Charley Gingell Interview, History 150 Spring 2016, Conducted by Leland Burkey Immigration and the Military, March 24, 2016.
- This Interview was conducted over skype and was not edited. I used a program called OBS to record the interview. The program is used for streaming and taking long recording but does not have editing capabilities I used a noise cancelling microphone to avoid outside noise on my side of the interview.
- Charley is a friend I have known for a long time. He was born in England and immigrated to the United States at an early age. We met because we went to the same elementary/ middle school and he was in my brother’s grade. We became friends in high school when we were both apart of the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp. He has always had an idea of joining the military even in England and plans to get a degree Intelligence Analysis and work for the military.
- I had actually done a lot of research about this through NJROTC where I read books such as “The Flags of Our Fathers” which told the story of the infamous picture of the men who raised the flag over Iwo Jima. The book included stories of many soldiers who were immigrants and their reasons to join the military. Our textbooks also touched on this in the history of the navy. I have also watched a series of documentaries from the military and history channel of immigrant stories in the military.
Interview Transcript
Leland Burkey: Ok. Can you please tell me your name and how old you are?
Charley Gingell: My name is Charles James Gingell and I’m twenty-two years old.
LB: Where were you born?
CG: I was born Welwyn Hertfordshire, Great Britain.
LB: How long did you live there?
CG: I lived there until I was ten years old.
LB: Tell me about living in England.
CG: Well, it is quiet similar to American society just that we all talk funny. Well we went to school and we lived in a cul-de-sac type area and we’d all hang out together. Had a pretty simple childhood pretty much similar to everyone else. We would just go to school, hang out with your friends, and play football. Soccer for you Americans.
LB: Did you move around at all in England?
CG: Not very far. Only like a few miles away. So not really.
LB: What was the reason your family moved to the United States?
CG: My dad works for an aviation insurance company and their main office was located in America and he travelled to America on basically a monthly basis for a few weeks so we wouldn’t see him a lot. So his company basically moved all the European employees to America.
LB: Do you remember when you moved to the United States?
CG: Yes. I was ten years old. I still remember most of it. I didn’t really want to move and didn’t want to leave all my friends and start my life over again. And only my immediate family moved with me both my parents and my brother. The rest of my family still lives in England. So I didn’t want to leave them behind. But we moved in I believe it was August 2004.
LB: Do you still visit your other family?
CG: I do. We try to go there at least once a year and have at least one family member come visit us as well.
LB: So tell me about the experience of immigrating to the United States? Were you moving around a lot or did you find a place immediately?
CG: We moved to Leesburg Virginia and we have been there ever since. Again we would just move a few miles away. We first stayed in a hotel for two to three months while we looked for a place and then we rented a house in a gated community in Leesburg and then while our other house was being built we moved to that house which is also in Leesburg. My parents got divorced so my dad moved to Reston and my mom is still in Leesburg so I have two houses.
LB: What differences did you notice when you first came to the United States?
CG: Not very many people played football and that was kind of one of my biggest hobbies so kinda difficult to adjust to not being able to do something I love so much and basically had to learn a whole new games to play to fit in with the kids over here. That was probably the biggest change.
LB: What was your school experience?
CG: In America or in England?
LB: Both.
CG: England I went to the equivalent of an elementary school which is called primary school over there but then after you go there until you are twelve years old and then you move onto secondary school which is basically high school. I was in school in England until the equivalent of fourth grade over here. When I moved to America I went into fifth grade. I went to a private school. Graduated from that and went to a private high school for my freshmen year and then I moved to public high school to be in the NJROTC program. Currently in college right now.
LB: When did you become an America citizen and how did that happen?
CG: I became a citizen I think it was 3 maybe 4 years ago and my dad was the one that went through the process and since I was still a minor I automatically got citizenship when he was awarded it.
LB: So what did you do before then before you were a citizen?
CG: We had started out with a visa and we had to live here awhile until we met the requirements for a green card which means you’re a permanent resident and you don’t have to renew that every year it’s just you get the green card once and then you can live in America for as long as you want.
LB: Now what do you have in mind as a career?
CG: My major in school is Intelligence Analysis and I want to possibly go to either the military after I graduate or work for the defense department or private contractor or maybe a private security firm.
LB: How did you come across this career path?
CG: I was very interested in military growing up. Especially living in England because you would see like the queen’s guard around all the time. We lived very close to London and I always thought it would be very cool to be a part of serving your country. And since I lived in America for a long time I love it here and I definitely want to protect it and ROTC definitely helped increase my knowledge of the military. What it would possibly be like. It peaked my interest in it so I think that’s what I am going to do once I graduate.
LB: Did you have any funny moments with the Queen’s Guard? [almost laughing]
CG: [Chuckles] I’m sure as everyone knows as you go and see one you always go try and make them laugh or scare them. Make them move because they are not supposed to move and then I was trying to do it to this one guard outside Buckingham Palace for probably about ten, fifteen minutes and he wouldn’t move and then I turn my back on him and he screamed behind me and I absolutely booked it out of there. I was terrified.
LB: What made you want to join NJROTC?
CG: I always had an interest of being in the military and I thought it would be a great way to learn more about it and one of my best friends in America who went to the school at the time and I went to the private elementary school with who was also joining the program so we decided to do it together.
