大象传媒

Mr Ray Caradeuc interviewed by Margaret Le Cras

Transcribers note : Transcription difficult at times because interviewer was nearer the microphone and her interjections sometimes upstage Mr Le Caradeuc, who is rather faint. Where the interviewer鈥檚 comments are relevant they have been transcribed in full.

I鈥︹�︹��. So as the war went on, were you still working on the land?
Ray Caradeuc. Ah no. We made bottle batteries. I don鈥檛 know if you remember, but everyone had their own rubbish tip, you didn鈥檛 have nowhere to go so you had your own rubbish tip. And the amount of meat paste bottles, we used to [ ] battery, with sal ammoniac, when I was there. [ ] and we used to make hundreds. You had to have eighty for a set.
I鈥︹�︹��. Oh my goodness, you needed a lot.
Ray Caradeuc. You only have one and a half volt for two bottles, so you had to have eighty to make the set work, and then of course you have a voltage drop, so we done hundreds of those, I spent weeks, months, soldering dollies. You remember the high-tension batteries, they were the batteries you needed the radio cell and batteries one and a half volt, well we used to tear all those, and use the carbon, put a piece of zinc on the end and a piece of wire, and then, in each bottle, so you had to have some bottles. We used to call them dollies. And ooh we made hundreds, eh. I used to go round with a teapot [ ] and top them up.
I鈥︹�︹��. It sounds very clever鈥�
Ray Caradeuc. Sal ammoniac was finished, so the bottle batteries were finished. I was an electrical engineer at the start, I was two years in my apprenticeship, when the war started,
I鈥︹�︹��. Who were you apprenticed to?
Ray Caradeuc. [Pauls Wiring Services] Do you remember Pauls?
I鈥︹�︹��. No, I don鈥檛, actually.
Ray Caradeuc. Very. very clever family. I mean, we used to do all the [ ] the island, Sark, Herm. [ ] speedboats. We used to fix generators in Sark, and all the ones [ ] But going back to batteries, when there was no more sal ammoniac, so I said to the boss 鈥淚鈥檓 going for half an hour鈥� so he said 鈥淲here鈥�, I said 鈥淚鈥檒l tell you when I come back鈥�. So I went to the sea. I had a meter, which my boss lent me, he lent me, [ ] I went to the sea, got a gallon of sea water, and I tried, measured it, put the same amount as sal ammoniac as I put of sea water, measured it, and I had one and a half volts. So I said to the boss 鈥淐ome and see this鈥� .鈥漌ell I鈥檓 blessed,鈥� Well, we carried on, bottle batteries. But, being sea water, we had to pitch, otherwise the salt water would rot the wire, and the zinc, at the top, but if it was in the water it didn鈥檛 rot, wasn鈥檛 affected. So we carried on, like that, [ otherwise ] probably I would have had the sack.
I鈥︹�︹��. So, what would he have done, got rid of the radios in that area?
Ray Caradeuc. Yes
I鈥︹�︹��. They wouldn鈥檛 have gone all over the Island?
Ray Caradeuc. Ah, we didn鈥檛.
I鈥︹�︹��. No. It would have been people you knew?
Ray Caradeuc. People that was close.
I鈥︹�︹��. But people you could trust?

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