Steel workers in the 40's

[parcher 10]

Like stockinette, perhaps or proper terry towelling as we know it nowadays? Remember, we are trying to portray working mens clobber in the forties.

[PopT 10]

Hi Parcher

 

My father was a steel melter for 22yrs before and after the war.

 

He wore a flat cap

thick Grandad collarless shirt

Thick white cotton sweat towel with square raised design in the weave to soak up sweat

Long John underpants and heavy trousers

Wool Socks and wooden clogs.

Because they had to go home from the steelworks in their dirty clothes they always made an effort to look their best.

When home the first job was bathe in the old zinc bath and a chang into fresh clothes.

It was important for them to keep clean for health reasons.

He wore blue glass nickel silver specs when in front of the furnace, the nose bridge well wrapped with cotton to stop the metal burning the nose, many wore these anti glare specs upside down so there was no contact with the face to stop any burning.

 

Hope this helps Happy Days! Pop

Edited May 18, 2013 by PopT

[parcher 10]

It does indeed. I think that sweat towel that you are describing sounds very much like a waffle weave cotton that we have nowadays, which often turns up as throws for chairs. I have quite a few old 1930's towels made out of that stuff and it would make sense that they would use those rather than nipping out and buying something that probably used up their ration stamps.

 

Mr P did his apprenticeship (he is a fitter) in the late seventies, so there were still men working from that era but in the way of most teenage boys, he simply wasn't interested in what they wore! He did say though that his old smith with the bowler, probably did have an opera scarf because at that time, trained men were considered to be highly paid (how times change!)

 

I do know the specs you mention because I was an optician in the late seventies and we still supplied them.

[Kidorry 189]

A lot of men in the melting shops would put a corner of their sweat towel under the bridge of their blue upturned specs to protect their nose.

[PopT 10]

Kidorry

 

I'd forgotten the trick of tucking the corner of the sweat towel under the bridge on the specs.

 

This trick provided two benefits, one it protected the nose being burned by the metal specs and the second was to prtect the open mouth from the searing heat and deadly fumes from the furnace and the loaded steel sampling spoon rod.

 

Happy Days! PopT

[raymondo1952 11]

use to buy sweat towel and mashing can from army stores near nursery street

[Kidorry 189]

use to buy sweat towel and mashing can from army stores near nursery street

 

And the ex-army boots as well.

[Sidonica 10]

My father was a steel melter before and after the war. The descriptions already posted are very accurate though he wore boots, not clogs. Photo's of him at work all show him wearing an apron made from an old sack.

[tonio 10]

My father was a steel melter before and after the war. The descriptions already posted are very accurate though he wore boots, not clogs. Photo's of him at work all show him wearing an apron made from an old sack.

 

Your quite right about the old sacks used as aprons and they were held up with a wide leather belt. Before working in front of the open furnace door they would soak the sack in the water bosh, which was used to cool the sampling spoons andother tools, to stop them from catching fire. You can see this in my earlier pics.

Tonio

[PopT 10]

Spot on Tonio, I'd forgotten the sack aprons and the all important leather belt.

 

Dad's belt was an old horse belly band about 2 inches wide with a great brass buckle.

 

This belt had been handed down from his Grandfather who had worked as a Blacksmith.

 

My son has it today and hangs up in his Smithy.

 

I was glad to see the back of it as it had caused me some pain as a youngster.

 

As a matter of interest the furnacemen always wore their belts with the biuckle at their backs so the metal buckles didn't heat up and burn them.

 

Happy Days! PopT

[Kidorry 189]

Don`t forget the 6inch square piece of sack with the slit near the top to put your hand through if you had to handle something hot.Hand rags we called them.

[awoollen 10]

Apologies if this is the wrong thread but can someone help me out? Mr Parcher needs to recreate the outfit worn by a steel worker during the war. He remembers during his apprenticeship, a old chap who always wore old suit trousers, a waistcoat, shirt with neatly rolled sleeves and a bowler hat, which he thinks signified the fact that he was not a labourer. He also says that he had a "muffler" which apparently was used to stop the lips burning when dealing with hot stuff.

 

The question is, what was that muffler made of? I half suspect that it was a bit of old sheet, although Mr P says that this particular chap was always so smartly attired that he didn't think it was just any old bit of tatty material.

 

I also realise, of course, before anyone mentions it, that most men during the war were called up, but I also understand that older men still worked.

the muffler was a sweat towel