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22<br />
Sweet<br />
memories<br />
In 1864 Henry Tate opened what is now<br />
the largest sugar refi nery company<br />
in the UK. For generations, the Tate &<br />
Lyle factory in Silvertown has provided<br />
jobs for local people and beyond. Ethel<br />
Colquhoun, 82, was one of the people<br />
whose entire working life was spent<br />
within the factory walls of this globally<br />
recognised and much loved brand.<br />
Her story features in a new book that<br />
celebrates her and the other Sugar<br />
Girls who have helped contribute to the<br />
success of Tate & Lyle.<br />
<strong>Newham</strong> born and bred, Ethel has always<br />
lived within the shadow of the factory she<br />
began working in aged 14. Her love and<br />
commitment to the job saw her rise up<br />
the ranks from packer to forelady.<br />
How did you get the job?<br />
I was 14. Tate’s did sugar and cubes<br />
and Lyle’s did sugar and syrup. My sister<br />
worked at Tate’s. I went to the labour<br />
exchange (which has now evolved to be<br />
Job Centre Plus) and they sent me to<br />
Lyle’s. I met a man called Mr Sherlock at<br />
the gate. He read my character reference,<br />
which we used to get from school. He<br />
sent me to the surgery to have my hair<br />
checked for lice and I started work. I<br />
worked as a packer on the one-pound<br />
machine. There were 28 one-pound<br />
packets of sugar in one parcel. As the<br />
packets came down, you’d clamp 14<br />
packets together with your hands and<br />
pack them onto a pallet. It’s all done by<br />
machine now. I later went on to become<br />
a driver. You’d start the machines up and<br />
fi ll them with sugar. After a while they<br />
asked me if I wanted to be a chargehand.
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