Boom and Bust

Q: So did the recession in 1952 have anything to do with you becoming a full time union worker?

A: Er, No..not at all erm..when we, 'cause when you talk about the hosiery industry one must always remember that there are many, various sectors of the industry. There are many er..different products made by the industry and er..the fortunes of one section er..section can be entirely opposite to the fortunes of the other. One could be in depression and one could be er..in boom situation. You've got the half hose and the underwear, the outerwear, the er..ladies hose sectors of er.. there were two sectors in the ladies hose there were, there were the er.. seamless hose sector and there were full fashion sector. Um, but it was er..the recession that hit most of the er.. sections of the industry in 52, climbed out in about 54,and the erm.. decline of the full fashioned hose sector was due to technology more than the market place and ladies fashioned, fashions in clothes changed, you got the erm.. advent of the mini skirt, and this coupled with the properties of nylon er..made it possible to er..make a much better product on a seamless hose machine than had been possible with other fibres, other yarns and the mini skirt and seamless hose and er the bare leg look as was called at that time er..swept the marketplace to the detriment of the full fashioned hose machines. There were other factors involved too. The full fashioned hose machine was a very large machine that took up considerable factory space. It needed very careful nursing as regards to er..factory conditions um..a great deal of money and effort, and investment was spent in trying to create the right environmental conditions in which these machines would produce at the maximum erm.. humidity control and er.. temperature control devices and it wasn't awfully productive in relation to the capacity of the seamless hose machines.

Source: Nottingham Central Library Local History Section (Recording A19/a-b/1)