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So which photo is correct

W

Wendy

Guest
I have just found the same photo published in a book by Sue Bates on Sutton Coldfield of munition workers at Fredrick Mountford's factory in Minworth during the first world war. The same photograph is published in Birmingham Women compiled by Margaret D. Green.
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=41136&highlight=Mills

The only difference which may confirm it is workers from Mountford's, the names of the workers are included.

Mills_Munition_workers.jpg


Back L-R Eva Mansell, Edith Warwood (nee Pittaway)supervisor. Marie Hunt, Mr Smith, Rosie Walker and Beattie Caldicott.
Front row Alice Picken and Edith Mansell.
 
Looking at the back ground ....its looks like country side, and not a built up area which Bridge Street West would have been .......
 
Good point aston lad I hadn't noticed that. I would say along with the names this confirms it's the factory in Minworth.
 
Edith Warwood nee Pittaway, was born in Minworth, she married she married William Warwood in Dec qtr 1920, so either the photograph was taken after the war had ended, or the names added by one of the above at a later date, maybe by Edith herself......
 
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I think the photo may be Edith's and she added the names later as you say, as a married woman in those times she would feel uncomfortable just giving her maiden name. Also I don't think married women were allowed to work but I may be wrong.
 
I don't know if married women were or were not allowed to work, never really thought about that, I think is a great photo of real people .....
 
My parents married in 1923 and my mother told me she didn't tell her workmates as married women had to give up their jobs on getting wed. I don't know whether tthis was a general rule or just where she worked.
 
My mother married in 1937 and she stopped working - I think it was normal then. She soon went back as my dad was unemployed/shortime for a week or two. Then they started to re-arm for WW2 so he then worked long hours.
Sheri
 
It was certainly true at the Post Office and PO Telephones, you had to leave if you got married.WW2 of course soon put an end to this.All hands to the pumps!Bernie
 
My mother married in 1929 and kept it a secret marring at 7.00am Aston Church Nov 3(bet that kept the neighbours tongue wagging),just so she could keep her job, as married women where not allowed to work,luckily her boss knew and kept mum about it, she was able to work untill 1932 as thats when my brother was born.....thank heaven times have changed.....Brenda
 
Same thing happened with my Mother. My parents married at the Birmingham Registry Office in March 1933. One good friend as a witness. No photographs with people on them at all even at the wedding breakfast which was held at my Aunts in Kingstanding. I have a photo of a decorated table trimmed with ferns and a champagne bottle. No cake and that's it. Mom was working as a secretary at J.Lucas's, Great King Street and would have had to give up her job if everyone knew she had married. The no photo angle was because they didn't trust the photo developers with any identifying photos. My father had recently returned from living in Canada for three years and was
training in the electricity field so Mom had to keep her job until he was qualified.
 
Cadburys didn't allow married women to work either,but that changed through the war, when the work needed doing. Also, in the late 1920's there weren't enough jobs for the men, so it was a way of keeping the jobs for them and the single women who needed to support themselves.
Regarding the photo, it does look very countrified in the background, which seems less likely in bridge Street, unless the photo was taken on a works outing?
Sue
 
Eva and Edith Mansell were born Water Orton 1899 and 1900 so wouldn't have travelled far which makes it Minworth.
 
The Mansells still live in Water Orton, and there are Mansells in Minworth, both, oddly , connected with Motorcycles. Roger Mansell has just retired from his Motorcycle business, off the Green in Minworth, this week.
 
"we heard of the munitions factory being built at Water Orton, between Minworth and Water Orton, grenade filling factory and I thought I might just as well go and try and do something for the country and I went and of course they said that ‘yes, you could start straight away’, which I did. Now this factory was quite small and it was owned by a businessman by the name of Frederick Mountford and he had 6 or 7 small sheds built, and it housed 6 to 7 girls, no more than 7 girls, each girl had to work in a little compartment by herself and these sheds, of course, were all wooden. We started work at this factory."

Edith Worwood circa 1981 "Birmingham in the Great War" I was There

Regards

Terry
 
Thank you Terry I think that confirms where the photo was taken. Edith was indeed there.
 
Wendy

Can I use the photo please when I write about the Birmingham munitions output.... even though it was Minworth.

Regards

Terry
 
I can't see any problem Terry. It is not mine but I have seen it published in at least three books.
 
I have only just joined the forum and although really enjoying the photos the one of the girls at the munitions factory attracted my attention because an aunt of mine lived in Minworth. We used to visit her occasionally but I had no idea how she passed the time. But her name was Marie Hunt and the girl in the photo seems to be about the age she would have been at that time.I am wondering if there is any way i could find out if it was her.
 
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