Recorded Memories

Maureen Smart Interviews. 1997 & 1998.

'Forty-six years working at Flude Hosiery from the mid 1940s.

Continually adapting to change and working as a factory union rep:’

'They’ll never cut out fully fashioned seaming, there’ll always be fully fashioned stockings – foolish!’

‘Fully fashioned seamers were hard to get - good ones – a very very precise job, every detail had to be just right…I went from cotton, lisle, rayon, pure silk and gradually nylon…’

Maureen started training for a job as a fully fashioned side linker

            At the age of 13 before leaving school – she went to the factory after school and on a Saturday. She began her working life at Ridley, Spriggs and Johnson where she stayed for approximately two years then spent the rest of her working life at Flude Hosiery – 46 years. Fully fashioned side linking ‘went out’, so Maureen became a fully fashioned seamer and went on to teach at the ‘tech’ after working a full day on the factory floor. Over the years Maureen worked on cotton, lisle, rayon, pure silk and then nylon.  Machinery was changing and becoming more advanced cutting out the need for various skilled operatives.  Eventually she became an overlocker on tights.  As the years went by she became gradually more and more involved in union work - she was a committee member for about 25 years and became adept at negotiating pay rates. She remembers the time when factory shop floor workers did not receive holiday pay but saved into various schemes which were set up in the factory. Initially workers were given a flat rate but at the time of the interview shop floor workers received a percentage of their wages as holiday pay.