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Comforts For The Troops: A novel inspired by women workers at Cadbury during World War One
From the author of the acclaimed biography, BEATRICE The Cadbury Heiress Who Gave Away Her Fortune, comes another compelling story.
One war. Three women. 1000 knitted vests.
After marrying Bill, housewife Jessie Paignton thought she’d left the Cadbury chocolate factory at Bournville for good. But money problems force her to return to work to make ends meet. Before long, however, her marriage is tested to breaking point.
Senior employee Leonora (the formidable Miss Lime) secretly longs for the forewoman’s job. When war starts in 1914, she seizes the chance to display her leadership qualities by rallying the girls to pack ‘Comforts’ for the soldiers. But her plan to impress the Cadbury directors unexpectedly – and tragically – backfires.
Meanwhile, vivacious Cadbury girl Mary Morris doesn’t have a care in the world – or so it seems. Despite trying to protect her beloved Daniel, he ends up in grave danger. Mary enlists the help of a Friends Ambulance Unit volunteer. But will it be enough to save Daniel?
A heartwarming yet gritty tale of love, work and friendship set in Birmingham’s best-loved chocolate factory during The Great War.
One war. Three women. 1000 knitted vests.
After marrying Bill, housewife Jessie Paignton thought she’d left the Cadbury chocolate factory at Bournville for good. But money problems force her to return to work to make ends meet. Before long, however, her marriage is tested to breaking point.
Senior employee Leonora (the formidable Miss Lime) secretly longs for the forewoman’s job. When war starts in 1914, she seizes the chance to display her leadership qualities by rallying the girls to pack ‘Comforts’ for the soldiers. But her plan to impress the Cadbury directors unexpectedly – and tragically – backfires.
Meanwhile, vivacious Cadbury girl Mary Morris doesn’t have a care in the world – or so it seems. Despite trying to protect her beloved Daniel, he ends up in grave danger. Mary enlists the help of a Friends Ambulance Unit volunteer. But will it be enough to save Daniel?
A heartwarming yet gritty tale of love, work and friendship set in Birmingham’s best-loved chocolate factory during The Great War.
259 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 31, 2015
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 21, 2018
I did enjoy this book as a light read with a bit of history of Cadbury thrown in, but I do have a bit of a problem with self-published books. This needed a much harder edit, there are a lot of places where it just rambles or gets boring. There are also a few annoying things like typos and misprints that always put me off. I did quite like it but I felt like a lot of the characters' stories were wound up in quite unbelievable ways, to my mind the author must have run out of ideas of what to do with these people once they had set off on their various paths. They all seemed to have overly convenient personality changes in the last 100 pages. Don't think I'd bother reading another.
March 25, 2019
I enjoyed this tale and found it took me back many years to my first job when I left school. I was a 'hello' girl for the GPO and the character Miss Lime in this novel reminded me very much of the middle-aged spinsters who supervised us at the telephone exchange. They were sticklers for good timekeeping and good manners and were very competitive with each other saying their team was better than someone else's. When I got a young supervisor from a Caribbean country later on she was a breath of fresh air.
March 17, 2018
I received this in a bookcrossing Birmingham Unconvention authors bookbox, and knew nothing other than that it involved WWI. I found this very moving and considerably less depressing than so much which is written about the Great War. I found the characters very human and believable in all their quirkiness. A good read, I'll get some people in my household to read it and then will see where it goes.
February 14, 2016
Comforts for the Troops, is a novel set in Birmingham during World War 1 – among the women who worked in the Cadbury factory.
“Leonora tried to control most things in life but she had to accept the weather and all its vagaries were beyond even her command. She smoothed the front of her cream pinafore – clean on that morning – and brushed down her sleeves, sharply tugging each cuff so that it lay against her wrist bone. She removed her cap and patted her hair in front of the mirror, twisting her head to check the bun firmly in place. An image of herself dressed in a green blouse, worn only by the works’ forewomen, came into her mind; quickly she shook the thought away.”
cadburyHousewife Jessie had left the Cadbury factory on her marriage to upholsterer Bill, however when Bill is injured in a factory accident, just before the outbreak of WW1 she finds herself feeling increasingly anxious about money. Bill’s recovery progresses slowly, and their savings won’t last forever. With the outbreak of war George Cadbury decides to allow married women back to the factory in place of the men who have joined up. Jessie returns to the Cadbury factory alongside other married women and very young girls, like Helen Daw who at fourteen is now expected to earn her way. Helen is a poor, nervous scrap – who under the Cadbury’s scheme of work, exercise and fresh air begins to thrive – but she is also tragically naïve and ill-equipped to cope when life treats her cruelly.
