大象传媒

This story has been submitted to the People's War website by Liz Andrew of the Lancshomeguard on behalf of Ethel Morris and added to the site with her permission.

I was twenty two when the War started. I lived with my parents and my brother Harry in Bolton and worked at Burtons Clothing Factory at Halliwell. But once the War had started I had to do war work. I did my training at Cheetham Hill in Manchester - I had to work on grinding machines,grinding pins for Spitfires. Then I was transferred to Fords in Trafford Park.

I travelled by coach from Bolton into Manchester every day.If the Bridge over the river was up at Trafford Park we had to wait to get over and we had to get a signed letter from the Bridgekeeper to explain why we were late getting in to work.

My father and my boyfriend both worked at Dobson and Barlows Engineering Works in Bolton and they tried to get me transferred there but that was just too simple! so I had to carry on working at Fords. I remember coming home at night and the German bombers were coming over and dropping flares all round the Bolton ring road. They were trying to find Horwich Locomotive Works.

The money was good but the grinding machines were huge and at work we had to do 12 hour shifts. All the other girls were from Manchester and I was lonely. The night shift was from 7pm till 8am and at the end of it my feet used to be swollen and blistered on the bottom from standing on the hard concrete floor. My mum used to save rations so I could have a good breakfast and when I got home I used to sit with my feet in a bowl of water and my breakfast on the table.

We got married at St Peter's Church in Bolton in 1944. I had enough clothing coupons for a wedding gown and we had the wedding meal on Bradshawgate. We had a leather suite made. We needed 22 clothing coupons for the cushions and my mum and my husband's mum pulled together and made things.

My brother was a Bevan boy. He wasn't given any choice. The money was good but it was not a nice job - we thought he'd got TB with working on the coal face. He used to cough up horrible stuff. He travelled into Manchester too to work at Swinton Colliery.

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