The Sugar Girls; Tales of Hardship, Love and Happiness in Tate & Lyle's East End Factories

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9780007448470
• ISBN10: 0007448473
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2012-03-15
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK

Summary

Tales of hardship, resilience, and youthful high spirits, woven together to provide a moving insight into a lost way of life, as well as a timeless testament to the experience of being young and female. In the post-war years, thousands of women left school at 15 to work in the bustling factories that lined London's East End docks. Despite long hours and hard and often hazardous work, factory life afforded exciting opportunities for independence, friendship, and romance before the responsibilities of marriage and motherhood took over. Of all the factories, Tate & Lyle's were the most sought-after, offering the highest wages and best social life. Many women, coming from tough backgrounds, look back on their time as factory girls as the happiest days of their lives. Here are the real-life stories of these womenfrom Joan, the feisty tea girl from the slums; to Pat, the fashion-conscious packet-maker with a gambler father; and Edna, the black sugar-packer who took on the male managers and won. Tales of hardship, resilience, and youthful high spirits are woven together to provide a moving insight into a lost way of life, as well as a timeless testament to the experience of being young and female.

Author Biography

Duncan Barrett (Author) : Duncan Barrett studied English at Cambridge and now works as writer and editor, specialising in biography and memoir. He most recently edited The Reluctant Tommy (Macmillan, 2010) a First World War memoir. Nuala Calvi also studied English and has been a journalist for eight years with a strong interest in community history pieces. She took part in the Streatham Stories project to document the lives and memories of people in South London. They live in South London.