大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from GMR Action Desk on behalf of Sadie Varley and has been added to the site with her permission.
In 1940, as a young married woman,I started work at Whites, a factory in Downing Street, Ardwick with the intention of earning better wages. The work involved making anti- gas capes for the military, because of the threat of a gas attack by the Germans. My task was part of section work;each machinist working on a different part of the cape which was more like a coat than a cape.The material was heavy and hard to sew, like a thick canvas with a coating which had camouflage on it.After a while the job was abandoned because the risk of gassing had gone away.
While I was at Whites a group of officials came round and demanded that we go to other employment{There was no choice in the matter! }I felt really upset because I had to start the next Monday and couldn't see my husband back off leave.
I was sent to the Cossor Wireless factory in an old mill off Middleton Road in Chadderton, Manchester.I was really dreading going there.
When I first went I was put in a "school" for 6 weeks where we had to learn how to solder wires together. After a month I was sent to the transforming room to make coils for the wireless in planes I sat at a big machine.All the work was done by following a blueprint. I had to use a vice to hold a metal plate and I had to attach a lot of wires.I pulled each wire down from a reel and followed the blueprint. It might say "20 of the wire to be sleeved in orange; all different thicknesses of wire had different coloured sleeves. I watched a dial which counted the turns of wire.Sometimes as the roll of wire ran out the end of the wire would fly out and hit your head.Wires had to be soldered and very often the solder would drip on to your stockings.
I didn't like the job at all; it was hard and I had never been in a factory like that before but they were a nice set of girls, mostly from Oldham.
I was really glad when I found out that I was pregnant and would soon be able to leave the job.

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