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Redundancy notices for Tate girls, 1981
© Scottie Press
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Tate and Lyle: Sugar love |
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An unusual raffle
Like most factories, the bosses provided outings and Christmas ‘do’s’ – many of the Tate and Lyle girls remember dinner at the Adelphi Hotel, with free Guiness on every table.
Every September one of the supervisors used to organise a “Secret Raffle” – proceeds of which went to the local orphanage. Some of the raffle prizes were unusual, to say the least: 2 toilet rolls and a packet of laxatives, for instance. One of the girls, Gertie Glover, won a necklace one year. 
Tate girls on shift
© Scottie Press |
Margaret – the supervisor, said it was very rare and most unusual, and that she would bring it in the following day. Next afternoon, on the 2pm – 10pm shift, Gertie opened a huge, wrapped parcel, only to find a necklace made of a string of sausages, with two huge black puddings as the pendant.
Gertie wore the necklace all shift, even though the factory was extremely hot. The next day, she arrived at work with no necklace. When she was asked where it was, Gertie, in the true spirit of the days of post war rationing, said: “I washed it and ate it last night, for my supper”.
Tate and Lyle finally closed in 1981, one of the many industries on Merseyside which was associated with the river, and a workforce drawn from a particular area. But the heart of the Tate girls lives on – through small reminders like the Christmas hampers which are still distributed to this day, and the shared memories of fun, friendship and family.
Words: Ev Draper
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