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The Italian Contribution to Shipley Textile Manufacturing. The Ricciardo (Mackin) Sisters' story from 1957

booklet

typewritten

Smith, Maggie

Shipley, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

The story of Italian sisters Dora and Margherita Mackin with refrences to Velia Campbell (all nee Ricciardo). Account of their early lives in Italy and then travelling to Britain in the 1950s to work in the textile industry.

Copyright Maggie Smith

Only viewable in the Saltaire Collection

Textile industry

Personal memories

Emigration and immigration

Avezzano, Italy

1957 – 1957

Gift: Smith, Maggie

To view the full story please contact the Saltaire Collection

Three Italian sisters, Dora, Velia and Margherita, were born in a village called Avezzano 40 miles from Naples. They were recruited through the ‘The European Volunteer Workers Scheme’ in the Campania region of Italy to come to work in Mason’s textile mill, Shipley in 1958/59. Their father had become bankrupt during the economic depression in Italy after the Second World War. The sisters were anxious to help their large family by gaining paid employment in Britain.

The relatively high level of economic growth in the UK during the post-war period had led an acute labour shortage within key sectors. European workers were therefore invited in order to cover the need for low-paid and unskilled work. The majority of the workers recruited originated in Eastern European countries such as the Ukraine, Poland and Latvia. Locally however, many Italian and some Austrian women were recruited to work in the textile industries in the Bradford District and in Manchester.

The Ricciardo sisters had previously worked for their father in his business of growing and harvesting strong grasses used for weaving baskets and for mattress filling. They had previous experience in processing the materials and converting this ‘Strama’ into a form of ‘yarn’ to produce household goods. The recruitment process they went through involved 200 ‘girls’ from their area who were interviewed by two people from England. They stayed in a camp outside Naples and had to undergo x ray examinations, blood tests, eye tests and many other invasive medical examinations and answer detailed questions about their families. The process felt undignified but the sisters, very aware of the struggle for food and necessities for their parents and remaining siblings, tolerated the invasive process. Only 16 of the applicants were accepted at this point in time.

On being accepted, the sisters applied for passports and arrived in England in March 1959. They were met off the boat in Dover by two Italian women already working for the textile company. They were taken by train to a hostel prepared for them to live in. They were pleased to have ‘house parents’ who spoke Italian and soon started work in Mason’s mill, Shipley. This was a weaving mill and Dora was employed as a piecer and gill box minder. Her sisters gained similar work and they all earned £10 each week – sending £30 home every month to help their family. They ‘got by’ in work through sign language initially but later attended Belle Vue Upper School two evenings each week to learn English.

Two of the sisters married English men and the third married an Irish man. All three settled in the Shipley area for the rest of their lives and brought up their families in England. They were able to return home to Italy for holidays which were joyous occasions. They recorded their history with a Saltaire Collection volunteer and donated it to the Saltaire Collection.

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