Z1205/049

Female. Wartime brick worker and Women's Land Army volunteer. b. 23.07.1923 SIDE A (00 mins)Family of 7 children at Upper Shelton. 3 brother & 3 sisters. One brother died in Second World War. Moved to Caulcott. (05 mins)Freedom during childhood. Sense of security. Grandmother died of asthma attack. Grandfather deaf. Father worked at brickworks, operating "navvy" - large digger extracting clay from hole. (10 mins)Danger of work in knot hole. Slippery clay. Parties given by brickworks for employees children. Primary schooling in Upper Shelton and Marston Moretaine. Secondary schooling at new Stewartby School. Left school at 14. (15 mins)Influx of people from Peterborough to work in Marston Valley brickworks and their children to local schools. After leaving school, worked at Meltis confectionery factory in Bedford (beginning of WWII). (20 mins)Cycled 7 miles to work and back. Met brickworkers on road. Harsh treatment of workers late for work. 10 shillings a week pay. Range of shops in Bedford. (25 mins)Old-fashioned pneumatic cash transfer system in department stores. Left Meltis after 2 years. Started brickworks at Stewartby, aged 17 yrs., to earn more money (30 shillings a week). Hard physical work. (30 mins)Operated dumper truck. Dangerous work near pit. Broke wrist, starting truck with starting handle. Taken to hospital without parents knowing where. (32 mins)End of Side A Side B (00 mins)9 weeks off work, after accident. Many women employed at Stewartby on brick production during Second World War. (6.5 mins)Joined Women's Land Army - stationed at Hulcote Moors Hostel, Cranfield. Father so against her joining WLA. He refused to let her return home, until he saw what a good job she'd made in ploughing a local field with a tractor. (10 mins)First experiences at farming. Worked with gang of mobile women Land Girls, taken by truck each day to farms around the county, mostly hoeing, employed by the County War Agricultural Executive Committee. Some people thought land girls were only interested in "getting off" with farmers. (She did end up marrying one.). Hostel life. (15 mins)Starvation rations - farmer noticed and let WLA County Office know. Investigation revealed that the female warden had been using the land girls' ration books for her own family. She was sacked. (20 mins)The local farmer not only fed her to supplement her rations, and gave her pocket money. Training only on the job. Loved farming. Hand-milked 16 cows a day, rising at 5.30am. The farmer milked the other 30+ cows. Farmer's mother made butter and the farmer had a milk round, which also sold butter, eggs, poultry and potatoes, about Newport Pagnell. After leaving the Women's Land Army, after the end of the war, she continued married the farmer and continued to work for him. (25 mins)Three children. Two became farmers, one son and her daughter. (32 mins)End of Side A.End of Interview. Original interview 60 mins.

18 September 2001

From: 1920 To: 2001

item

Marston Valley Brick Company Limited,
London Brick Company,
Meltis Limited,
War Agricultural Executive Committee

Women's Land Army, brickworker, World War Two, CHILDREN, asthma, deaf, parties, schools, cycling, wages/conditions, punishment, shops, bonesetter, hospitals, ploughing, tractors, Holcotmoors Farm, lodging houses, rationing, milk, butter, poultry, eggs, potatoes, Upper Shelton, Caulcott, MARSTON MORETAINE, STEWARTBY, Peterborough, HULCOTE & SALFORD, CRANFIELD, Newport Pagnell