WWI and only Okey returned home alive. He details his travels and his experiences with the Taranaki division of the Wellington Company. He remembers being woken at 4am after an arduous climb up “Shrapnel Hill”. He mentions his brother (Lieutenant Royden Lydyard Okey).
Okey returned home from the war physically unable to work as an engineer, and instead took a job as secretary for the Agricultural Society. While he stayed there for over 40 years, he also undertook similar work for other organisations in New Plymouth. He says war is a terrible way of settling disputes and if we can avoid them, then we should make every effort to do so. He goes on to describe Dr Leatham having the first car in New Plymouth and the fact that it was taken to his dad’s engineering business for repairs.
Time: 31 minutes
Recorded: 19 May 1982
Interviewer: Anne Warner
Object detail
Part 1
Master tape.
Part 2
Digital file. Mp3.
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