This book takes us back to the beginning of the 1980s against the background of the impending miners’ strike and the strained relationship between the unions and the Thatcher government. Caroline Barker Bennett recorded the experiences of twenty women industrial workers on Tyneside. The eldest of these women started work in 1934 and the youngest in 1981. These interviews are documented here and give a unique insight into the lives of working women at the time.

Working as an industrial chaplain, Caroline got to know the women through visiting George Angus, an engineering company in Wallsend, and Louise Argyle, a women’s clothing co-operative, in Hebburn. These fascinating oral accounts document the changing conditions, struggles and everyday experiences of working in many different factories, shops and offices and are a valuable contribution to an important part of the region’s social history that is often overlooked.