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First speaker
"I was a seamstress, training to be an apprentice as a seamstress. Started work up at Stert, had to cycle from Poole all the way up, no frequent buses, winter and summer with the wind blowing across the water.
Started off learning how to make gloves on this machine which was called a brosser. You had tranks, forgets and thumbs, that was the beginning.
From there, because the firm was learning people, I then had to cycle to what was Parkstone Bourne Valley. Where I then learnt how to make bras, knickers and petticoats.
I then came back to Poole, up it's what I suppose's put down as Bournemouth Road now, then it was North Street going up, and there was a tailors there and they took in apprenticeships from the factories where you started to learn tailoring.
I would say I was coming up to 16 then. Not only did you have to learn how to make the goods, you had to learn how to do the machines so that you could take a machine apart and put it back together and every Friday all the machines had to be done. They had to be oiled, serviced, their belts tightened ready for the Monday morning."
Second speaker
"The first job, when I was at school, 'cause I left at Easter and the first job – the teachers first of all said 'you've got an hour to look for a job' and I went straight down to Poole.
I didn’t want to work in a shop. I liked to do things with my hands. So I went down there and had the interview – they asked what school did I belong to, I told them. 'Where were you in exams?' I told them I was eighth from top.
They phoned up the school, found out all about me, and I was offered the job there and then. And they said, 'when can you start?'
This was the Friday and I said 'I can start Monday' and they said 'well would you like a week off – you know – holiday first?' I said, 'no, I’d like to start on Monday please'.
Went back to school, of course the school already knew that I had a job at Poole Pottery 'cause Poole Pottery had got in touch with them.
And when I started I had to put the handles on the cups. I earned just under three pound a week.
Later on I went to put the white bands on the coloured plates.
I stayed there for about 18 months and I had to leave because I used to suffer from tonsillitis quite a lot. And the doctor said it was because of the dust, so I had to leave, much to my regret."
Working all hours? Try out a 1950s clocking-in machine at Poole Museum...