Work
Overall, Leicester's economy did well out of the First World War, which forced local companies to innovate and diversify. The town also benefited from government orders for footwear and hosiery. A major change was the emergence of light engineering. For example, the number of firms engaged in electrical manufacturing increased from 23 in 1922 to 63 in 1932.(1)
At the end of WW1 the school leaving age went up from 12 to 14. There was a small increase in the proportion of 5-13 year olds in public sector schools, from just under 90% in 1913 to just over 90% in 1938. Over the same period there was a larger growth in the percentage of 14-16 year olds in such schools, from 5.8%, or around one in 17 children, to 19.6% or around one in every five children.(2)
As can be seen from the figures above, the majority of school leavers went straight into work; few stayed in school and even fewer went on to university, although many people got some further education through apprenticeships and evening classes.
For most working class boys in Leicester there was the choice of getting an apprenticeship in industry, factory work, manual work, or shop work. Factory work was also available to girls - but not apprenticeships - with the added possibility of shop work, secretarial work, nursing or domestic service (being a maid, cleaner, cook etc.). The exhibition linked to below looks at domestic service and factory work.
Link to exhibition about women's working lives between the wars.
Leicester had a reputation as a prosperous town and was a magnet for people from areas that were suffering from unemployment. This woman recalls moving from Wales in the 1920s:
Most companies in Leicester were small family-run companies where the owners often knew the workforce personally. Companies that were large enough to produce in-house magazines or bulletins were the exception. One example of the larger companies is Imperial Typewriters, whose bulletin was called 'Imperial News'. Its bulletins emphasised exports and overseas markets, as well as how many different industries used its typewriters. These are examples of the sort of news it reported in the late 1930s:
- 1937 - visiting the British Industries Fair at Olympia, London; typewriting contests; creating work for boys, girls and men (not women) from 'distressed areas' of the country, such as County Durham; agents in Africa and South America and news from others in Australia, Argentina, Finland, Pacific Islands; the new Ambulance Room in Leicester (a further step towards employee's welfare); trade exhibtions; Buddhist priests in Siam use Imperial Typewriters; the Works Fire Brigade; cricket team news.
- 1938 - how Leicester City Transport Department uses Imperial Typewriters; export news from the Empire and Switzerland - "having agencies in almost every part of the world we ourselves know only too well the complexities of trading in overseas markets and at times the difficulties seem insuperable"; opening of new sports field for employees.
- 1939 - back at the British Industries Fair at Olympia; long service awards for employees; success of the 'Good Companion' Model T portable typewriter, £12 complete with case; the Quarter Century Club's first reunion; the first annual sports day; ARP (Air Raid Precaution) in a large factory.
This page is under construction but will go on to look at different occupations represented in the East Midlands Oral History Archive. Examples:
The compilation Women in Industry looks at women's experiences in Leicester's industries from the 1930s to the 1950s.
This Employment compilation gives an idea of the different jobs available.
Doris Fish went to commercial school on New Walk in the late 1920s, then joined Wolsey to deal with wages.
EMOHA has an online exhibition about the Hosiery Industry.
References
(1) ‘Leicester in the 20th Century’ edited by David Nash & David Reeder, Alan Sutton Publishing, 1993. p.53.
(2) Education: Historical Statistics, House of Commons Library - http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN04252/SN04252.pdf (Accessed 11/12/2023)