ONE of Sheffield’s oldest Women of
Steel – who kept the city’s steelworks alive during wartime –
has died, aged 102.
Vera Shaw worked in Stanley Works,
Woodside Lane, Neepsend, during World War Two, inspecting bullet casings.
She died in Sheffield’s Northern
General Hospital on Monday, after falling ill at Christmas.
Until then, she had lived in her own
home on Granby Road, Norton, leading a fairly independent life for her age.
Son Derek, 77, said she still enjoyed
seeing friends.
Mr Shaw said: “Everybody has said
that they will miss her because she was the life and soul of the party.
“She was 102, so it’s just
one of those things.
“She was in her own home until
Boxing Day and more or less looked after herself. She was with it right until
the end.
“I think she may have been the
oldest woman left who helped keep the home fires burning during the war.”
Vera, who featured in The Star’s
Woman of Steel campaign for official recognition for their work, originally
made shirts.
Her family – Vera, her husband
Fred and a young Derek – had only recently moved to Sheffield when war broke
out and Fred was sent away with the Royal Navy.
And Vera’s wartime job meant that
she had to send Derek, then aged just four, to live with her mother in
Macclesfield, Cheshire, for his safety.
During an interview as part of the Women
of Steel campaign, Vera said everyone had been kind and welcoming when she
arrived at Stanley Works and she had gone on to build strong friendships with
her colleagues.
She said: “We used to have to look
in the bullets and make sure the rings were perfect.
“It was all women. I had a big
family and all my sisters worked hard like that.”
The campaign succeeded with a permanent
plaque at Balm Green, off Barker’s Pool, Sheffield city centre, unveiled
last year.
A fundraising drive to pay for a statue
honouring the women is also planned.
Derek, of St Aidan’s Road,
Arbourthorne, said: “Mum thought the Women of Steel campaign was the
right thing to do to recognise the women who stepped up.
“I think everybody does and I certainly
do, because I know how hard they worked.
“I remember women still doing a
lot of the jobs when I was a steelworker before becoming a HGV driver.
“When I was going through all her
things I found the articles about her neatly put away.”
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