Such funding has made it possible [on first publication in 2003] to offer the book for sale at £5 in order that it might be read by as wide a readership as possible.
Once upon a time, not so many years ago, Irthlingborough was a busy and varied industrial town. Along with other towns, big or small, in this part of the country the heart of the economy was the making of boots and shoes and leather. It was in the air we breathed. It was in our blood.
It started as a cottage industry and developed by stages into production lines and factories. The majority of boys and girls knew there would be a job waiting in one of the many factories or tanneries. Many women “closed” from home which allowed them to earn some money and be there when the children returned from school. Unemployment, although not unknown, was not the problem it was in other parts of the country.
For this book we have concentrated on just one of the many factories which have operated in Irthlingborough over the last century – Wearra, or the Express. When this factory closed the impact was proportionally as great as the closure of the steelworks at Corby, but received far less attention.