The Hadley Book (1982)

In this photo, the editors are in the process of designing the lay-out of The Hadley Book. This followed the collection of old photographs and the interviewing and taping of the memories of over 100 people. The ambition of the book was to show how the hopes and struggles of the older generation could act as an inspiration to all those now trying to make life better in Hadley. ‘It has improved’, says an 85 year old who contributed to the book, ‘but not fast enough’.

The subtitle of the book, In the words of Hadley People, indicates that there is no outside editorial voice. All the material was gathered by tape recordings in homes or at public meetings. ‘You didn’t have evenings off when I was in service’, says Mary Maddox, ‘only Thursday afternoons and one Sunday every three weeks. If I wanted to go and post a letter, I had to ask permission!’

The TCA worker in this project was Gray Woodruff
Photo by Martin Humphrey