factory workers

I did student jobs in factories from time to time. After leaving school I got am office job to start that October, so Dad, a foreman spinner, got me a job in the mill as a piecener between July and October. I loved working with those old men - they had so many tales to tell about the 'olden' days. Then I started my civil service job among judgmental snobs. I was a square peg in a round hole, and eventually took myself off to Austria as an 'au pair'. (Then I came home, met a sailor and got married)

I always did clerical jobs out of necessity after that. Too lazy for factory or mill work - don't like working standing up!!

I was a mill girl and loved every minute of it, it was a big carpet mill and the smell was wonderful, we played cricket at dinner time or went swimming at the baths up the road AND we were on piece work, and as you all say its all gone now to make places for offices, so many happy memories.

I was one of eight children of working class (divorced) parents and my mother used to lecture us about our schoolwork with the 'threat' that we'd end up working in Woolworths or a factory (like she and my dad did) if we didn't work hard at school. One sister is a businesswoman, three work for British Airways as cabin crew and I'm a retired social worker/teacher. My three brothers are a social worker, a baker and a retired gardener (disabled). My mum is delighted that we all have/had 'good' jobs.

You are right Crimson, many of our towns relied on one or two major manufacturers for the lively-hood of most of their inhabitants, either directly or indirectly, most of those industries have gone, look at any knife made pre 1970 -- made in Sheffield !!! no longer, the Sheffield steel industry is a sad ghost of it's proud past.

I'm still angry at what has happened to Terrys in York and Cadburys in Birmingham [although I'm not up to speed with what's happening at Cadburys]. We were a manufacturing Nation that became office workers. Whole communities existed around those factories, and, when the factory went the community went with it. We passed by The Brush at Loughborough yesterday on the train. Still going, but much smaller than in it's heyday...Loughborough 'WAS The Brush. Anyways, moving swiftly on, I worked at the airport for a few weeks doing the in flight catering..there was something nice about turning up, doing my job and then going home, and, yes, the camaraderie was great.

Having worked in manufacturing most of my working life, I find this thread a little odd. I started as an apprentice in the machine tool industry, moved on to TV manufacture and finally to instrumentation. I started on the bench and ended up as a production engineer, but as far as I was concerned this was factory work. With the demise of British manufacturing, especially the machine tool sector, and the millions of people that were employed, I always wonder just where those people work now, and if we don't manufacture products for export, how does the country make money?.

When I worked at the major TV plant in the UK, they employed 22000 people in the area, all of those sites are now retail outlets employing a fraction of that number.

I worked for Age Concern in care for the last years of my working life, whilst this was worthwhile, I still felt I never actually made anything !

OK , I'll get down from my soapbox.

Ganiee I too enjoyed my years when I did factory work met some lovely genuine people had a laugh and as for bad language the men didnt use it in front of us girls I think you hear swearing more today people seem to swear all the time in conversations on buses walkin in the sreet everywhere even in offices I dis have one offuce job and hated it just wasnt for me ,.,
please excuse mistakes I may have made hac=ve a cateract coming eye a bit blurry I have to put this in all my posts case ive pressed the wrong number on my keyboard lol

Hello all
My first job was in a printers, I worked on the bench and used to wear an overall. This included folding large sheets (Mothers Union Mag) putting in the staples on the spine and taking a whole pile of then to the guillotine for cutting. I had to walk down a flight of stairs with a large unsteady pile and yes I did drop some the rest of the print room always gave a big cheer, at 15 it was awful! I only left when I got married and moved from Sheffield to Nuneaton. I stayed there until I was 20.
Having said that, it was the job I enjoyed most of all.
All my friends worked in offices and I did go to to night school and studied shorthand (Pittman) and typing. I managed a good pass and managed to get a good job in a local solicitor, when push came to shove, I didn't want to leave the printers so I stayed. No disgrace in working in a factory (specially when the money was far higher than an office job)
Love and hugs

Did not work in a factory..but can remember being very embarrassed in my first job...Saturday girl in Boots.....in the mid 70s. I was very shy and not very worldly.erent I was on 'Surgical' ....there were diff departments then...I wore a white overall not like the glamorous girls on the make-up. It was mostly baby food, loo roll and bandages but will always remember the day a young man asked me for 'protection' I had absolutely no idea what he was on about and asked another member of staff for it, in quite a clear voice. Her facial expression stopped me in my tracks and the penny began very slowly to drop. I went so very red and actually ran to the staff room door to hide upstairs untill someone came to find me. Would not happen nowadays, and yet those were supposed to be enlightenend times.

I worked in a factory for 2 weeks only....making spectacle frames. I was quite young, about 16, working with much older men and women. I couldn't cope I'm afraid. The language and very rude comments almost paralysed me with embarrassment.
Such a shame, because the women in particular were a nice crowd. After that experience I was too scared to try any other factory work!