Distant voices.....

[Graham47]

Most women wore 'snoods' (remember them) and worked in war industries and listened to 'Worker's Playtime' and sang along as they worked.

Lots of 'elf and safety going on in that picture. Mind you, when I worked for a time in a metal shop back in the 60's there was none then either!

[joboy]

Joboy - I don't think "most women" wore snoods and the ones who wore something on their head usually wore a headscarf, folded into a triangle.  They would then put this on their head with the wide part at the back and wrap it round their head, probably not be classed as a war industry,

Of course I was generalizing ........ being a youngster in busy London it seemed to me that all the womenfolk wore snoods and on reflection many wore the headscarf.
I do remember that people were a lot happier because there was more employment when WW2 was looming and more jobs became available.
My father who was often (more often than not) out of work and ill with malaria,due to service in Mesopotamia WW1,managed to get work at DeHaviland's whilst my mother had a two day (weekly) housekeeping job in Elgin Avenue Maida Vale for some wealthy people so our horizon's looked far better than previously.
Joe

[Annui]

Thanks for the link, Graham.  I began watching but found the film depressing, I have saved the link for a second try and future viewing. 

I was born 1939 in Hull, so remember most of the horrible war years - 1940s and all the 1950s.
You know, after watching just a little of that film it made me really glad to be in 2013, in spite of the bad stuff,  in spite of the fact that I'm likely on my last lap mortality-wise    - and the political idiocies going on here in the USA, a government shutdown just ended. 

It's valuable to be reminded though, and I shall go back and watch the film in full soon.  I loved Pete Postlethwaite -  favourite role was in  "Brassed Off".

[Greensleeves]

Health & Safety didn't exist until the 1974 Health & Safety at Work Act.  I was one of the first tranche who did the compulsory training for Health & Safety reps.  I was working in the print industry at the time, and we were all horrified to learn about the dangers of the chemicals which were being used, and sloshed around liberally, in the print works.