Joseph Clyne was born in Hull in 1897 to Abraham and Chava, who had only recently arrived from Riga to escape pogroms, general discrimination and lack of opportunities. The family name was originally Klein, but when Joseph enlisted in was considered 'too German' and anglicised to Clyne. 

When the First World War broke out, Joe was 17 and working as an errand boy at a local fruit import firm. Impressionable and patriotic, he enlisted under the Derby scheme, lying about his age, although it was not until 1916 that he was drafted into the Northumberland Fusiliers Infantry regiment, leaving for France soon after. His interview provides a rare and moving insight into life on the Front. 

The interview is held at the Manchester Jewish Museum. It is over two hours long but due to sound quality it has been edited into several short clips. These cover the following subjects:

Change of family name from Klein to Clyne

Being Jewish in the Army

Moving to Manchester in 1929

War and injury

Yom Kippur and atheism

Driving and cooking in the war 

Unemployment after the War