Survivors see ‘women of steel’ statue dream come closer to reality

PREPARATION WORK has begun on a permanent tribute to the work of women in Sheffield’s steel factories during the Second World War in a bid to ensure the four surviving women live to see it erected.
Women of Steel Statue and Kathleen Roberts,Kitty Sollitt,Ruby Gascoigne and Dorothy SlingsbyWomen of Steel Statue and Kathleen Roberts,Kitty Sollitt,Ruby Gascoigne and Dorothy Slingsby
Women of Steel Statue and Kathleen Roberts,Kitty Sollitt,Ruby Gascoigne and Dorothy Slingsby

Campaigners have revealed the bronze “women of steel” statue which will stand in the city centre could be completed within 18 months as the fundraising target reached a major milestone.

With just a few thousand pounds left of the £150,000 needed, sculptor Martin Jennings has been instructed to get started on the monument. It will depict two of the women who carried out back-breaking labour to keep steelworks alive while men fought on the frontline, standing side-by-side.

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The news has been welcomed by Ruby Gascoigne, 92. The great, great-grandmother, is one of the four nonagenarians left who sacrificed much of their youth to the war
effort.

She said: “Hopefully it’ll be finished in time before the four of us die. The eldest is 94 and she’s been ill, I’ve been ill. We’re all in our 90s and we’re all feeling our age. We were never acknowledged. The men got their medals and the Women’s Forces did, but never the women of steel.

“I’ve loved every minute of it. Us four are representing the hundreds of women who did their bit but didn’t survive to see the statue. This is for their families.”

The fundraising campaign began just under four years ago and the majority of the money has been raised by the people of South Yorkshire through donations and events.

Plans are also in place to bring the “women of steel” story to life on the stage at South Yorkshire’s Magna Science Adventure Centre, which was the site of the former Templeborough steelworks.