Recorded Memories

Mr & Mrs Bateman Interviews. October 1998.

A variety of jobs in the hosiery including full time union rep and other memories 1934-1980s:‘Most of the bosses were working me who saved enough money to buy a set of machines…’

‘From Simpkin, Son & Emery I went to Hood & Mason in the trim shop…as a legger…the pay rate so much better – 15s a week as opposed to 7s 9d at Simpkin, Son & Emery as a trainee warehouse boy’

Ray started his working life at the age of 14 in 1934. As a trainee knitter at John Gents. The young knitters while on night shift would leave their machines to go ‘courting’.

He started his working life in the warehouse at Simpkin, Son and Emery and from there went to work in the Trim Shop at Hood and Mason’s as a ‘legger’ earning 15s a week.  He thought of the trimmers as being ‘a rougher sort of individual’– they liked horse racing and came from the poorer areas of Hinckley.  From Hood and Mason’s Ray went to the dyeshop at Ridgeways on Trinity Lane but because, as a youngster, he was motivated by racing – he felt the damp atmosphere was no good for him and at the age of 15½ went back to John Gent’s and at 16 became a trainee knitter on the Standard Trumps.  Apart from going out ‘courting’ at night during their hour break they played tricks on one older man – taking his bike which was his ‘pride and joy’ and tying it to the hot water pipes; on another occasion one of the knitters took his bike home!  Ray also talked about how a lot of the bosses had started out as ‘just working men’ but saved to buy themselves a set of knitting machines, Harry Flude for instance started up in a small way.  There were a lot of small hosiery factory in Hinckley at this time. 

Ray thought of the women as ‘breadwinners’ and women factory workers continued to work after marriage and having children.  Mrs Bateman worked as a telephonist and they weren’t allowed to continue to work after marriage.  With the war, however, she did continue to work and working hours included night work.  Ray while working his set of machines felt that this was his domain. At the end of his shift another knitter would continue with the knitting – the machines were not turned off.