Photo: Carol at work at Laura Ashley, Christmas time, 1980s

Description

After leaving school, Carol worked first in the corset factory then moved to Ferodo after a year because the pay was much better. In Ferodo, she was painting the company name and numbers on the break linings and stair treads. Ferodo was very big, with different sections and paths to walk round each of them. Workers couldn't go into some places unless they wore special clothing as it was dangerous. There were huge toilets for the men and women, not like the old fashioned Edwardian ones in the corset factory, and the workers had their own lockers, which was something very modern in the period. There were showers there too and on a Friday, the girls would bring in their going out clothes and wash their hair there and go out straight from work. There was a first aid room and a big canteen, the workers used to go for lunch and breaks in two sittings. It was a very friendly atmosphere, like a family. Carol enjoyed the work but left after a quarrel with the personnel manager when this man said something derogatory about her mother. She went to Ferranti to work but left soon after to get married and, later, returned to factory work in Laura Ashley in the 1980s.

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