Family Stories: Mill Workers and Cotton Queens

While doing some research into a worker in one of Yorkshire’s woolen mills in I came across some information about a ‘Cotton Queen’.

Doing a bit of further research I discovered that there were many ‘Industry Queens’ representing mills, railways, factories and mines across the country. Initially the Queens were elected in a similar way to village or town May Queens that had been a part of the English way of life since the middle ages. The difference was that these ‘Industry Queens’ were elected as a way to promote their individual industries and also serve as a bit of light relief for the workers and a reason to celebrate.

The first Railway Queens were elected in the mid 1920’s and the following years before World War Two were the time of the Queens across the country, though some Queens were elected later with the last coal Queen for Northumberland, Deborah Bramley was elected in 1982.

This was not just a beauty contest though. The Queens became the representative of their industry and needed to have a good knowledge of the workings of the industry and be able to talk with confidence about all aspects of whatever product was produced. The role of Queen was a full-time job – it wasn’t just the case the young woman was Queen for a day. Many Queens were required to travel all over the country and sometimes even overseas to promote their industries, give speeches and meet trade representatives, politicians and other such individuals. In order to prepare, factory managers sometimes arranged for applicants to work in different areas of the factory or workplace so that they had a better working knowledge of all areas of the industry.

The Queens were the latest marketing strategy. At the time the cinema was becoming more popular with Pathe new reels shown in every cinema, and if a Queen was featured in that Pathe news then it was an amazing advertising boost for that particular industry. They were also often featured in Newspaper reports reaching a wide audience.

Frances Lockett

Frances was born on Glossop in 1910. The daughter of Thomas and Mary Ellen Lockett. On the 1921 census Thomas was employed as a Fireman at the Cotton Works Fire station. Frances left school when she was 15yrs old and also went to work at Newton Mill in Hyde. When she was elected England’s first Cotton Queen in 1930 her life changed forever. She was thrust into the limelight and travelled all over the UK. She was taken to London and met the Prime Minister of the time, Ramsey Macdonald and also previous Prime Minister Lloyd George. She was interviewed and photographed and required to not only attend balls and by modelling garments promote cotton as a fabric but also speak with leaders and organisations about the Cotton Industry.

After her year as Queen, Frances returned to Hyde and back to her previous job in the mill. She married James Burgess, a Police Officer in 1937. Frances remained a local celebrity even after her year as Queen was completed. She and James lived in Hyde  and never had any children. She died in 1993 aged 83yrs.

Doreen Kerfoot

Doreen was 19yrs old in 1946 and worked as a woollen weaver for Crabtrees Mill and Newsomes in Dewsbury. She was crowned the Yorkshire Wool Queen and this led to a complete change of lifestyle for her. Doreen had left school at 14yrs old and her family were working people who had lost their home and possessions in a fire a few years previously. Doreen then went on to star in a film called ‘The Three Piece Suit’ which was a recruitment venture by the wool industry aimed at young female workers. After this she was required to model clothing at exhibitions and events. She was given training in modelling and public speaking and her life became a whirlwind of public engagements and events. Doreen was already a confident singer and later won a competition which led to a lead role in the professional pantomime Aladdin at the Dewsbury Empire. Immediately after that she announced her retirement from public life aged 21yrs old and settled down with her new husband Harold Fletcher. She and Harold had a long life together and Doreen died in 2017 aged 90yrs old.

Do you have an Industry Queen in your family? If any of your family worked in a mill or an industry, particularly in the North of England it might be worth checking newspaper reports - you never know you might find a family member in the photos!

Contact me if I can help with any of your family history research.