大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a volunteer from CSVBerkshire on behalf of Elizabeth Bulman (nee Pontet) and has been added to the site with her permission. Elizabeth Bulman fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

From Convent to Prefab via Halifax

At the beginning of the war I was working as a teacher in a Catholic private school in north London. I was not affected by conscription until the school was evacuated and I was no longer needed as the nuns could cope with the reduced number of pupils. There was no choice, as I did not have a young family but to report for duty. As my mother was on her own in London I did not want to go into the services or go away to work on the land. I selected factory work.

I went on a crash training course in engineering and having always prided myself on being able to use my hands, was disappointed when I failed the practical test. My square piece of metal did not fit exactly into the square hole I had made. One piece of excitement was being propositioned through a third party by an African Prince who happened to be there. I declined his offer! I had a rather strict upbringing, it was a happy childhood but very 鈥減roper鈥� and then I taught in the convent. My fellow trainees who were from every possible walk of life soon found I was fair game for tall stories of their exotic private lives.

The one thing I could do was read blue prints so I became an 鈥渆xaminer鈥� which meant sitting at a bench checking components as they came through from the engineers - very boring for twelve hours a day! I then worked in what was called a shadow aircraft factory set up in the new train sheds that were to have accommodated the tube extensions at Leavesden beyond Elstree. They were never used as the war got in the way. I worked on the central section of Halifax Bombers. Along with two other women I was promoted to inspector which normally, as a man鈥檚 job, carried a man鈥檚 rate of pay. One of the perks was that we were allowed to use the clerical staff washrooms! There were about eighty women on the shop floor doing what had always been women鈥檚 work so there was a big pay differential. We had all joined the trade union - no force but a lot of not so gentle persuasion! I was elected shop steward - shades of the school teacher! To defuse discontent over the big wage difference I proposed at the union branch monthly meeting that the three of us on the higher rate come down a couple of grades as we did not bring to the job the expertise of a trained man. I was told I was a disgrace to Union principles!

Duties were two weeks on days and two weeks on nights. I believe that I weathered this by keeping to the same eating habits all the time and only having a bowl of rice pudding, one of the canteen鈥檚 few specialities, topped with blackcurrant puree, during the midnight break. Incidentally, having a small store of blackcurrant was my only really illegal action during the war, it was strictly rationed for babies but a local shopkeeper took pity on me.

Between 2am and 4am was the worst time for keeping awake and one night I didn鈥檛! I was working on a kite that had been moved to a part of the factory that was not normally used at night time. My job necessitated crawling under the seats, I was so tired I just fell asleep and did not wake until the tea bell went.

As the end of the war in Europe approached production of new aircraft ceased and the factory went over to reclamation - seeing what could be salvaged from crashed planes - rather depressing. I did not want to be drafted to another factory as it would certainly have meant bench work again. I was lucky enough to get a job with Taylor Woodrow who had a priority on the labour market for pre-fabricated houses. It was an office job that entailed helping to ensure supplies were getting through to the various sites throughout the country. I stayed there until employment restrictions were lifted.

I said I didn鈥檛 really break the law but I did buy dusters and sheets that were available from street markets and made them into blouses and pyjamas. I swapped one sheet for a pair of ice skating boots! If one saw a queue outside a shop you joined it until you found out what it was for - couldn鈥檛 afford to miss anything. I cycled to and from work only using the underground for rare visits to central London but I still recall the smell and stepping over sleeping bodies whenever I use the tube now.

Although I was in London all through the war I was never involved in a bombing incident. I saw and heard the buzz bombs and the V2 and saw the dog fights of the Battle of Britain. I watched London burning from Hampstead Heath. It was all as if I was not involved in the horror of it at all. I feel I had a charmed life.

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