Audrey Walton, wartime steelworker

Audrey Walton with the Women of Steel statue

From 1941, she worked the lathes at Hadfields in Attercliffe and later at Newton Chambers in Chapeltown, often on the night shift, at a time when putting on a tin hat and repairing to the air raid shelters was a part of the routine.

In 2016, she was presented with a Women of Steel medal in recognition of her service.

Born in Birdwell in 1922, she was the younger daughter of Bruce and Rosemma Oldfield. Her father worked on the pit face.

Audrey at Hadfields munitions factory during the war

After leaving Market Street School in Hoyland, she trained as a hairdresser. But at the outset of war, she was told by her employer that her services were no longer needed, so she bought a bicycle and began a mobile hairdressing service.

Later, in the 1960s, she opened a salon on Hoyland Road, helped by her eldest daughter, Lana.

She married Harold, a Royal Artillery gunner who served with distinction war in Italy and Africa and later worked as a welder.

Her three daughters, six grandchildren and four great grandchildren survive her.