Remembering the "Women of Steel"

From BBC News:

"It was dirty, it was noisy and it was jolly hard work."

That is Kathleen Roberts's view of life as one of the Women of Steel in Sheffield in World War II.

They were conscripted to work in the steel works to keep production going when the men went off to war.

Their efforts were finally recognised by the government at the start of 2010 and now researchers are recording their personal accounts of life in the factories for an oral history project.

The project is part of a module for English students at the University of Sheffield, called Storying Sheffield.

Students work with members of the local community to collect, record and produce stories about their lives in Sheffield.

Three of the Women of Steel met with five students from the University's School of English in December 2010 to record their memories to create permanent digital artefacts.