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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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Margaret Lambs story

by hellifieldstories

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Contributed by听
hellifieldstories
People in story:听
Mrs Margaret Lamb
Background to story:听
Civilian
Article ID:听
A4401848
Contributed on:听
08 July 2005

This story has been contributed by Val Potter of Age Concern, Hellifield. It was originally contributed to Age Concern in 1990.
At the beginning of the War, Mrs Lamb was hairdressing. She married in 1941 and had to make her own dress, her two bridesmaids, her going-away dress and some for her guests - eleven in all! Her sister, Agnes, managed to get the last fabric before coupons came in, from a shop in Nottingham. She had wanted ivory velvet but had to have parchment. It snowed hard before the wedding and the snow was so high on the day that it had been cleared higher than the taxi! They spent three days honeymoon at The Crown in Horton-in-Ribbledale. Mrs Lamb was too old to be called up but had to do work of a national importance. She had to give up her hairdressers shop but her assistant was allowed to continue as she was twelve years younger than Mrs Lamb, and her husband was in the Army. Mrs Lamb decided to work at a ticket office on the railway and went to Manchester for an interview. She was taken on and went to work at Skipton, taking the place of a man who went into the Royal Air Force. Her husband, Arthur, was a signal man at Bleamoor box - an essential job. One day, he put an ammunition train into the loop line at Bleamoor then, all but the engine and one carriage, broke loose and ran back towards Horton. Arthur rang through to all the signal boxes along the line, the signalmen made the points clear for it to go through, signalled against oncoming trains and got out of their boxes in case it blew up! It finally came to a stop near Hellifield with it's wheels red hot!
The Germans tried to bomb Bleamoor tunnel and hit Eldroth once in their efforts.
Arthur only came home once a week,on his motorbike,from a Saturday morning to a Sunday afternoon, to the house in Haw Grove where Mrs Lamb still lives. He lodged at the Hill Inn the rest of the time.
Mrs Lamb could only get to Skipton at 7 am instead of 6 am as she was meant to, so she swapped with a Skipton girl and went to Gargrave station. A junior porter showed her what to do with freight trains (Skipton had been for passengers only) She had to do all the invoices and paperwork for the freight. For two weeks, the Station Master would not talk to her because he had trained her predecessor and did not want a "new girl". In the end, Mrs Lamb had it out with him,after which, he was fine! She stayed there until after the War. By a strange conincidence, the day she left, The Station Master collapsed and died.
One day, she was high up a ladder getting tickets, when a preremptory voice at the ticket hatch said "Long Preston return" with no "Please". By the time Mrs Lamb had climbed down, he had gone to the platform. So she asked a porter to take him his ticket and collect the money. He was not amused.
In those days, Long Preston was mainly full of retired people. It contained Jackman's warehouse, for storing sheeps's wool bales. It centred on farming and was considered a rich community. Hellifield was considered poor.

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