PERSONAL VIEW
Recorded Interview with Mr. Lawrence Harley, 17th Jan. 1971
Masefield: Firstly, I would just like to ask you one
or two things for background. Your interest in archaeology
has been, I presume, lifelong?
Harley: Well, yes, I think so; for forty years at
least. I joined the Essex Field Club in 1924; primarily I
was interested in natural history and archaeology at the
time, hut I slowly swung to archaeology because my natural
history was so weak.
Masefield: This has never had anything to do with
your work?
Harley: Never. I have been an engineer and a
physicist and not an archaeologist, but I am of course very
interested in the applications of science.
Masefield: Would you say that having a hobby
completely different from your work is a good thing?
Harley: I think it is a very good thing. I've known
some people whose interest outside their work is almost nil.
They come home and they think continuously of what they have
been doing as a profession. This may be materially useful,
but I think it doesn't make for a full life.
Masefield: Now to some questions on the archaeological
side. What is it that really attracts you about the subject?
Harley: This is a deeper question than it seems on the
surface. I think there are several reasons. Firstly, I
think there are some people, and I include myself in this
group, who regret the loss of any factual information. When
I see an old building about to be pulled down, I want to
record it. When a roadside trench is being dug, I'm eager to
get what I can from each section before the whole thing is
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