Florence Attridge
Florence Emily Attridge BEM (1901 – 1975) worked at the Marconi wireless factory in Chelmsford, Essex and received a British Empire Medal (civil division) for her contributions to the war effort during World War II. Joining the factory after World War I, by 1944 she was managing a team of women in the coil winding shop. Papers accompanying her medal suggest that she was involved in making secret radio sets used by the resistance during the war.[1]
Work
Florence Attridge joined the coil winding shop at the Marconi New Street factory in Chelmsford just after World War I. Guglielmo Marconi, who is often incorrectly credited with being the inventor of radio, built the factory in 1912. In 1920 the factory played host to the first experimental wireless broadcast.
Attridge was involved in making key components of the radio sets - the coils, transformers, inductors and chokes. Her job was to wind wires of various sizes around frames or magnetic cores. This is where the coil winding shop got its name from. Her work was intricate and exacting, and typically the women worked 12-hour shifts.
Women played a vital role in the creation of new electrical devices in many pioneering companies such as Marconi, doing most of the assembly work. As the technology improved this work became increasingly intricate and time-consuming, and it was found that women excelled at these tasks. At this time women could also be paid lower wages than men, so hiring women for assembly jobs meant more profits for the company. From the consumers’ perspective however, this profit margin paved the way for the mass production of electrical goods at prices that were affordable for ordinary people.
In 1946 Attridge received a British Empire Medal (civil division) for her contributions to the war effort during World War II.
She was listed as head of the coil winding shop by this time. Papers accompanying the medal include a letter from ‘K3 section’, which was part of the Naval Intelligence code breaking section. This suggests that Attridge may have worked on the British Type 3 Mark II radio made by Marconi and used by spies during the war.
The British Type 3 Mark II radio, more commonly known as the B2, was issued to agents, resistance groups and special forces operating in occupied territory. Weighing just 8lbs it was first used in the field in 1944 and the Marconi Company made over 400 of them. The radio required specialist miniaturised components; work trusted to expert staff. Attridge would have led a small team in assembling these components, probably in a closed off area of the factory to ensure secrecy as the factory operated 24 hours a day.[1]
Personal life
Attridge was born on 14 June 1901 in Chelmsford.[2] Her parents were Henry Attridge (died 1938) and Martha Jane (née Gosling, died 1939). She had three brothers, and in 1911 the family are recorded living at 1&2 Browns Yard, Moulsham Street. Her father was a ‘steel grinder’ and may well have worked at Crompton ARC in Chelmsford, before moving to Marconi. Attridge joined her father working at Marconi just after the end of the First World War.
In 1950 she married John William Hayes, also of Chelmsford. She was 49 at the time of her marriage and no children are recorded.
In 1975 Florence and her husband John died within a few months of each other.[3]
Commemorations
In 2016 Chelmsford Museum Services acquired Attridge's British Empire Medal. With the medal came eight documents, including a signed letter from Buckingham Palace, a signed letter from the Admiralty, a signed telegram from the Admiralty signal establishment and a signed letter/telegram from Admiral H. W. Grant, then Managing Director of the Marconi Company. There was also a letter from ‘K3 section’, which was part of the Naval Intelligence code breaking section.[4][5]
In 2018-2019 Attridge featured in a touring exhibition celebrating the lives and achievements of Essex women. The exhibition was part of a two-year project by Essex County Council, ‘Snapping the Stiletto’, exploring how Essex women's lives have changed since the Representation of the People Act in 1918 gave the first British women the right to vote.[6]
In 2020 Attridge featured in Soundings from Essex, a celebration of Essex' women in science.[7] In December 2020, a blue plaque was unveiled in her honour on the wall of her home in Andrews Place in Chelmsford.[8]
References
- Wander, Tim (2012). Marconi's New Street Works 1912 – 2012 Birthplace of the Wireless Age. ISBN 9780-755-206933.
- "Florence Attridge | Minerva Scientifica". Retrieved 2020-10-24.
- Wander, Tim (August 2018). Miss Florence Attridge BEM.
- Kemsley, Emma. "Can you help Chelmsford Museum's search for Florence Attridge?". East Life. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- "Marconi Newsletter 2017 – edition number 19 – Miss Florence Attridge – Marconi Veterans Association". Retrieved 2019-10-01.
- "Snapping the Stiletto". Snapping the Stiletto. Essex County Council. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- "Soundings from Essex | electric voice theatre". Retrieved 2020-10-24.
- "Blue plaque unveiled in Chelmsford for 'heroine of World War II'". InYourArea.co.uk. 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2020-12-12.