Oh, it was awful, the smell and thick mud everywhere. It was dreadful. Eye-witness talking about the 1953 floods in Century Road, Great Yarmouth Everyone forgets things as time goes by and each individual's memory works in a different way. Some people's memories are better than others and, for reasons we don't really understand, many people actually remember their early years more clearly as they get older. This is helpful when we want to tape-record people's memories.
All memories are a mixture of facts and opinions, and both are important.
The way in which people make sense of their lives is valuable historical evidence in itself. Few of us are good at remembering dates, and we tend to 'telescope' two similar events into a single memory.