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Derby swimwear factory Slix was awash with camaraderie in the 70s – and was among the first to produce its very own version of an Abba tribute band, as former worker Grace Davis, 90, of Allenton, recalls.

Grace Davis loved to belt out an Abba tune while working away furiously as a machinist at Slix swimwear factory in Derby. Music while you worked was the order of the day for the mainly female workforce, whose camaraderie was such it still sticks in Grace’s mind at the age of 90.

“We used to listen to music and I loved to hear Abba songs,” said Grace. “I particularly liked I Have A Dream.”

Fellow former Slix girl Ivy Ryalls, from Alvaston, recalled what a talented bunch the workforce used to be, always putting on shows for workmates and staff.

the Slix swimwear factory

“The camaraderie was special,” said Grace. “I really enjoyed working there.”

She became a machinist at 17, at first working for Foster and Clays in Derby, which made men’s underwear.

“That’s where I met my husband, Harold,” Grace recalled. The pair married in 1940 and went on to have two children.

“When my children were older I went back to Clays, and from there I went to Slix in the 1970s, ” said Grace. “I was 57 at the time and I did wonder whether I would get the job because of my age.”

However, it proved not to be a stumbling block, at least initially.

“I worked in a small room off the cutting room,” said Grace. “There were about four or five sewing machines in it, and also a machine which rolled pieces of fabric. These were cut off large rolls to be used for straps and belts for swimsuits.

“I shared a machine with a good friend, Cath Scarlett. She worked mornings. I worked afternoons.

the Slix workers

“I also remember Josie Hitchcock and Jean Perkins. Two young ladies, Brenda Middleton and Joan Sims, worked at a bench cutting the shoulder straps and belts to size. The staff were lovely people and very helpful.”

The management, it appears, were sensible and caring, too. “When I reached 60 I was asked if I would like to stay on longer, which I accepted,” said Grace. “But then I had to give in my notice as my mother-in-law was ill. The personnel officer sent for me and, when I explained what was happening, she offered me time off for six months to see if my circumstances changed.”

Grace snapped up this opportunity as she enjoyed her job so much but all good things come to an end.

“After I went back to work, the time and motion men came in and said that everyone over 60 years of age had to leave. I was disappointed, of course, but had to go. I was 63 by then and was the first one to leave.

“The day I left I was presented with a china plate. I had worked there for about six years and enjoyed every minute of it. I would have happily worked on until I was 65.”

Abba

Grace went on to enjoy a long and happy retirement with husband Harold, whom she lost three years ago. “If he had lived for two more days we would have celebrated our 64th wedding anniversary,” said Grace, who has lived in the same house in Allenton for her entire married life.

As well as her time at Slix, the Second World War years feature strongly in her rich memories.

“I have never read anything about this before but, before the war, at the age of 21, men had to report to the labour exchange and go into the Army for six months’ training.

“Harold’s 21st birthday was on June 28, 1939, and, at the time, he was working as a fireman on the trains.

“He went to work on his birthday and told his manager that he had to go to the labour exchange. His boss wouldn’t hear of it and insisted that he took a train to Bath instead. When he arrived there, two policeman were waiting for Harold at the station. They escorted him to the labour exchange in Bath. That showed just how serious the situation was.”

In September, 1939, war broke out and all young men were drafted into the forces – Harold included.

He was sent to Reading for training and, as he was among the few young men who could drive, was put into the motors section.

“After a while he contacted everyone in Derby to ask why we weren’t writing to him,” Grace recalled. “But we were. His mother had been sending him home-made pies, cakes and biscuits, too. She insisted that we all went down to Reading to find out what was going on. “When she arrived she asked to see the officer in charge and demanded to know why Harold had not been receiving his letters or parcels.

“It turned out that there were two men called Harold Davis at the training camp and the other one had been keeping all the mail – and the pies.”

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County:  Derbyshire

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