The life of a Boiler House Greaser in a War Factory

The life of a Boiler House Greaser in a War Factory, page 1.



The life of a Boiler House Greaser in a War Factory, page 2.



The life of a Boiler House Greaser in a War Factory, page 3.



The life of a Boiler House Greaser in a War Factory, page 4.

Diary written in October 1941 by a married man working in the Armed Forces in Essex, describing work in a war-time factory.

"The army of course, had to step in, as there was an acute shortage of labour. So the usual British war time scene of specialists in almost every other subject under the sun except the running of a sugar beet factory working in the specialized jobs of such a factory, whilst the factory hands who had been called up were being trained by the army as specialists in almost every subject under the sun, was witnessed once more. I, for my part, was given the most onerous job of boiler house greaser."

"I had seen boiler house greasers before. I had envied them much as a little boy envies the untouchable omnipotence of an engine driver. And there, by the magic of the army, I was in a boiler house with a grease gun in one hand and a swab of cotton waste in the other, pouring in oil as the fancy took me, and getting myself gloriously oily and dirty."

"The consensus of opinion amongst the factory hand regarding the end of the war, a subject that always crops up, was that Germany will crack up at some time and when she does crack up the end will be swift and sure, as in the last war."