LDHS Oral History Interview37

Graham Sprackling

Interviewee:	Graham Sprackling
Interviewer:	R Davies
Technician:	Clive South
Length of interview:	59m
Date of interview:	21st May 2007

AI Summary of the Interview with Graham Sprackling

1. Early Life & Family

Graham Sprackling has lived in Ewyas Harold for nearly 70 years, moving there in 1939 when he was seven. His father worked in the Pontypool Road / Pontrilas signal box. He and his siblings attended Ewyas Harold School, all passing the 11-plus and going on to Hereford High Schools. He recalls cycling to Pontrilas to catch the train: “we used to cycle up to Pontrilas and then catch the train… later on the bus services came along”.

2. Early Career

After school he briefly applied for a job at the Malvern Radar Establishment, then spent a year at Hereford College of Further Education. In 1951 he joined the Herefordshire County Library Service, working at the Widemar Street premises. His early work involved preparing book collections for schools across the county.

3. Work in Rural Schools

He delivered books to rural schools such as Longtown, Michaelchurch, Craswall and others. He remembers the politeness of children in small schools: “as soon as I entered the room they all stood up and said good morning sir”.

Children enjoyed a mix of fiction (including Enid Blyton) and non‑fiction, with picture books for younger pupils.

4. The Library Service & Mr Shawright

His boss, Mr Shawright, was a brilliant but volatile figure: “I would describe him… as the Robert Maxwell of the library service… he used to have volcanic rages”.

Shawright insisted staff be resourceful and frugal, running the service “on a shoestring”.

5. The Black Mountains Traveling Library

Sprackling became involved with the Black Mountains mobile library, the first of its kind in Herefordshire. Initially he assisted Cyril Jenkins, who drove the van alone. Jenkins often needed help because the mountain routes involved opening and closing many gates: “there were about 22 gates to open and close”.

The route covered Walterstone, Rowlestone, Cusop, the Golden Valley, and the remote farms of the Olchon Valley.

6. Rural Characters & Encounters

He recalls colourful local figures:

• The Morell family of the Olchon Valley (later written about in Of Wetness and Wildness).
• Bill Prothero, an elderly Longtown man who “used to pull teeth… pierce ears… and mend shoes”.
• A chance encounter with Michael Heseltine, who stepped into the van out of curiosity.

7. Choosing Books for Rural Readers

He kept a balanced stock but learned readers’ tastes over time. Popular genres included:

• Gardening
• Travel
• History
• Biographies
• Light fiction (cowboy stories, romances)
• Edgar Wallace thrillers (“have you any Edgar Wallace books” was a frequent request)

Farmers often enjoyed rural writers such as Ralph Whitman, A. G. Street, Richard Vaughan, H. L. V. Fletcher, and Francis Brett Young.

He also carried local history and borderland novels, including Who Rides So Wild, Moulded in Earth, The Dark Tower, and books on cattle drovers.

8. Life on the Mobile Library

The job brought him into many old farmhouses and close contact with rural communities. He describes one memorable mishap when he fell through a plaster ceiling while inspecting roof timbers: “my knee slipped off the beam and went straight down through the plaster”.

People were extremely hospitable, especially at Christmas—sometimes too much so: “a can of lager… a glass of sherry… a tot of whisky… I was literally floating”.

9. Changes in Rural Life

He notes major changes since the 1960s:

• The disappearance of gypsy hop‑pickers from Much Marcle and surrounding areas.
• Mechanisation of hop and fruit picking.
• Fewer traditional rural families and more newcomers moving into the countryside.