Phyllis left school at 16 (1942) and started in Sobell’s 1944 – mother unhappy because reputation of factory girls. She was put on the line – putting grommets into holes. Made inspector. Union helped them get an ability award on top of wages. Coil workers on the line. Describes processes. Asked to help make special top secret coils (microchips) for head office in Slough. Quite a few Polish workers there. She loved working there – great conditions, music playing and singing. Girls from Glyn Neath playing about in toilets. Gangs of workers. Dancing in local halls. Xmas parties – man chasing! Sobell’s closed and redundancies c. 1956, but then re-opened. If injured considered to be their own fault. Left when pregnant in 1956. Later she worked as a carer.
VSW051 Jean Evans, Mettoys, Fforestfach;John Stanton, Abertawe
Jean left school at 15 (1960) and worked in the Home and Colonial shop Swansea. After c.8 months she moved to Mettoys. Hard work, everything was weighed and she was paid according to what was in the pallets. Moved around – onto assembly making toys. She left when she had her boy but returned on evening shift after eight months. She was in the Fettling Dept., cleaning car parts. Then went on to inspecting, ready for packing. Reported sub-standard work. Then given more responsibility – in charge of others. Left because tired of evening work and landed up in John Stanton sewing factory. But returned in three weeks to Mettoys. Left then to work as a domestic. In Mettoys the manager did spot checks. The white coats were mostly men. She came out of her shell in the factory. They had fun.
VN056 Sali (Sarah) Williams, E. Morgan & Co Tobacco factory, Amlwch
Straight after leaving school, Sali worked in E Morgan & Co tobacco factory from 1938 until 1942, when she was called up into the Land Army. Her job was doing the round 'ounces', weighing the tobacco at a table with three other girls. The tobacco had to be weighed carefully for others to pack in into round tins. It was interesting work, and after it was packed the tobacco went all over Wales. HMS Customs would visit the factory sometimes, unannounced, to test the tobacco and see if it was too wet. If it was, the public paid too much for it. The tobacco went into different wrappers but it was the same tobacco! There was a good relationship between the girls. The place wasn't hygenic at all, with a bit of water to wash their hands in a bucket, no taps, and no toilets. She really enjoyed her time in the Land Army and, after the war, she returned to the same factory until she married and she left to have her first child. She never returned to work but stayed at home thereafter.
Eirlys left school at 15 (1964) and started in Pullman’s Flexolators, making car seats, springs etc. Everyone got on there. Smoking while working. Paying Union fees but not the % to the Labour Party. Dirty work. One dangerous job because of acid - coating things with paint. Teasing young workers – fetching elbow grease. She learned to live there. Lots of swearing. She heard about the Aberfan disaster when in the Alan Paine factory. She made a mistake going there (stayed only 9 months); then to Mettoys for 3 years (1966-9) on the assembly making toy cars. Some of the girls were very fit. Then she worked on a farm for 2 years. In 1972 she went to Vandervell Products, Splott, Cardiff – for 10 years making car and lorry parts. They opened a new department (c.1976) and girls now did the same jobs as the men. One man asked for her help. Interviewed by the BBC about her job as a mechanic. Social club – she played ninepin bowling. Good money. One woman lost her fingers in a machine – compensation. In 1976 there was a strike about being too hot – she refused to join because she believed the company was doing its best. She was sent to ‘coventry’ for 4 months. One woman objected to her speaking Welsh – answered her back. Girls not allowed to work on night shift. Then she got married and worked for periods in Llangadog milk and Carmarthen cheese factories.
VSW017 Nan Morse, Deva Dogware, Gwynfe;Alan Paine, Ammanford
Nan left school at 15 (1965) and started in Deva Dogware that summer. She cut the chains, welded etc, to make leads for dogs and dogs for the blind. It was a small factory and the owner was one of them. There was quite a bit of noise and singing there. She wore old clothes and goggles. They raced to make 50 chains. There weren’t many work opportunities in the countryside. Some workers went up to Crufts. They also made belts for themselves and gaffs for catching salmon. The building was primitive. She learned skills such as using a hammer and saw. She went on trips to Blackpool and London, where she bought white boots. She was in a Welsh pop group with other workers. She left c.1968. She moved to work in Alan Paine's but she didn’t like the factory atmosphere there, where they made jumpers. She left when she became pregnant.
