Festive News 2017 2017 | страница 15

WARTIME BRAVERY FINALLY RECOGNISED

Amy Hicks was just a teenager when she signed up to do her bit for the war effort in 1941 . Little did she know when she started work at the Munition s Factory at Rotherwas that she would be putting her life on the line .

She was 18 , living with her parents in Broxwood near Kington picking fruit on local farms . World War 2 was raging across Europe and 2,000 women in Hereford were making bombs to attack the enemy . They were nick-named ‘ The Canary Girls ’ because the dust from the explosives turned their skin yellow . Amy was put to work at the end of the 25 pounder bomb production line inspecting every bomb before it left the factory on its killer mission .

Amy , who will be 95 in January tells how lucky she was to survive unharmed . When the factory was attacked in 1942 by German bombers , killing several of her fellow workers she was waiting for the bus to bring her into work . On another occasion when a morning explosion on the production line caused more deaths she was on the afternoon shift . “ When I started my shift the walls were still covered in blood ” she said , adding “ I was also lucky that my skin didn ’ t turn too yellow because I was not actually handling the TNT .”

She recalls they were given milk to drink to help overcome the yellowing of the skin and once a week were allowed a hot bath . Before starting work they were searched to make sure they were not carrying anything that could trigger an explosion .

Said Amy , “ We were paid £ 3 a week . I thought I was rich . I bought my mum a new pair of shoes out of my first wage packet .” She also bought herself a small leather case for five shillings to carry her sandwiches to work and still has it at her home in Staunton on Wye .

She and her husband Donald , who died in 1990 had four sons , Alan , Brian , Nigel and Alex who died in a car accident aged 17 and a daughter Jenny who has been kept busy ferrying mum to a host of events remembering the role Hereford – and its women – played winning the war .

In the summer Amy , together with 32 other ladies who made the bombs for the British forces to defeat the Nazi was presented with a specially made ‘ Front Line Duty ’ medal , a long overdue recognition of the valour of the Canary Girls who risked their own lives every time they went to work . She has also been filmed for a BBC TV

Amy with her medal

programme ‘ Women at War ’ to be shown during Remembrance week in November and was a guest of Kate Adie , the famous TV war correspondent when she spoke about her new book ‘ Fighting on the Home Front ’ at The Courtyard recently .

Rotherwas , on the outskirts of Hereford was a fine country estate for centuries until the start of the First World War when it became a vast complex employing 4,000 women , making bombs . It did the same task in World War 2 . Today , Rotherwas is a modern industrial estate creating 3,000 jobs . Now , there are just the memories of the role it played making the weapons that helped Britain win two world wars . Future generations must know the sacrifices that were made for freedom . That ’ s why it is important to tell the stories of Amy and her fellow munitions workers who helped save Britain from tyranny .

FESTIVE NEWS • DECEMBER 2017 • PAGE 15

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