Working for Victory

by Sue Bruley

During the Second World War, over 1.5 million women found themselves thrust into the previously male dominated domain of the workplace, having to learn new skills within a matter of weeks. Their contribution to the war effort often remains unheralded, but it is without doubt that these women played a central role in an Allied victory. Kathleen Church-Bliss and Elsie Whiteman were two such women. The previous owners of a genteel restaurant, they volunteered for war work and soon found themselves in an aircraft components factory. Thrown into tough industrial work, they kept a joint diary providing a unique insight into life in a wartime factory. Working for Victory reveals the poor conditions suffered on the factory floor, as well as the general disorganisation and bad management of this essential part of the war effort, but it also describes how war work opened up a new world of social freedom for many women. This diary, both tragic and humorous, brings women's war work vividly to life.

Genres: Nonfiction, World War II, War

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Caryatid · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been a good and fascinating book but the editing is atrocious. Only concerning aspects of machine shop work vast areas of private life were expunged by the editor who learned nothing from the in depth writings of Nella Last.
A huge opportunity was missed by the editor to include information on the details of machines and tools and the problems encountered and how they were solved. So this is a failure on two fronts, the rare insight into a so-called male field of engineering and also losing the social and personal life so engrossing with Nella's book.
Too much meddling by the editor cut a book that could/should have been well over 400 pages long at least to a mere 250 or so. The editor even admits that the much longer manuscript is available at the Imperial War Museum, I have to say, for those unable to drop in there is the reason we have researchers and editors supplying the world with material the diarist kindly made available.
One might wonder if at the time of going to press there was a wartime or other restriction on paper ,but surely not in 2001?
Perhaps this is an era of the once over lightly by shallow readers by equally shallow editors...

[Emma Shortland · Rating 3 out of 5]

The font is very small. Really struggles with it

[Trawets · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sue Bruley has edited the diary of two middle-aged, middle-class ladies who volunteered for factory work from February 1942 to April 1945. Having previously run a genteel tea-room and been leading lights of of the English Folk Dance Society, factory life was quite a shock for Kathleen Church-Bliss and Elsie Whiteman.
The women worked as lathe operators for an aircraft component manufacturers, their diary highlights the poor working conditions and appalling and inefficient management of the time.
The diary is very interesting, and even exciting at the time of the V1assualt, but has been edited to concentrate on factory life, whereas I would have loved to know more of the ladies social and domestic life.

[Gill]

I may never finish this book. It's interesting in places but the small typeface isn't user-friendly.

[Samantha Hammond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to give up unfortunately, the font was far too small to read it.

[Tiffany Johnstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this book, The honest point of view of what factory work was like. The hardship and the hours. How they coped with constant air raids and bombings.