Tracey Bennett Posted June 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 I'm quite intrigued by the idea of 'local rivalries' and our perceptions of the war, could you expand a bit? What do you mean by that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabbycabbage Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 Dizzy, thank you that will realy help. It's a subject that gets overlooked in relation to WW1. Tracey - When i started my proposal I was initially looking at ROF Risley and how such a large site impacted the immediate local communities. When I was looking at that it became clear that there wasn't enough source material, but luckily I stumbled on an oral record of the account of two employees at Risley, one of whom was from Warrington, and the other from Atherton. The one from Warrington described how like today, people had preconceived ideas about what people were like from nearby towns and villages, and didn't really like the idea that inhabitants of these towns were being bussed in to work alongside non-warringtonians. The one from Atherton thought that the people from Warrington thought they were better than them, and a bit snooty! It's not just the idea that towns like Warrington and Leigh had differences. My Great-Grandad was a wireworker, and as a skilled worker it was requested that he was not enlisted, which he wasnt. My other Great-Grandad was forced to uproot his family from Bolton to Warrington in order to complete construction of Risley. These two expereiences, from what I know about them, were quite different, yet although both men were working towards the war effort, neither were serving in the armed forces. I'm trying to find out if there was any rivalry/stigma relate to these expereiences, or were they championed? I'm not necessarily hoping to prove that people from latchford wouldn't work with people from Orford! I just want to know if any experiences of tensions between workforces existed, even if it was friendly rivalry. I think there's a collective attitude that everyone was so prepared to pitch in and put aside personal differences to help the war effort, but by nature people aren't like that. Ultimately, I'd like to know if there were tensions, what were they over, and how did people put them to one side? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 Very interesting Cabbycabbage and it would be great to know if that was the case etc. Slightly off topic... but with you research would you happen to know what other trades were classed as being 'skilled work' which resulted in the men from those trades not being enlisted either.My reason for asking is that during my years of research on my ancestry tree I have never found any records of any of the maternal side of my family serving in WW1 or dying in service in either war. Most of them were tanners but I can't imagine that would have possibly been a skilled enough trade to mean they wouldn't have been enlisted but I find it strange that none of them seem to have been. Maybe theirs are records that were lost though and they were all the lucky ones who actually returned home... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Bennett Posted June 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 Thanks Gabby, that's interesting. My Grandparents talked to me a lot about the war but they were children when it broke out so weren't old enough to do official war work or anything. I don't remember them saying anything about local rivalries in that sense. My Dad has plenty to say about people from Leigh though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy51 Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 I should think tanning would still be an important industry in WW 1 Dizzy as the Army still used horses in battle & most of the transport system at home & at the front was still horse drawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 Thanks Davy51 that had never occurred to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabbycabbage Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 Hi everyone, Yeah, I'd imagine tanneries were quite important in respect to wartime production; they're able to produce such a quantity of material towards such a vast array of applications that it's no wonder they were the cornerstone of trade in Warringotn for such a long time. My great-nan worked at cockhedge and her sister started sometime after her. My great great-aunt refused to carry on and went home at lunchtime. My nan of course was a hardened tannery lass and foud this quite amusing, although I think I'd have probably left before lunch! As for skilled work, from what I know, it could be quite a subjective topic. My great-grandad had worked in the wireworks for most of his working life, and so to his boss was invaluable when it came to war-time production, when output had to be increased and quality had to be top notch. However, the MOD had the right to refuse the request of employers who wanted certain employees to be excused from service. I think if they suspected that men were just trying to get out of active service they were farily on the ball, but men like my Grandad Martin would have offered a genuine contribution. I'd imagine that keeping him on would have been more effective than re-training inexperienced staff. Ad as for Leighthers - I can't really say anything because my mum's partner is from Astley - my lips are sealed! Gabby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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