I have just found the name Lingard associated with 27 Nursery Road in 1945. The name rings a much louder bell than Cockerell. Can anyone make any links to Lingards and Sewing?
Hi I’m new to this site, but here goes, you were asking about Lingards which is the correct name.
My mother worked there in the mid 1950s,
They were a good quality clothing manufacturer producing nightwear for M&S amongst others,
Mom took me to work with her a couple times probably during School holidays, and being a child soon got bored watching her on her sewing Mc and getting under my aunts feet whilst she laid out the cloth backwards and forwards on the cutting table until the complete roll was used up, the cloth was laid in a continuous sheet then smoothed out so there’s no wrinkles and each layer attached to spikes to hold it in place.
Next job for her was to lay out the patterns and mark round them with French Chalk, ready for cutting Them out with what looked like an oversized jig saw.
Dinner time was best as I used to be given a big chunk of bread pudding by the canteen staff.
Mom would earn extra money doing out work turning the collars the correct way round, my sister and I helped with this process having our own thin round metal rod rounded on the end, boring but extra money.
Dad made the rods from scrap wire from GKN where he worked.
Hope this helps.