Woman of Steel back on factory floor

MORE than six decades ago, Kathleen Roberts was a Sheffield steelworker, replacing the men who had left their jobs to fight in the Second World War.

She last stepped inside a steelworks 64 years ago, but on a recent visit to one of the city’s remaining plants she said little had changed. The 91-year-old great-grandmother was invited to tour of Special Steels in Attercliffe as part of a campaign to raise money for a Women of Steel statue in Sheffield city centre.

Mrs Roberts said: “They are still using the machinery I worked on during the war and some of that was from World War I, so they certainly built them to last. That is pretty wonderful.

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“They are busier now than they have been for ages. You get the impression the steel industry has had it in Sheffield and things are bad, but they are doing well. They have got competition such as China, but our steel is still wanted all over the world. That was lovely to hear and came as a nice surprise.”

One thing that has changed dramatically over the decades is health and safety for workers.

“We had to wear a hard hat and special glasses just to go around on a tour,” Kathleen said. “When I was working the only time you wore a hard hat was when the sirens went – and even then we had to keep working.”

Sheffield Council leader Julie Dore, who joined Mrs Roberts on the tour, added:“We have ambitious plans to pay our city’s Women of Steel the respect and honour that they deserve with a permanent memorial in their honour. The Women of Steel deserve our upmost respect and we are determined to award them the honour that they so truly deserve.

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“Their valiant efforts were a crucial part of the contribution Sheffield’s industry made to the war effort in both world wars. We have been working with the Women of Steel to make a permanent memorial a reality. This is a project that is important to the whole city and we want everyone to get involved.”