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The transcript is an interview with John Lomax as transcribed by Microsoft Word and summarised by ChatGPT and subject to errors.
Background & Early Life
- Speaker: John Lomax (Stubbings), born in Chatterton, 1921.
- Schooling: Studied at Studying School from age 5, then Peel Brow in Ramsbottom, leaving at 14.
Early Work
- First job via the labour exchange at Square Works, Ramsbottom, but only for a few months.
- Father secured him work at Porritt’s bleach and weaving works, where his father had worked for 52 years.
- Early tasks included “plating down” cloth in vats of bleach, using wooden Dutch clogs to withstand corrosive chemicals.
Weaving Work
- Shifted to drawing-in (reaching in) – threading warp threads into looms, a slow, monotonous but essential job.
- Worked on Lancashire looms and later large felt looms producing felts for paper mills.
- Transitioned from cotton felts to synthetic/monofilament “wire felts”, which lasted longer on heated rollers.
- Looms were massive (up to 34–35 feet wide, nicknamed Big Bertha).
Wartime Experience
- During WWII, production shifted to heavier materials (kit bags, etc.).
- Bombing in 1941: Two parachute mines fell on Stubbins, causing major local damage but few casualties.
- John enlisted in the RAF for five years (served in India). Released early at Porritt’s request to restart production.
Working Conditions
- Long hours: 7:45 am – 5:30 pm weekdays, Saturday mornings compulsory, no tea breaks.
- Environment: Dirty, dusty, with lint (“fly”) everywhere, overhead line shafts, and asbestos exposure. Surprisingly, John noted no major ill health effects.
- Initially minimal holidays (just a week and Christmas Day, unpaid).
- Safety and comfort improved post-war: issue of overalls, more holidays, better conditions.
Community & Housing
- Porritt’s owned rows of houses in Stubbins and Strongstry for workers.
- Strong community – “everyone knew each other.”
- Gradual sales of houses after workers passed away.
Mill Operations & Ownership
- Porritt’s mill established in 1851 (originally wool, later cotton side added).
- Owned by the Barrett family (Colonel Barrett, later his son Richard, who was killed in WWII).
- Eventually taken over by Scapa, later a German firm, though still locally referred to as Porritt’s.
- Mills also operated in Berry, Elmshore, Helmshore, Blackburn; exported machinery and products worldwide.
Culture & Social Life
- Workers formed a brass band (Stubbins Band), practised at the Institute in Strongstry.
- Annual Whit Friday processions – children received fruit from Colonel Barrett.
- Entertainment: Mainly cinema visits (Empire & Royal in Ramsbottom); little else available before TV.
Anecdotes & Humour
- Father once worked a whole morning with a spoon in his clog without noticing.
- Manager’s joke: asked a tackler if he had ever seen a 25-foot cow, after the man complained about leather straps constantly breaking.
- Workers played pranks on apprentices, such as sending them for “a bucket of steam.”
Later Years
- After decades as a drawer-in, John used knotting machines (tying new warp threads onto old) shortly before retirement.
- Maintained pride in Porritt’s as a steady, lifelong employer where whole families worked across generations (John’s father, aunts, sister, and himself).
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