Women in the Front Line at the Lichfield and Hatherton Canal.
Women have always played an integral, if underrated, part in canal construction.
Traditionally, navvies were men, but women and children could be involved in
building tasks too, and women, of course, looked after the home while their
men-folk worked.
The first working boats had all-male crews, with families living in cottages on the bank,
but as competition from the railways grew, it made sense for women and
children to come aboard as extra labour and to save rental costs.
The feminine influence no doubt led to the decoration of boats with brightly-
painted landscapes and crocheted lace, the ‘Roses and Castles’ folk art that
characterises today’s leisure narrow boats.
The Second World War saw the rise of the ‘Idle Women’, the canal-based
equivalent of the ‘Land Girls’.
The Idle Women, whose nickname was derived from the initials ‘IW’ displayed
on their badges, volunteered to operate canal barges, carrying vital supplies
through the country’s waterway network.
As canals moved towards primarily leisure use, the drive for restoration was
again a traditionally male pursuit, but women continued to play their part.
Nowhere is that influence more important than in Lichfield and Hatherton Canals
Restoration Trust, with a group of women playing leading roles.
LHCRT Chairperson is Chris Bull, who, unusually for a woman in 1969, went into
industry working on long term planning for Shell and then moved to Burton as
marketing intelligence manager for Bass Worthington.
“My daughter was born before maternity leave was statutory so the commercial
career ended!” she said.
“By chance I found part time work in Higher Education and then Further
Education, ultimately as Assistant Principal at Tamworth & Lichfield College, and
retiring in 2005.
“Putting my feet up wasn't for me! I did some part time work on adult literacy and
numeracy and in 2007 embarked on ‘Granny on a Gap Year’ with a number of
Voluntary Service Overseas placements in Namibia, St Helena Island and
Tanzania until 2015.
“Volunteering gets in the blood! I am passionate about conservation and through
such work with Lichfield's Countryside and Parks Conservation Group and Staffs
Wildlife Trust I heard about LHCRT, and joined the Grounds/Green Team.
“I still get out there and muddy on Saturdays, on Tuesdays with Queen's Croft
High School youngsters and also with the numerous youth groups who work with
us on an ad hoc basis and I love it!
“I also sit for ages in front of my laptop and in meetings on the all important
‘behind the scenes’ work.
“My volunteering keeps the body and the brain in good form, and has allowed me
to get to know the most amazing bunch of people. Thanks, LHCRT!”
Company Secretary Dora Hancock has a background in accountancy and
education.
“After completing a degree in maths, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant and
gaining a teaching qualification I began a teaching career at Shrewsbury College
in 1984. During my teaching career I worked at Staffordshire University, Birmingham
City University, Leeds Beckett’s University and Aston University teaching
accountancy, tax and finance. I have written two books, one on the UK Tax
System and the other on International Finance.
“My husband and I bought our first narrowboat in 1989 and are keen boaters.
“Before I retired I interviewed Peter Buck, the Trust’s engineering director, and as
a result decided to attend a Trust meeting. I quickly found myself agreeing to be minutes secretary and then company
secretary. I found that the aims of the Trust and the work they were doing appealed to me
and my desire to be involved in something that was big enough to engage me in
retirement.
“Working for the Trust has enabled me to contribute to my community more
widely, perhaps most successfully with Lichfield in Bloom but also with several
groups of young people ranging from Beavers to students following the Duke of
Edinburgh programme.
“I have also very much enjoyed meeting people from the wider restoration
community and CRT.
“I find that people involved in canal restoration tend to be very positive people
who are willing to do what it takes to make things happen.”
Communications Director Christine Howles is a member of the Chartered
Institute of Marketing (CIM).
She began her career working as a housing officer for a Midlands-based
housing association before side-stepping into communications and
marketing and studying for a marketing qualification at evening classes and
during maternity leave.
She now works full time as communications manager for South Staffs Water.
“I started volunteering for LHCRT five years ago, when I moved
house closer to the canal route and saw that they needed help with their
social media presence. That role soon grew and I’m now a trustee, heading up the events team,
looking after volunteer recruitment and many other things besides.
"LHCRT is very inclusive, so although we may be unusual having so many
women as volunteers, it’s not something that’s crossed my mind until now. All of our volunteers, regardless of gender or any other characteristic, are
united in the common goal of restoring the canals.
“I work full-time and have a family including two boys aged 14 and 10 so a lot
of people ask how I find the time to volunteer. A lot of what I do, I can do in short bursts before or after work, but then I do
use a lot of my spare time at the weekends. I do tend to bring it on myself though as I easily find more work for myself
and then have a new project to take on.
”When you're passionate about something, it's very easy to get
completely wrapped up in it.”
Health and Safety Officer Sharon Oliphant describes herself as an
experienced, dedicated and enthusiastic health and safety professional.
“I have more than twenty years’ experience working in the utilities and
construction sectors with a mechanical, electrical and civil design
background – a world away from college days and training to be a
cartographer!”
“Currently working for a specialist contractor to both the water industry and
wider water environment, it was a pleasure being asked to volunteer for
LHCRT in the health and safety role enabling me to use my day time skills to
support a project that will bring the Lichfield and Hatherton canals back to
life.
“To ensure positive health and well-being I firmly believe in being able to
maintain a healthy work-life balance and sometimes for me being busy is
best!
"Through the support of my family and employer and with my time
management skills, I am able to give something back to the community
through my volunteering.”
Work Party Volunteer Sarah Morley has been a member of LHCRT for several years and is usually
sat behind her desk at home designing their leaflets, posters and logos.
“I saw their Facebook advert for work party volunteers and thought I would
contact them about it. I’ve seen a lot of the work they have done at Gallows Wharf and Gallows
Reach along the Tamworth Road as I walk my dog along that route most
days.
“Before going self-employed I worked for a number of construction companies
but only ever got to visit sites to take photographs, so this was a good
opportunity for me to get out on site and actually do some manual labour.
I spend Wednesday mornings with the team at Fosseway Heath and they
are all friendly and welcoming and encourage me to get involved with
something different each week.
“So far I have helped to bolt a metal ladder to the canal wall and concrete it
in, mixed my first wheelbarrow of cement for the bricklayers and have been
shown how to use the diesel cement mixer. We’ve been busy filling in the cavity walls and so have been mixing plenty of
cement for that. Each batch of cement takes 40 spades of sand and gravel, two bags of
cement and three buckets of water, so it’s definitely a good workout filling the
mixer up each time!
“Next week I’m being shown how to drive the dumper, so watch this space!
“I work for myself at home and it can be quite isolating sometimes, so this is
a great way to escape the four walls of the office for a few hours each week
and get to know some new people.”
The Trust’s marketing team is heavily reliant on its women members including Sue Williams, Bev Marshall, Hilary Smith, Pat Ainge, May Brown and Margaret Beardsmore, a photographer with a passion for Staffordshire and canals.
The Trust’s Green and Grounds team, whose main aims are to encourage biodiversity and improve the route visually, includes Margaret Broadhead, Aileen Salter, Patsy Wilson, Wendy Reece, Kareen Lowther, Linda Collins, Jean Barnett , Liv Baker, a Duke of Edinburgh award volunteer, and young volunteer Natasha Matthews.
LHCRT is indeed lucky to have such a strong team but still needs more help - both male and femail! Why not volunteer yourself - read more here.
Tom Reid
