Florence Attridge

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Obverse of Attridge's medal, awarded in 1946 for her services
Women doing assembly work at the Marconi New Street factory in Chelmsford in the 1950s
A British Type 3 Mark II radio, better known as the B2, made at the Marconi New Street factory in Chelmsford. Attridge helped assemble these radios

Florence Attridge (* 1901 in Chelmsford , Essex ; † 1975 ibid) was a British leader of a women's team in the Marconi New Street Works radio factory during the Second World War in Chelmsford. She was involved in the manufacture of secret radios that were used by the resistance during World War II.

life and work

Attridge was born one of four children to a steel grinder. Shortly after the end of World War I, she worked at the Marconi radio factory in Chelmsford, where her father also worked. In 1944 she headed a women's team in a locked area of ​​the factory to ensure secrecy for the assembly of special small parts for the British Type 3 Mark II radio. This radio , also known as B2, weighed only 8 pounds and was issued to agents, resistance groups, and special forces operating in occupied territory. Over 400 radios were manufactured by the Marconi Company and first used in the field in 1944. She received a British Empire Medal in 1946 for her secret war defense work during World War II . In 2016, Chelmsford Museum Services acquired this medal with eight documents, including a signed letter from Buckingham Palace , a signed letter from the Admiralty, and a signed letter from Admiral HW Grant, then executive director of the Marconi Company . There was also a thank you letter from the "K3 Section" which was part of the Naval Intelligence code breaking section. In 1950 she married John William Hayes, also from Chelmsford. She and her husband died a few months apart in 1975. From 2018 to 2019, an exhibition featured the lives and achievements of Essex women like Attridge. This exhibition was part of a two-year Essex County Council project, Snapping the Stiletto, which examined how Essex women's lives have changed since British women were given the right to vote.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Attridge, Florence
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British leader of a women's team in the Marconi radio factory
DATE OF BIRTH 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Chelmsford , Essex
DATE OF DEATH 1975
Place of death Chelmsford , Essex