Who has the worst occupation?

[Gillg]

I have several cotton and woollen millworkers from the age of 9 upwards in my family, but I think the worst of their jobs was to be a woolsorter, grading the raw wool as it arrived at the mill.  There was a possibility that you could catch the deadly woolsorter's disease, which was connected with anthrax.

Woolsorter's pneumonia - a form of anthrax infection acquired by inhalation of dust containing Bacillus anthracis; initial symptoms (chill and cough and dyspnea and rapid pulse) are followed by extreme cardiovascular collapse.

Luckily for both my gt-grandfather and his father, neither of them was infected.

[MrsLizzy]

I did come from a mining background and while everyone in the industry was proud to to be working in the coal mines (and I still think it a privilege to have worked there - even though it was many years ago)many of the men and all the women wanted better for their offspring even though for many there was little choice. However even in the 50s-60s there were a few who held the opinion that if it's good enough for me then it's good enough for my lads. And yes these blokes did have flaming rows with the wives over that - so you are no different

All I want is for my family (and obviously everyone else's) to be safe.  This is why I'd be against my husband or sons going down the pit, and it's why I was relieved that my brothers were turned down when they applied to join the Metropolitan Police (because as fraternal twins they have a minor colour blindness problem).  I'd read about life in the Met and would hate to see my brothers exposed to beatings etc.  God help me if I'd ever married a police officer on any force.  The worry would have killed me!