Oral Histories
Pye staff in 1926 With thanks and acknowledgements to all who provided their thoughts and time
Oral histories can provide a unique insight into the day to day lives within a big company. The Pye History Trust has collected a wide range of such from many ex-employees of the Pye company. From directors to shop-floor operatives they paint a vivid picture of life at Pye.
Most interviews are in excess of one hour in length, but some short snippets are provided here as examples. The recordings and transcripts are archived by both the Pye History Trust and the Cambridge Museum of Technology.
Enjoy some of these excerpts by clicking on an individual.
Corporate Memories
CO Stanley - opening a review of the Pye company in 1958
(114 secs)
Richard King - describing CO Stanley's management style
(86 secs)
John Hodgson - recalls the kindness of EJW Stanley
(150 secs)
Pye Unicam Memories
Phil Ford recalls his apprenticeship at Pye Unicam
(120 secs)
Chris Barrett - early days at Pye Unicam
(160 secs)
Charles Wisbey recalls the Unicam move to York Street
(163 secs)
Pye Product & Project Memories
John Hodgson - recalls the Pye Record Maker
(75secs)
Donald Grimwood -delivering an Outside Broadcast vehicle
(156 secs)
Tony Dugdale -recalls problems at the launch of the Achoic record player
(138 secs)
Pye Apprenticeship Memories
John Easthope – recalls Pye apprentice training
(157 secs)
Tony Sharpe – describing life as an apprentice
(87 secs)
Andrew McKeown - early days in Arbury Road
(122 secs)
Pye TVT Memories
John Easthope – projects for TVT
(201 secs)
Charles Hattersley - describes TVT factory life
(109 secs)
Michael Cosgrove - his abiding memory of Pye
(177 secs)
Pye Social Life Memories
David Drury - Memories of Pye Amateur Dramatics
(185 secs)
Kay Bond - talking about her social activities
(119 secs)
Ann MacNab recalls Unicam social events and recruitment
(139 secs)
Management in Pye
Jim Langford - when I was promoted to Managing Director
(138 secs)
Malcolm Hensby recalls removing the paintings from J O Stanley's office
(63 secs)
Colin Stewart-1957-Exporting radio and tv sets
(185 secs)
Pye Customers & Demos
Roy Moreton - 1956 - Pye Telecom customer relations
(105 secs)
Jimmy Yuill remembers the 625 special road show to promote the introduction of 625 line TV
(75 secs)
Brian Armstrong - problem demo to the Manchester ship canal
(259 secs)
Life at Pye
Elsie Dethridge recalls her lifts in PYE 1
(195 secs)
Richard Ellis recalls the Pye Tower and Matilda
(93 secs)
Sidney Grimes compares EK Cole to CO Stanley
(40 secs)
Work at Pye
David Hall - 1958-Working in WG Pye machine shop
(129 secs)
Richard Ellis talks about the first colour television work
(119 secs)
Rodney Dale remembers making camera tubes at Cathodeon in the 1950s
(74 secs)
Product Development at Pye
Lyndon Davies - the start of spectrometers at Unicam
(118 secs)
Roy Moreton - Pye Telecom equipment reliability in 1953
(153 secs)
Chris Barrett - software or hardware engineering?
(92 secs)
Experiences with CO & John Stanley
Geoff Griffiths recalls John Stanley and the Pye Aeroplane
(63 secs)
Jim Langford on his first meeting with CO Stanley
(128 secs)
Malcolm Hensby recalls organisation of the 1966 AGM to remove CO and JO Stanley
(113 secs)
Memories from Three Pye Sites
Geoff Griffiths recalls innovation at Newmarket Transistors
(98secs)
Dr Lyndon Davies recalls the merger of WG Pye and Unicam
(154 secs)
Geoff Griffiths recalls the librarian in Pye's upper research labs
(41 secs)
Different Aspects of Pye
CO Stanley - Reviewing a TV Problem in 1958
(144 secs)
David Hall - Returning to WGPye after National Service in 1962
(233 secs)
Tony Dugdale - recalls holding the Pye Television Awards and meeting Princess Anne
(43 secs)