1939
There was an incident at about this time when I was working in a small barbers shop in Prestwich, which gives an insight into the situation at home as regards my emerging political belief.
I used to take a packed lunch to work that Mother had prepared for me. One day I walked out of the house with a book under my arm, (The History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union [Bolsheviks]),but half-way up the street I realised I had left my lunch at home. So back I went to pick it up. As I entered the house my father,who was standing with the packet in his hand, said,in a very angry voice,"You forgot your lunch but you didn't forget the bloody communist book". That was typical of his attitude at that time, but I must say that as the war progressed, and when the Soviet Union became embroiled, we more and more discussed the political situation and both my parents eventually came to understand my point of view and from then on were very supportive. Neither of them ever joined a political party.
I found work in one or two small local shops and then,in 1940 I took a job in a salon in the centre of Manchester. There was a barbers' shop in Piccadilly, situated in a basement and owned by a man who was to me the embodiment of a middle-class Victorian. Tall and gaunt with a long thin neck always enclosed by a wing-collar, he always wore a black jacket and pin-striped trousers. Even when he attended to the one or two customers that he consented to, he gave the impression that he was doing them a favour.
There were four other barbers working there and I soon got used to working with them and enjoyed the work. The customers were mainly business people from the various offices and shops around Piccadilly. One organisation that provided us with a lot of our customers was the BBC office in the next building. At the time Broadcasting House was based there and it was the headquarters for the radio services for the North West.
The salon was a long, narrow room, with a small space more like a cupboard than a room, under the stairs. This served as a "rest-room" for the staff to have a break and that is where they ate their lunch. It soon became apparent that we were not allowed a proper lunch break as laid down by the Shops Act. This is the legislation that governs the conditions of work for people in shops and offices. One day, I was in the "rest-room" having my lunch when a customer came down the stairs, because the "rest-room" was under the stairs we could hear anyone coming down. I carried on eating and before long the boss, Mr Atkinson, came in and told me to go out and attend to the customer. I did as I was told but decided to bring the matter to the attention of the trade union at the next branch meeting. I had joined the Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers, (USDAW). So at the union meeting I asked what the position was regarding time allowed for lunch in shops. The branch secretary replied that the law lays down strict rules about this and the situation is that workers in shops must have a set lunch break and that the time allowed is 45 minutes for lunch eaten on the premises, and one hour, if taken off the premises. It was agreed by the members of the branch to inform the appropriate authorities of the situation and very soon after a representative of the Wages Council which governed these matters, came to the shop and told our employer what the legal position was. After he left Mr Atkinson called us all together and told us what had been said and that if we wanted, we could have the time for lunch, but he did not say that in fact it is compulsory for employees to be given the time laid down by statute. The result was that I was the only one who took the allowed time. So, at the next Union meeting I reported to the branch what had happened. The outcome was that the Wages Council was informed that the instruction given to Mr Atkinson was not being carried out. This resulted in a further visit by the official who told the boss in no uncertain terms that he had to carry out the instruction and ensure that we had the full amount of time to eat our lunch. In order to comply with these instructions, from then on the Salon was closed for 45 minutes for lunch every day.
This was great until one day I had an errand to go during my lunch break. On arriving back at the shop I was confronted by the boss who reprimanded me for being late. As I was within the hour allowed for lunch taken off the premises, I told him that I was not late because I had not taken more than an hour, which I was allowed to do."Well, if that is your attitude you can leave now!" and he sacked me on the spot. On reflection I suppose I should have taken the matter up with the Union but as I had been considering leaving I just walked out. Later I got great satisfaction when passing the shop at lunch time to notice that it remained closed for lunch. So, if I have done nothing else in my life I at least gained for any barber who subsequently worked in that shop, a decent lunch-break.
Whilst I was still working at Atkinsons in Piccadilly the war in France was reaching a climax. The Germans had occupied Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg and by June 1st it was announced by Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, that four fifths of the British Army had been evacuated from Dunkirk.
The German bombing offensive on Britain took on a more sinister role and as well as the "blitz" on London they started to bomb further afield. Manchester was hit regularly and the worst attack on the centre of Manchester took place on Sunday and Monday night 22nd and 23rd December 1940.
The area in the centre of Manchester that suffered most in that bombing raid was Piccadilly and the streets around it and an area that was called "The Shambles", part of the city devoted to the sale of food with butchers shops, poultry shops and various small businesses selling continental-style foods. Situated at the bottom end of Market Street and Cross Street and extending to Deansgate. Most of it was destroyed in the bombing and now the only original building left is the Wellington Public House, at the back of Marks and Spencers store.
When the bombing started on Sunday night I was at home in the house near Heaton Park which is approximately 4 miles from the city centre. The sirens sounded the alarm and we took shelter in the small air-raid shelter in the back garden. As the raid progressed and it became obvious that the target was not in our vicinity some of us went out to see what was happening and it became evident to us that the city was being hit.
During the war, newspapers did not name areas that had been bombed in order that the enemy was not given information about how successful they had been. So on Monday 23rd December 1940, the Manchester Guardian published the following report,
"NIGHT RAID
ON NORTH
WEST
Heavy attack on Inland Town
MANY FIRE -BOMBS
People Trapped in Shelter Rescued
The German Air Force continuing its campaign of heavy night bombing concentrated its attack last night on an inland town in North-West England. Hundreds of incendiary bombs and high explosives were dropped and some fires were started in different parts of the town... the attack which lasted many hours, was launched just after darkness had fallen and many people were caught in the streets... Reports received up to a late hour last night however, showed that the casualties were not numerous when the extent of the attack was taken into consideration.
TRAPPED SHELTERERS RELEASED
A number of people were trapped in a public air raid shelter beneath a building which was hit by a high explosive bomb. All but a small number of the shelters occupants were released after some hours work by rescue parties.
Shops, business premises, public buildings and hospitals were among the places hit. The interior of one commercial building was destroyed...."
Reading that report it would seem that despite the fact that it was a "heavy attack", the amount of damage and the number of casualties was relatively small. Yet my recollection was that a great deal of damage was done to the centre of the city. I was still working at Atkinsons in Piccadilly. The entrance to the salon faced across Piccadilly where a lot of the damage was done during the raids. The area that was hit was mainly taken up by large warehouses selling cotton goods, many of which were destroyed in the bombing. The immediate job that needed to be done was to make the area safe. So it was decided to use controlled explosives in order to reduce the shattered buildings to rubble that could be cleared away.
My employer, Mr Atkinson, had a habit of standing at the entrance to the salon in order to greet his customers as they came in. On the morning that the explosive experts started work across the road, Mr Atkinson was at his post on the steps watching the world pass by when a loud bang was heard and a piece of stone hit the wall inches from where he was standing. Obviously, the demolition work across the road was the cause.
LEWIS'S
From leaving Atkinsons I crossed the road and walked into the department store, Lewis's. They had a large gents hairdressing salon with twelve barbers chairs, manicurists and a receptionist. I asked to speak to the manager and asked if there was a job going. As luck would have it the reply was yes and I was taken on. That began a very enjoyable and interesting part of my life.
To work in a large store, with about a thousand other workers, was a complete change from working in a barbers shop with four others. This meant that I could get involved in trade union activity to a much larger extent than had been possible up till then. I immediately started to recruit the other barbers and before long the whole of the work-force in the barbers shop were union members except for the manager. I was soon elected shop steward for the First Floor and also covered the Ladies Salon which was on the third Floor.