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Munitions factory in Westover road

I made the fuel bottle that went into the torpedo that then sank the Bismarck!
Well, I wasn’t entirely alone, another lady and myself worked shifts and made the fuel bottles between us.
I was 18 years old and had left London, where I was a dressmaker, to escape the bombings. We, like many others were terrified.
My first job was in the lingerie department in Beales department store. I was used to a much faster pace of life and hurried the local clientele when they were trying on lingerie. This did not reallly suit the customers and I was aked to slow down. I ddi manage to sell 4 corsete, but the job didn’t suit me and I left after a month.
The call up came and I was given the choice to either join the forces or work in the munitions factory. The closest factory was in Bournemouth, where the Majestic Car park is sitiuated and it also covered part of the palace Court Hotel. The company was called Whitehead Torpedo works, based in Weymouth.
I remember that despite the war it was a happy place to work. We all got on well togetherand used to spend many a time in the Criterion pub. There were a lot of Americans around the town and they were very generous.
The work in the factory was quite hard, but I didn’t mind that. The ‘setters’ used to set up the machines and deal with any problems. My colleague and I, working opposite shifts, used to remove the black swarth from the bottles, shape them with cutters, polish them until you could use them as a mirror and then they were threaded together ready for the torpedos. We were the first ladies to make fuel bottles, this work was previously done by the men.
One day I arrived at work to the news that the German Bismarck had been sunk. Imagine my surprise when I was told one of the fuel bottles fitted to the torpedo had been made by me and my colleague.
Towards the end of employment in the factory I contracted ‘ white lead’ poisoning which brought me out in spots on my face and hands, a little disturbing, but I made a full recovery.
Despite being so scared in London I did have a good time during the war. Moving to Bournemouth was one of the best moves I have ever made. I met my late husband, and now have 3 super children and 4 lovely grandchildren.

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