Patricia left school at 15 (1959) and started in a bandage making factory in Penclawdd. She wove the bandages. The experience was horrendous. The factory moved to Garnant. It was cold and the workers walked out (1962). They were employed instantly in Corgi’s. She worked as a linker, progressing to production. Patricia became a trainer and supervisor. Highly skilled work. She notes the gauges etc.; dancing to rock and roll songs on the radio, cleanliness; building up speed; completed garments sent back to Surrey to be finished. Paine’s (1966) did the whole process. In Corgi’s there was a crèche – but closed because of regulations. She worked as an outworker when children were small (c.1968-73). Some jobs were better payers than others. As staff, not in a Union. Increased Health and Safety regulations. Xmas celebrations - decorating the floor and machines; dinner. Social clubs – and trips. Patricia has tinnitus – from factory work. Visit by Princess Anne. Factory closed in 1998 – she worked there 33 years.
Margaret left school at 15 and joined Corgi’s in 1958. She has worked there for c. 53 years. She describes their products: socks initially, (with different patterns); then jumpers, tapestry clothes etc. She earned a wage + bonuses. There were no unions and no strikes. She moved from socks to knitwear. She describes how they treated girls on their birthdays and when they got married. It was very cold there and their toilet breaks were timed. They brought in records to play over a tannoy. When her children were small she borrowed a machine and worked from home. Trips out. She works on hand repairs in the factory now.
Patricia left school at 15 (1959) and started in a bandage making factory in Penclawdd. She wove the bandages. The experience was horrendous. The factory moved to Garnant. It was cold and the workers walked out (1962). They were employed instantly in Corgi’s. She worked as a linker, progressing to production. Patricia became a trainer and supervisor. Highly skilled work. She notes the gauges etc.; dancing to rock and roll songs on the radio, cleanliness; building up speed; completed garments sent back to Surrey to be finished. Paine’s (1966) did the whole process. In Corgi’s there was a crèche – but closed because of regulations. She worked as an outworker when children were small (c.1968-73). Some jobs were better payers than others. As staff, not in a Union. Increased Health and Safety regulations. Xmas celebrations - decorating the floor and machines; dinner. Social clubs – and trips. Patricia has tinnitus – from factory work. Visit by Princess Anne. Factory closed in 1998 – she worked there 33 years.
Eirlys left school at 15 (1964) and started in Pullman’s Flexolators, making car seats, springs etc. Everyone got on there. Smoking while working. Paying Union fees but not the % to the Labour Party. Dirty work. One dangerous job because of acid - coating things with paint. Teasing young workers – fetching elbow grease. She learned to live there. Lots of swearing. She heard about the Aberfan disaster when in the Alan Paine factory. She made a mistake going there (stayed only 9 months); then to Mettoys for 3 years (1966-9) on the assembly making toy cars. Some of the girls were very fit. Then she worked on a farm for 2 years. In 1972 she went to Vandervell Products, Splott, Cardiff – for 10 years making car and lorry parts. They opened a new department (c.1976) and girls now did the same jobs as the men. One man asked for her help. Interviewed by the BBC about her job as a mechanic. Social club – she played ninepin bowling. Good money. One woman lost her fingers in a machine – compensation. In 1976 there was a strike about being too hot – she refused to join because she believed the company was doing its best. She was sent to ‘coventry’ for 4 months. One woman objected to her speaking Welsh – answered her back. Girls not allowed to work on night shift. Then she got married and worked for periods in Llangadog milk and Carmarthen cheese factories.
Greta worked in a milk factory before going to Ackroyds in 1982, where she stayed for 12 years, firstly checking the clothes for needle damage and later ironing them, for which she had to stand for 8 hours a day on a special foam mat. She enjoyed working there: “We had little breaks, five minutes every hour to go out and have a smoke and get a cup of tea or coffee from the vending machine. There was a good canteen there, they did toast in the morning, dinner time they did hot dinners. They had Christmas dinner and pudding there for every one, and decorated the canteen very smartly, there was a very nice atmosphere there Christmas time.” There was a good social life too, with trips out to places like Tywyn and to the races. She was made redundant in 1993, when the company decided to import pyjamas from China, but has gone back intermittently since then to help out in busy periods.
