Women working in wartime

You poor soul Helen, and all I had was a spade !!!!! After your comments Quasimodo wouldn't look all that bad.

My grandmother worked as a draughtswoman and tracer at the Alvis aero-engines division. She started work on September 4, 1939. I wonder what might have happened the day before? She remembered the men in the office - it was predominantly a male-occupation - all minded their language around her. She was 15 years old and impressionable when she started. But because of the secrecy of what was being worked on, all the drawings, tracings, technical papers, everything, had to be handed in at the end of the day and put away in a safe. It was all strictly regulated. A lot of her work was on what would become the Leonides engine, which was in development before the war. It was used in a couple of helicopters and light transport aircraft after the war. In addition to the day job, she joined the Auxiliary Fire Service as a fire-watcher, with stints both at the Alvis roof and the central fire station. And she still found time to go to dances and the cinema!