Woman’s Weekly UK – 23 July 2019

REAL LIFE

womansweekly.com 13

WORDS:

KATE

THOMPSON.

PHOTOS:

EASTSIDE

COMMUNITY

HERITAGE,

YARDL

backwaterknownas

Stink Bomb Alley. But the

camaraderie Eileen enjoyed

made up for the stench.

‘The girls looked after me

from the moment I started. It

was a tight-knit community.

‘We worked on a conveyer

belt, the creams would come

flying down the belt and

I had to smooth off the top,

the next girl popped the lid

on and the next polished the

bottle, fingers moving swiftly

as we laughed and sang

along to the wireless. There

were no computerised

machines in them days, just

hundreds of girls producing

and packing perfumes, talcs,

lipsticks and creams.’

Three years passed in the

blink of an eye and by 1950

it was Eileen’s turn to look

afternewgirls.When15-year-

oldAnnRoperarrived,Eileen

tookherunderherwing.

‘Workhardandyou’llget

onallright,’shetoldAnn.

Ondinnerbreak,Eileen

invitedAnnto sitwithherin

thecanteen– and,asthepair

tuckedintosausagesand

mash,shecouldseethenew

girlwassettlingin nicely.

ThroughwatchingEileen,

Annnavigatedtheunwritten

rulesof Yardley’s:workhard

andyouwouldgeton.

Don’tnark,evenif yousaw

peoplestealing– thegirlwho

usedto sneakoutlipsticksin

a hollowed-outloafof bread

waslegendarythere!

Bondedbyhardworkand

thejoyof earninga wage,

Ann,Eileenandtherestof

thegirlsonthebeltenjoyed

theannualbeanosdownto

Margateandevena posh

dinnerdanceat a hotelonthe

company’s180thanniversary.

Butit wastheteabreaks

AnnandEileenlivedfor–

20 preciousminutesoffthe

beltto slurpa mugof tea.

However,asthecanal

watersfrozeoverandsummer

gavewayto winter,thegirls’

halcyondayscameto a close.

‘Annleftto getmarriedand

welosttouch.By1958,I had

to leave,too,asmyboyfriend

Ernestproposed,’saysEileen.

‘Yardley’sdidn’temploy

marriedwomen.Oneof the

girlstriedto talkmeoutof it.

“Whatdoyouwantto goand

getmarriedfor?”sheasked,

butI wasa younggirlin love.’

Eileensettleddownto a life

of domesticity,butshenever

forgotherYardleydays,orthe

girlswhomadethemspecial

• likeAnn.Sowhathappened
  nextis trulyextraordinary.
  AswellasEileen,it was
  suggestedthatI interview
  86-year-oldAnn,andwe
  arrangedto meetat a cafe

in Stratford. ‘I hope you don’t

mind, but I’ve invited another

Yardley worker along,’ I said.

‘Course not,’ Ann replied,

‘I’ll chat with anyone.’

In walks Eileen – now 91

years old, but with the same

sparkling brown eyes.

A silence fell over the table.

‘It’s you!’ gasped Ann.

‘Oh, my days,’ exclaimed

Eileen, instinctively reaching

across the Formica tabletop

and clutching Ann’s hands.

Then 68 years simply

melted away and, looking

at the two women laughing

andchattingtogether,they

mighthavebeenthesame

fun-lovinggirlstheywere

backin theirYardleydays.

Strangerstill,bothAnnand

Eileenhadbroughtalongthe

samephotographto show

me.Today,thefacesmight

bea littlemorelined,but

thesamespiritshinesout.

‘Youlookjustthesame,’

Annmarvelled.‘Sodoyou!’

Eileenchuckledback.

Ourinterviewturnedinto

a livelyreminiscingsession

andweevenrecreatedthe

samephotothatthegirls

posedforbackin 1950.

In 1966,Yardleymovedout

of EastLondonto thesuburbs

of Essex,andwhatwas‘Stink

BombAlley’nowliesburied

underthenewOlympicPark.

I decideit’stimeto take

myleaveof AnnandEileen,

allowthemto continuetheir

reunionin peace.I havea

feelingit won’tbesolong

beforetheynextmeetup.

Annsays,‘It wasamazing

to walkin andseeEileen.

She’ssucha lovely,warm-

heartedlady,a typicalEast

Ender.I’veneverforgottenthe

kindnesssheshowedme,and

thefunus Yardleygirlshad.’

‘Fingers moving, we laughed

and sang along to thewireless’

✿Secretsof

theHomefront

GirlsbyKate

Thompson

(£6.99,Hodder

& Stoughton)

is onsaleon

25 July.

The Yardley factory on

Carpenters Road

Some of the

‘Lavender girls’ in

their white turbans