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Have a Break
"We all had our own blick in numbers so we all
used to meet together to blick our numbers in" (Audrey)
Working
hours varied. Some women, particularly single women, worked
full time from 7.30am to 5pm. Others worked either mornings
or afternoons, or, in later years, an early evening shift.
Time keeping was strict and women had to blick
in when they started work. It was often difficult
to keep to these times due to the demands of childcare
or looking after relatives, or perhaps as a result of
personal ill health. Edna remembers being repeatedly late
for work when her mother was ill. Still, some women did
manage to win the Blue
Riband award for perfect time keeping.
In the morning there was a 10 minute break, when workers
could have a drink and a snack. There was not enough
time to go to the canteen, so they would draw their
stools away from the conveyors and sit in the work rooms.
At lunch those living nearby could go home. Amy remembers
taking friends to her mother’s house in New
Earswick. Others would go to the works canteen.
For many years there was a separate canteen for men
and women and another for senior staff.
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