Donne Buck discusses his experience as the first play worker in Stevenage [Text only]

Donne: Well, living in London wasn’t a whole lot of fun in 1967, I was working actually as a teacher then earning quite small wages and I had a wife and 2 children to support so I really needed somewhere where the children would be happier and where I could pursue my interest in out of school professional work and the adventure playgrounds are the best places for that. I reckoned I could do a better job teaching kids on the adventure playground than I could in the more formal setting of a school.

Interviewer: What was your house like when you first moved to Stevenage? Was it different?

Donne: In Stevenage I was able to rent a house in Longmeadow, 163 Oaks Cross in Longmeadow was a terraced house with quite a nice garden and it was quite close to the shops so it was quite convenient. The school was nearby also and my daughters were able to go to the local school in one case and the day nursery, the younger one, which was far better than anything London was able to offer them.

Interviewer: Was it exciting when you got your new home there?

Donne: Oh yes, it was indeed. We used to call our little flat in Kensington our ‘tatty old house’ for the benefit of the children, and our Stevenage house was called ‘our nice new house’. Later on I was able to buy it, before we moved away, I was able to buy the house and it stood me in good stead later on.