91Èȱ¬

This story was submitted to the Peoples War website by Karolina Kopiec from 91Èȱ¬ GMR Action Desk on behalf of Mrs Annie Leigh and has been added to the site with her permission.

In 1939 war was imminent. I was working at a manufacturing chemist. I found out that Fairy Aviation was recruiting people of young age to work there. The wages were far more than what I was getting. Hence I applied; you had to have been Bourn, have your birth certificate to prove this. However I got a job there. I worked in the aircraft until the end of the war in 1945. The work I did was working on the Fairy Swordfish at first we had to cover the frame with very strong material, and then sew it and painted it with special paint. I did that. I then worked on Fairy Fulmar. Did diverting, seeing to flying panels, engine fitting. We worked one Good Friday because the planes had to go out quickly as there were a lot of repairs.
I had a boyfriend in the Navy at the time but like a lot of others he never came back, he was killed. Then when I was working in the aircraft I did meet my husband. We were together since then until he passed away ten years ago. The funny side of all of this was when we went dancing, and had to be in early because of work. This was before I got married. When sirens use to go, we had to go into air raid shelters. The wardens would not let us out until the ‘all clear’ sounded, so we were in the shelter most of the night. My Parents wondered were we were. We still had to go to work next day. I have the photograph with all the people who were working with me at the time. The paper in Stockport came and took it. I am first on the left of the picture. The young man, who is at the front on the left, looks as if he is by himself. He had been in the Army but was discharged because of something wrong with his legs. All the other people I did not know very well.

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