• Ref. Number: FB008MC
• Date: 13.2.07
• Interviewer (I): Liz Rice
• Subject: Factory office work
• Period: 1941-1945

I.

What age were you when you went into the factory – can you remember?.

M.

Oh I’d have to think – I think I’d be 20 something – about 23 I think. How old were we when we got married Frank? .

M.

23 that’s right..

I.

And did you have to work there or did you choose to work there?.

M.

At the Sunderland Flying boat?.

I.

Yes.

M.

Oh not it was my salvation was the Sunderland Flying Boat place because I was serving my time to dressmaking you see and I got a penny farthing an hour. I enjoyed being there because the rest of the staff were lovely, we got on with the rest of the staff, and then when the Sunderland Flying Boat place came, we all had to do something a little bit different you see because it was the war time, so we had to do something, so I got a job at the Sunderland Flying Boat place, so the Sunderland Flying Boat was my salvation..

I.

What work did you do there?.

M.

I was in the drawing library and I was in the modification department. The Modification Department we used to go along and there was 3 gantries up and they were building the planes and they were just building the shells you see of these and there were 3 being constructed at the same time and then when the shells had been constructed, they moved the whole thing, the whole shell down to another factory in the same grounds to be fitted out you see with all the different things..

>I.

I see.

M.

So I was in the drawing library, and they mainly used to come up for the, and they used to draw, it was called the library and they used to take the prints up and I actually, and more often than not I used to be asked “do you know the number of the main plane” and I used to say “yes, I did”, and I even remember it today. The number of the blueprint was C217523 and I can’t remember what happened last week, but I can remember what happened all those years ago.

I.

That’s amazing.

M

They were modified, the mark 2 (can’t hear this part) the planes were modified in order to do the modification it was adhered to..

I.

I see.

M.

Oh yes, and I used to have to go into the plane wherever it was, I never got up though, I never got up for a fly, but I used to have to go to take these blue prints and collect the old blue prints until the new ones were printed with the right things on, the right dimensions, and so on..

I.

So what was your actual job – can you take me through a day – can you remember things that you did during the day in your work? A typical day that would be good.

M.

As I say I was in the drawing library but I didn’t actually (??) the drawings myself I was there to get the old drawings in and bring them back to the drawing library and spread them out and if the men in the workshop wanted a small alteration, I used to alter the blueprints to their specifications until the new blue prints came in you see..

I.

Did Shorts train you to do that?.

M.

No, they didn’t train me but I kind of got the job because I had a qualification in bookkeeping you see so I got quite a reasonable job there, instead of working on the benches you see, and it was supposed to be a superior job there, and I was very happy there.