Leonora Lime is an unmarried woman who has worked at the Cadbury factory for years. She longs to wear the green blouse of the forewomen, and is eager to grab any chance she can to show her bosses her true leadership potential. Living alone in the house she once shared with her parents, Leonora spends Thursday evenings with the Baileys; neighbours who knew her growing up, with whom she shares all the news from the factory. Keen to impress, Miss Lime rallies the women under her to pack ‘comforts’ for the soldiers at the front.
Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2016/...
“Leonora tried to control most things in life but she had to accept the weather and all its vagaries were beyond even her command. She smoothed the front of her cream pinafore – clean on that morning – and brushed down her sleeves, sharply tugging each cuff so that it lay against her wrist bone. She removed her cap and patted her hair in front of the mirror, twisting her head to check the bun firmly in place. An image of herself dressed in a green blouse, worn only by the works’ forewomen, came into her mind; quickly she shook the thought away.”
cadburyHousewife Jessie had left the Cadbury factory on her marriage to upholsterer Bill, however when Bill is injured in a factory accident, just before the outbreak of WW1 she finds herself feeling increasingly anxious about money. Bill’s recovery progresses slowly, and their savings won’t last forever. With the outbreak of war George Cadbury decides to allow married women back to the factory in place of the men who have joined up. Jessie returns to the Cadbury factory alongside other married women and very young girls, like Helen Daw who at fourteen is now expected to earn her way. Helen is a poor, nervous scrap – who under the Cadbury’s scheme of work, exercise and fresh air begins to thrive – but she is also tragically naïve and ill-equipped to cope when life treats her cruelly.
Leonora Lime is an unmarried woman who has worked at the Cadbury factory for years. She longs to wear the green blouse of the forewomen, and is eager to grab any chance she can to show her bosses her true leadership potential. Living alone in the house she once shared with her parents, Leonora spends Thursday evenings with the Baileys; neighbours who knew her growing up, with whom she shares all the news from the factory. Keen to impress, Miss Lime rallies the women under her to pack ‘comforts’ for the soldiers at the front.
Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2016/...
March 26, 2016
I loved this book! The only grumble I'd have about it is that I have been through so much chocolate while reading this...it does give a chocoholic awful cravings!
The story follows a number of girls who are workers in the Cadbury Factory during the war. When soldiers start to be enlisted the girls decide to begin a comforts programme, sending knitted items and chocolates to regiments.
The main characters were Lenora Lime; the busy body head of the department who enjoys asserting her authority in the factory and dreams of a higher position, Jessie; a likable young adult who returns to the factory after her husband gets an injury at work, and Mary; a young, loud mouthed teenager, high on energy but very conservative over her own personal life.There were a number of other girls who were involved and well known within the story but these were the ones who stood out to me.
I was really hooked on this story, it had a mixture of everything, romance, family issues, horrors of war, friendships, humor...
My favorite story line would definitely be Jessie's. When she goes to work in the factory she is a little older than the other girls she works with, but she takes on a motherly role and looks out for them all and is eager to help as much as she can, despite worrying about her husband being bed bound at home.
After reading this I am definitely planning to read Fiona Joseph's biography story that also follows cadbury workers.
The story follows a number of girls who are workers in the Cadbury Factory during the war. When soldiers start to be enlisted the girls decide to begin a comforts programme, sending knitted items and chocolates to regiments.
The main characters were Lenora Lime; the busy body head of the department who enjoys asserting her authority in the factory and dreams of a higher position, Jessie; a likable young adult who returns to the factory after her husband gets an injury at work, and Mary; a young, loud mouthed teenager, high on energy but very conservative over her own personal life.There were a number of other girls who were involved and well known within the story but these were the ones who stood out to me.
I was really hooked on this story, it had a mixture of everything, romance, family issues, horrors of war, friendships, humor...
My favorite story line would definitely be Jessie's. When she goes to work in the factory she is a little older than the other girls she works with, but she takes on a motherly role and looks out for them all and is eager to help as much as she can, despite worrying about her husband being bed bound at home.
After reading this I am definitely planning to read Fiona Joseph's biography story that also follows cadbury workers.
April 1, 2016
This is a great book, well researched which focuses on the lives of three woman working at the famous Cadbury Factory in Bournville, Birmingham.
It's set around the First World War, but emphasises how women came to support the war effort, while still juggling their own personal problems and goals in a time of social challenges. The three main characters are all different, coming together through working in the same department at the factory.
The story highlights their individual spirits amid the backdrop of the social problems women faced at the time, even in a working environment that was trailblazing for a better life for its workforce. The character’s lives interweave, with plots and surprises that keep the story flowing for the reader.
It's set around the First World War, but emphasises how women came to support the war effort, while still juggling their own personal problems and goals in a time of social challenges. The three main characters are all different, coming together through working in the same department at the factory.
The story highlights their individual spirits amid the backdrop of the social problems women faced at the time, even in a working environment that was trailblazing for a better life for its workforce. The character’s lives interweave, with plots and surprises that keep the story flowing for the reader.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews