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The transcript is an interview with Marion Beech as transcribed by Microsoft Word and summarised by ChatGPT and subject to errors.
Speaker & Context
- Speaker: Marion Beech (formerly Marion Poole before marriage).
- Time period: She began working at Porritts Mill in 1941, when she was about 15 years old.
- Role: Started as a “reacher-in,” then later learned weaving.
Work as a “Reacher-in”
- Main task: Preparing warps by inserting “hels” (she and colleagues called them “yells”) under reeds so they could be fitted into balloons for the weavers.
- Skills learned:
- Understanding different types of cotton.
- Recognizing broken ends and repairing them according to pattern.
- Pay:
- Initially 16 shillings and 8 pence per week.
- Increased to 18 shillings and 5 pence when she turned 15 and went full-time.
- From this, she received 1 shilling and 6 pence per week as spending money, the rest went to her mother.
Transition to Weaving
- After two years of reaching-in, the next step was learning weaving.
- Normally workers were paired with an experienced weaver for training.
- Marion, however, picked it up informally from a neighbor when the mill was slack.
Types of Weaving
- Worked with different types of cotton.
- Wove fabrics including asbestos cloth, which was extremely stiff (“like cardboard”).
Working Conditions
- Health & safety:
- No masks or protection were provided.
- Workers were unknowingly exposed to asbestos fibers.
- Marion notes that winding room workers probably inhaled more dust, but weaving shed workers were still heavily exposed.
- Environment:
- Hard work, but a strong sense of camaraderie.
- Workers helped one another if machinery or weaving went wrong.
Key Themes
- Harsh labour conditions, low pay, and young entry into full-time work.
- Lack of awareness or protection regarding health hazards (especially asbestos exposure).
- Strong workplace solidarity and community among mill workers.
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