[Margaret Pilkington]

My family have a long history of working in the cotton mills......my paternal grandfather was a screen printer at Broad Oak Works, My auntie was a weaver, my uncle made the machinery that spun the cotton, both my parents were weavers at Highams Mill, I was a weaver of jacquard fabric before I went into the Nursing profession, so I guess I have a background that has much to do with the cotton trade.......and yes the health and welfare of the workers sometimes left a lot to be desired (there was a works nurse at Highams Mill)......but there was a cameraderie among the workers, they were like a family, they had a laugh at work(though I know the work was hard)......the children of the workers always got a trip to the seaside in summer, a panto and a Christmas Party at the Cotton Club.......and my father considered that he earned a fair wage.......it kept us fed and clothed anyway.