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This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Elizabeth Perez of Stockport Libraries on behalf of a lady who wishes to remind anonymous and has been added to the site with her permission. She fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

"I was called up when I was 18. I was sent for a medical as I wanted to join the A.T.S. They didn't pass me as when I was young I had a mastoid so they wouldn't pass me on that. Then I got word I had to go to Metro Vicks in Trafford Park. It was quite a long way as I lived in Higher Crumpsall. The day I started I had to catch a train to Manchester so had ten minutes walk to the train at 6.30am, then on to the train and then a special bus that picked people up from the train to take us to Metro Vicks in Old Trafford for when they started work at 7.30am. On the first day I walked and caught the train and then the mad rush to get on the bus as it was packed.

When I got to Metro Vicks I was issued with a boiler suit and put in a training unit. We had to learn how to drill metal rivets. My first day ended at 7pm. I had told my Mother that I wasn't coming home in a boiler suit, but I had to as there wasn't time to take it off as we had a mad rush again for the bus, so by the time I got the train and walked it was 8.30pm so I was rather tired.

After I had been in the training school for three weeks I was put on the front centre part of the Lancaster Bomber. I was put with a male colleague who showed me what to do, how to drill a rivet and lots of other things, which we connected together. It was hard work but it had to be done. I met a lot of girls from other towns which were drafted to work at Metros. I was lucky really as I could get home.

When the one thousandth Lancaster was built and was all ready, there was a box in which we all put our names and whoever's name came out the plane was called after them. It was a lady called Margaret whose name was pulled out, so she had the pleasure of calling the plane Margaret.

When I look back it's hard to believe I could swing onto a platform where we had to fit, drill and use a rivettting gun. I was there for three and a half years. Whilst I was there I met my husband, who was in the R.A.F. but had been drafted with lots of men into Metros. He worked hard there and had to go back into the R.A.F. till the end of the war."

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