Wartime Working

A. During the war we were not allowed to leave our work, it was essential, it was under essential work so we were not allowed to leave, only of course if people were joining the forces, but otherwise you couldn't leave to go to work at another factory or anything else.  It would have to be something like, well either the forces or to go to work for transport, onto the trams, or, the likes, those kind of jobs, or be involved with the fire service.  You couldn't move from factory to factory. No, that was not allowed.

Q. Were there many men left at Jarvis's?

A. No there was not a lot of men there would be a few men in the factories, probably for health reasons they couldn't join the forces, or that they were older anyway.  You know they were too old. So they would be doing various sorts of jobs, but you see it was the women that were in the making up, in the making up departments and of course on the big body machines.

Q. Did they take over a lot of men's jobs?  Did the women take over men's jobs. 

A. Well they had women on knitting.  Yes they got women onto knitting because the shortage of men but it actually in the making up part which I was always involved in, we were women, it was women anyway and as far as I know it still is.

Source: East Midlands Oral History Archive (Accession Number 001154)