大象传媒

WW2-38

I left school aged fourteen years. That was the normal leaving age unless one had passed the scholarship for higher education, which I had, but mother knew I would not be able to compete with others at Barrs Hill School with the expensive uniforms and books etc. I spent three years as head girl at Red Lane School. On leaving, a lady from the council came to see me to help find suitable work. At the time most girls went to Courtaulds where they produced beautiful silk materials. I hoped to join them there, but the lady wanted two girls to work at The Triumph in Clay Lane. It was an office job I think she sent me for. Margaret Taylor met me. She was the only girl working there and so pleased to see me. We became very good friends. I was taken by her to a building which had just opened, to a large open room with work tables set in an orderly way for four or six men to shape wood into car seats which were covered with leather latex resin, padded with cotton wool. So began production of seats of Triumph Herald and Vitesse.

The night of the blitz in Coventry, November 6th, my husband Bert who was a volunteer fireman, a builder by trade, was already on his way to the fire station in Clifford Rd, next road to where we lived in North St, when a bomb dropped in our road so we had to help as two of the neighbours were killed. They had just left their shelter to make a cup of tea and had a direct hit on them. All of the houses around us including ours were damaged. Fortunately, Bert鈥檚 mother and our five year old son Brian had been sent with my mother, sister Gwen and niece Valerie to Burton, a safer area, to stay with my husband鈥檚 relatives, who kindly looked after them for a few weeks till things calmed down.

Meanwhile, The Humber where I had been employed had also been hit so as many workers as possible were trying to clear the factory up as soon as possible. Bert and myself went to find out how my dad was managing on his own, in our family home in Red Lane. Although it is opposite the Admiral Works there were only a few slates off its roof. The bombers had missed their target. During the War, as it continued, all those able to work were given jobs making bombs, guns etc.

I went from The Humber to Morris Engines where I worked on testing the bullets for the little Beaufort guns my husband was firing in Burma.

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