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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by a volunteer from Swindon College on behalf of Winifred Watkins and has been added to the site with her permission. Winifred fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

When war broke out, I worked in a glove factory. I wanted a better-paid job so I applied for a job reading gas meters. The next thing I knew I had to go before the board at the Labour Exchange. I wasn’t allowed to take a job that wasn’t helping the war and reading gas meters wasn't considered to be essential war work.

A few days later I received a letter instructing me to go to Westlands for a job interview. I spent 6 weeks in the Training Centre before going to work in the machine shop, making screws. The job was so boring, as well as being shift work on a 3-week rota, 6am-2pm, 2pm-10pm and 10pm-6am. But, like many of my colleagues I stayed here all through the war. Everyone wanted to do their bit towards the war and show support for our soldiers. There was such a team spirit here and we did have fun as well.

While I was at work one day, my mother’s house was bombed, no warning had been given but this bomb landed in the garden, killing my stepfather and injuring my mother. She had shrapnell in her legs and received hospital treatment for many months. But again people on the whole didn’t complain. You certainly learnt to put up with things and take things in your stride.

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