Alan Pullin

Alan worked for Smith and Philips' as a weft man, supplying yarn to the looms in the weaving sheds for ten years from 1964. He lived in Lechlade and took a Batt's coach into Witney at 7 o'clock every morning which dropped off at all the mills. He remembers that sometimes the weavers used to give gifts of cakes or cigarettes to the weft men on Friday afternoon breaks as a token of appreciation for their week's work.

During his time at the firm they made electric blanket shells, cellular and Fiberwoven blankets, as well as traditional woven blankets. He met his wife through the mill where she worked as a weaver; they married in 1968 and were given a pair of blankets by the firm as a wedding gift. He enjoyed his job and found the mill a good place to work but needed to earn more money so moved out of the blanket industry. When he left in 1974 he missed the constant noise of the weaving shed and found it difficult to get used to being in a quiet environment.

A recorded interview with Alan is available from Oxfordshire Studies - details are available on the Search the Collections page (search for his name).