Z1205/239

Female. Worked at Shortstown on barrage balloon production during Second World War. b. 23.08.1920 SIDE A (00 mins)Born in Stopsley, Luton. Mother and Father originally from London. Moved to Shortstown when Father got job at aerodrome. Father died in 1924 but family allowed to stay on in house and Mother did office cleaning in large red-brick building. Maternal grandmother from London used to terrify her. Her paternal grandfather was a lovely old gentleman who lived in Luton. (05 mins)8 children. Mother had to work to keep them together - office cleaning, laundry for football team. Always had hot dinners on the table when you came home form school. Made sweet Yorkshire puddings with sultanas in. Father died of pneumonia. She remembers seeing her father's coffin going off in the hearse, when she was 4. (10 mins)Mother was very affectionate but always busy. They often had "hand-down" clothes. Neighbours would help Mother with the shopping. Her brother Billy died when she was 13, hit by a lorry. (15 mins)She had a disabled sister who had trouble walking. Youngest sister was born in 1922 in Shortstown. Boys used to sleep in one room and girls in another and the third bedroom for Mother and Father. When Father died, Daisy moved in with Mum. (20 mins)Meal had in sitting room because kitchen wasn't big enough for family to sit in. Youngest brother, Woodis, named after Captain Taylor of the airships. Daisy, eldest sister, walked to work in Meltis in Bedford. Attended school in Cotton End and Elstow. "Darky Joe" was the only "coloured" man, a bus driver, in the Bedford at the time and would often give them a lift. She left school t 14 and worked for Marion and Foulgers, who made picture frames and film spools, for 2 years. Then got job at Shortstown RAF camp for 7 years. Married and had a son, worked part-time, then increasing hours, for 21 years. (25 mins)Moved to Department of the Environment (DOE) for 10 years. First job paid 6s. 9d (34p) a week, increasing to 9s. 6d (47 ½ p) then 12s. 6d (62 ½ p). Gave money to Mother who gave her 6d. (2 ½ p). You could buy silk stocking for 6d in Woolworths. Air force dances at Shortstown camp. (30 mins)John Off played the organ at the dance hall. She met her husband, Gordon, there when he was in the RAF. During the Second World War she was one of the women making and repairing barrage balloons (anti-aircraft airships more around towns to discourage low-flying enemy aircraft). (32 mins)End of Side A SIDE B (00 mins)She had to stitch, tape and glue the fabric. 2 or 3 air raid shelters on the camp. They also made decoys. Large floor areas were used because the balloons were massive. There were foremen in charge but the vast majority of the workers were women. Her sister Daisy, who worked in a different shed on parachutes, knew most about the work. (05 mins)Either day or night shift work during wartime. Sing-songs in the air raid shelters during raids. Silk for parachutes was stolen by some women but there were searches of women as they left to discourage this. If caught they were sacked. (10 mins)Barrage balloons were a silvery cover and larger than a house. They were held in place by strong wire hawsers attached to winches, to raise and lower them. During one thunderstorm 13 barrage balloons went up in smoke, even thought they were not filled with gas, other than compressed air. 40 young women worked on one section, most of the time on their hand and knees on the floor. She suffers from her knees now, even though they had cushions. (15 mins)No bomb damage to Shortstown village during war but the camp got a couple of bombs, damaging a few huts. Sirens went every night and you had to take cover. Her future husband used to cycle from Henlow to see her for about 10 minutes on Sundays before she went on night work. (20 mins)There were a lot of romances on the RAF camp, with girls swapping airmen. Quite a few marriages occurred. Two of her brothers were in the army. Her first boyfriend was killed in the war. She left to have children before the war ended. After the war extra houses were built at Shortstown to cope with extra RAF forces there but the RAF later moved to Henlow. Husband left RAF in 1946 and got job at Vauxhall where he stayed for 33 years before retiring through ill health. (25 mins)There used to be a post office and shop at the top of the hill near where the dance hall was. Later it closed. You had to go into Bedford for shopping. She worked in the canteen after the war which was hard work. Five of them had to serve 300 dinners a day. (30 mins)Later, at the DOE she was in charge of 21 women and two men. She had time to chat to people there who attended courses. (32 mins)End of Side B ORIGINAL INTERVIEW 60 mins.

13 August 2003

From: 1915 To: 2003

item

Short Brothers Limited,
Meltis Limited,
Woolworths,
Vauxhall

aircraft worker, cleaner, World War Two, military balloons, wash houses, DEATH, pneumonia, road safety, Cotton End School, wages/conditions, DANCE, RAF, Air Raid Precautions, employment of women, air raids over UK, sexuality, CARDINGTON, Shortstown, STOPSLEY, HENLOW