Notes taken down from Mr Vic Childs on Friday May 10 1996 whilst visiting him when he was waiting for the Doctor to call (Dr Kelly) who eventually came, and I left. Clive Wood

Vic Childs at Horrells
I started when Mr Mackness was the foreman clicker, who with his brother, also a clicker in the 'room', left to start their own business - cutting socks (linings) in a large hut at the top of his garden in Midland Road, near Jaques & Clark’s site but still visible.

Albert Victor Childs was born on May 28^th 1907, in Factory Place. He started at the Co-op Boot Factory [CWS] at 13 years of age for 9/- (45p) a week. He started work at Whitsun - one day after his 13^th birthday. There was still a crescent shaped yard on the site of the 'new' offices to drive into and take away the boxes of footwear and the packing room was on the left of the entrance. The office door then was opposite Scroxton's Garage in Portland Road, the new offices were not yet built 1920's. Vic started as a clicker (a boy) and they were at full strength with 114 clickers in the room. After the first War money (wages) was handed out in individual tins - one per person - distributed to each employee by the foreman. The Foreman had a raised bench so he could see the whole room and was addressed as 'Foreman.'

Vic as the boy was sent to fetch people from 'out the back' if they were too long (having a smoke) on instruction of the foreman, who kept a strict note of the time anyone was away from his bench.

Clicking — The American handle came in at that time - 4" clicking knife with a multipurpose handle. There was never a grindstone in the Clicking Room, the workers using old hacksaw blades, which were of excellent blue steel, to make into clicking blades. A clicker made his own, and once a month each was issued with a 4" blade and a piece of chalk or yellow marking crayon. Vic being of small stature had a platform to stand on at the bench. The clickers found out that there was a grindstone in the Lasting Room (where the Edge Trimmers sharpened their knives) and they got Vic "as an active young boy" to go to the Lasting Room grindstone and take the teeth off the old hacksaw blades, he got a ½d per blade 'roughed out' then each Clicker sharpened the blade to his own requirements, some with a hook, some straight. Vic's activity at the lasting room grindstone was done without the Foreman’s knowledge and obviously saved a lot of time towards the finished blade. The American blade could be bought from Clipson's store at 4d or 6d each and could be used very small being gripped in a patent handle, and the life of a blade depended on the leather being used - glace was thinner leather being less demanding than Kips, a wax full-chrome grained leather, a much harder material which reduced the life of a blade.

Mr Coles also worked at the Co-op (possibly clicking room) and was a Councillor and Chairman of the Urban District Council. In the Co-op it was all hand cutting - no presses. Bill Knight did work on a blocking machine which shaped the fronts of Firemen’s and riding boots by a combination of blade, heat and water.

Two brothers named Bird worked in a barn in their garden in Duck Street (where toilets are) and they did blocking for smaller factories who did not have their own blocking machine; Dad and Gramp used to call at the 'Birds' house.

Vic moved to Denton’s, in the High Street, after the Co-op. The Clicking Room was on the top floor (the usual arrangement) facing the High Street and Neville’s. When he worked there a Mr Goode was foreman clicker. Mr Goode (one of the finest ice skaters) lived in Carnegie Street (top house?) and went to work in a tailed frock coat and a hard hat (shallow bowler). The works outing was to the Empire Exhibition in London, and the company paid for the journey but nothing else.

When on short time it was 9am to 4pm as after the War (1914-18) there were too many workers and difficulties in getting back into civilian production - so there was a lot of short time (3 days) in 1928. Vic always tried to earn a 1d or 2p more to help his Mum. He found out a man was cutting Split Vamp Linings (or front linings). He used to go at 7.30am to help Mr Garley - who was cutting for a number of factories - then to Denton’s at 9.30am. There were no electric lights in Mr Garley's, so candles or oil-lamps were used. The house was at the top of Succoth Place, with front door in Rectory Road and the barn (shop) went down the yard to where another shop (or small factory) housed sewers and stitchers. These workers finished John White’s work which he sent to them before he had his own machinery. John White was then working himself in a small shop at the back of the High Pavement (High St South).

A lot of snuff was taken in the Clicking rooms. Dooly Hulatt used to send Vic to Nevilles to buy snuff, by the ounce – or half a spoonful for 2d.

Vic then went to Bennie Ladds’. We were on 3 days at Denton’s and if you were on three days there was no need to give notice (normally a week) if you could find a better job. When I went to Bennie Ladds’ a man named Stebbings from W. Caves was foreman of the Clicking Room at the time. To get workers to accept the lower wage than the minimum rate of pay was an accepted way of life, in the hard times then prevalent, when I went for the job. I met Stebbings on the landing (outside the Clicking room). I said I was getting 6d above the minimum which Stebbings was going to check with Denton’s to see if it was true. When I left Denton’s Uncle Freddy Parker was foreman of the Lasting Room. He met me out of work to say I had to go back to Denton’s because I had failed to give a week’s notice and had to go to Mr Goode’s house. So I definitely decided to leave Denton’s and didn't hear anything further.

Ladds’ got short of work and was back on 3 days. So I went to work at Tuffrey’s in Wentworth Road, again in the Clicking Room. They gave me some football boots to cut from Kips - an easy job - at 17-18 years of age for a good Clicker, which Vic was by then, but on ‘day work’ with only one older man in charge and one other, three in the room altogether. “Being a gifted Clicker and confident I did 72 pairs a day, to start with. Being in the Union, I realised I was doing as much work in a day as I was being paid for in a week! The man in charge said I was doing less today than yesterday so I walked out of Tuffrey’s.” Union official Mr Bates (had a motorbike and sidecar) said Vic was earning as much in a day as he got for a week, and the man in charge said if not satisfied to leave, which Vic did.