Food in the 1950s

Rene Smith was an ex-weaver who worked at Armley Mills in the 1950s. Rene started working at the mill in 1941 when she was 14 years old. She agreed to return to the mill to allow the pupils from St. Barts to interview her so that they could get a first person account of what life was life for the workers at Armley Mills in the 1950s.

The children devised a set of interview questions to pose to Rene, in order to find out what it was like to work at Armley Mills and also find out about her life ouside of work.

The video clip atttached shows Rene answering the childrens question on dinnertime at the mill and food in the 50s. The questions they asked were:

Dinnertime at the mill

• What did you eat?
• When did you eat?
• What is 'dripping'?

Food in the 50s

• What is your favourite meal and why?
• Do you prefer meals now or then?
• Is there any food from the past that you still like now?

Video clips of Rene's answers to questions on subjects such as entertainment and hobbies, fashion, family life and working in the mill can be seen in the other learning journey's in this series.