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T23 Jennie Johns
Working in the mills of Ramsbottom
Born 06/01/1916
Recorded 16/12/1997
Length 01:09:14
- Interviewee: Jenny, born at Bolton Street, Ramsbottom.
- Family: One sister, Bessie (83), and Freda (61).
- Work History: Started weaving at 14, worked at various mills including Rose Mill and Horn Mill until 1945, then moved to wireworks until 1976.
- Work Environment: Predominantly women workers; men held supervisory roles.
- Health & Safety: Some accidents reported; no significant health issues.
- Post-War: Mills struggled to recover after WWII; many closed down.
Background & Family
- Jenny was born at 152 Bolton Street, Ramsbottom, and lived there for 21 years before moving to Bolton Road West in 1937.
- She had two sisters: Bessie and Freda.
- Their mother worked in the textile industry (Faith and Mill, BDA) before and after Jenny was born.
Education & First Jobs
- Jenny left school at 14 and started weaving at Rose Mill in Ramsbottom, which mainly produced calico and Egyptian cloth.
- Later she worked briefly at the BDA, was made redundant, and then moved to Horn Mill.
War Work
- At 19, she worked in munitions (Royal Ordnance Factory) during WWII.
- After the war, she was asked to return to weaving but declined due to hearing damage from childhood mastoid problems and the deafening noise of mills.
- Instead, she joined the Wireworks (1945–1976).
Working Life in the Mills
- Mills mentioned: Rose Mill, Horn Mill, Steads, Shepherds, Field Mill, Grove Mill, Ethelses, and Holdings.
- Most weavers were women, but overseers/tacklers were men, due to the physical demands of machinery.
- Work was full-time, long hours (7:30 am – 5 pm, plus Saturday mornings). Breaks were minimal.
- Pay was piecework-based: first wage was half a crown (2s 6d). A good week could bring ~30 shillings, a poor week ~20.
Conditions
- Very noisy, dusty, and hot. No protective clothing.
- Workers developed coping methods: lip-reading over machine noise, sharing water from wells, and improvised cooling.
- Safety hazards: shuttle injuries, picking sticks, epileptic workers operating looms, etc.
Social & Union Life
- Mostly women, with camaraderie but limited socializing outside work.
- Occasional strikes (notably in the 1930s over wage cuts).
- Mills were strict about discipline and output (e.g., checking waste yarn, tally boards to measure production).
Management
- Mills were run by the Oldham family (“Father Oldham” and his sons).
- Owners walked the floors regularly, keeping close watch on productivity and waste.
Perceptions & Reflections
- Jenny didn’t enjoy weaving, finding it noisy, monotonous, and without prospects for advancement. She would have preferred nursing but was considered too young.
- Bessie had a slightly better view but also acknowledged it was simply the expected path since education and options were limited.
- Both noted that weaving offered little upward mobility for women; supervisory roles were male-only.
Decline of the Industry
- The local cotton industry peaked before WWII.
- During the war, some mills produced bandages, but many workers were diverted to war industries.
- After 1945, foreign competition (e.g., Egyptian cotton) made British production less viable. Mills gradually closed, with Peel Bridge among the last.
- By the 1950s–60s, Ramsbottom’s mills were mostly gone.
✅ In short:
The transcript captures Jenny and Bessie’s memories of growing up in Ramsbottom’s cotton industry. It shows the centrality of mills in working-class life, especially for women, but also the hardships: long hours, noise, poor pay, and limited opportunities. WWII shifted many women into munitions, and after the war, the textile trade never fully recovered. Jenny herself spent three decades at the Wireworks instead of returning to weaving.
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