LB: Did that friend happen to be my brother?
CG: It did.
LB: Since you have emigrated from England to the United States and you are thinking about joining the military. Do you think that is something popular that a lot of immigrants do?
CG: I don’t know necessarily a popular thing immigrants do. I think most immigrants in America want to try and get a piece of the “American dream”. The American Dream is usually associated with making a lot of money. Usually when you join the military you don’t do it for the money.
LB: Since you always wanted to serve in the military but you started out having that passion in England. How did that transfer to instead serving in the United States military?
CG: At this point of my life I have lived in America longer than I have lived in England and I did basically most of my upbringing in this country and I don’t think, even though I love all my family back home, there is a lot more opportunity in America. I don’t think I’d ever move back to live permanently in England. So it’d make sense to definitely serve in the American military.
LB: Would you consider yourself an American?
CG: I would say so. Most of the American population immigrated here at some point unless you’re Native American. So I think the only thing that makes you American is if you live in this country and take part in society. America is a melting pot.
LB: So why do you think this career is important?
CG: Being in the military is very important to protect the rights of people that live in a country and those around the world. To protect freedom, protect the innocent, to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.
LB: [Searching for the other questions I had] Why don’t you tell me about some experiences you had in the NJROTC program?
CG: I think the most prominent one that comes to mind is, well I have a couple, is when we went to basically live as marine recruits for a week in Paris Island marine base. That was definitely a hell of an experience. We basically eat, slept, ran obstacle courses, and basically got yelled at by drill instructors all day every day. I had so much fun. A lot of people there thought it was a little too intense to really enjoy it but I definitely liked that environment and definitely sparked more interest in joining the military.
LB: Do you think that is an experience that everybody should try out just to see what it is like?
CG: I do I think if everyone went through that they would have a lot more respect for the service members and especially veterans seeing what they have to go through. It definitely really made me respect everyone who wears a uniform a hell of a lot more than I already did.
LB: You have also told me before that you lived in a castle. Can you tell me a little bit about this house you lived in?
CG: It was called Digswell Castle and quite a few famous British generals lived in there and it is considered classified as a castle/palace. So it’s fun to tell people that I lived in a palace. But it was a very big house and very cool.
LB: So was this the house that was in the cul-de -sac area?
CG: Yes it was basically it used to be a house for a lord back in medieval times and the cul-de-sac was like all the houses for all the people that lived in the manor would go. It was very cool.
LB: So you said you are in college right now. Where are you going to college and what is your plan?
CG: I am currently in Northern Virginia Community College and I plan on at the end of this semester transferring James Madison University to complete my bachelors in Intelligence Analysis major and after I graduate from that which should that 2 years I would join the military. I haven’t decided what branch yet but it is between the marine corp., army, and the navy.
LB: Have you considered at all joining the ROTC program at James Madison University?
CG: I have. I have actually talked to a few counselors about it and very excited.
LB: So you are planning on joining the ROTC program?
CG: yes.
[Searching for the rest of my question]
CG: What do you think growing up in England would have been like?
LB: I don’t know. I always thought that like. I’m used to Virginia weather so I’m used to basically getting all the seasons all the time but I always thought that if you lived in England was it rainy all the time?
CG: It does rain quite a bit there.
LB: Is it usually colder most of the time?
CG: Yes I would say on average probably the warmest it gets is sixty, sixty-five, or seventy if you’re lucky. I bet you also thought we all had tea time.
LB: Yea [laughing]. Ok so what do you usually eat in England?
CG: There is always the classic English meals like fish and chips.
LB: So that was actually something people ate a lot?
CG: Oh yeah. We had tons of, I guess it is necessarily similar to how Americans are associated with hamburgers and fries. Like the 50s diners you have we have like fish and chips shops everywhere. And we have a lot of Indian Curry restaurants too.
LB: Well I can understand that. I see where that comes from. Didn’t you tell me there is some breakfast?
CG: There’s the classic English breakfast which is baked beans, eggs, ham, sausage, sometimes some mushrooms. My favorite breakfast is beans on toast which is exactly what it sounds like. Its toast with baked beans on top. It is absolutely wonderful and everyone over here has no idea what it is and thinks it’s the strangest thing ever.
LB: Do you like English food over American food?
CG: That’s a tough one.
LB: Basically like with American food like hamburgers and fries and pizza.
CG: I love pizza. Hamburgers are really good too but I don’t think anything is better than when you’re absolutely starving and you have a nice fish and chips.
LB: So you really like the fish and chips. Is it always fried?
CG: Yes it’s always fried and beer battered. It is usually either cord or haddock and chips are French fries.
LB: I do know that! I am a little bit cultured with English food.
CG: Have you ever been to England?
LB: No my mom went to England a long time ago. She really liked it a lot but I have never been. My family always likes to travel places and not bring me.
CG: Would you like to go to England?
LB: Yes I would.
CG: You should go.
LB: I should. I think I am out of questions so that is it. Thank you Charley for being interviewed and I hope this turns out to be a good project.
CG: You are very welcome. God Save the Queen.
- I thought the interview went well. I would make sure I have all the question together so I do not have to be searching through them if I did another interview. It was a little choppy of an interview. The divergence was great where he started to ask me questions and then we got multiple cultural perspectives on culture. It especially worked well because I lost my other questions too.