Question Author
In due course, I changed jobs to work closer to home and began employment with Consett Iron Company (later to become part of British Steel). My new role was as a Telephonist manning the switchboard for one of three 8-hour shifts. Over this period one particular incident springs to mind which resulted from a “wrong number”. Our phone number was very similar to that of a local hospital and I was not surprised one night to receive a call from a man who thought he was speaking to the hospital. He was already quite agitated as he was enquiring if his wife had given birth to their first child yet!
I should explain that at that time prospective fathers were not really encouraged to be present at the birth. His nerves went into overdrive when he realised he was connected to the switchboard of the local steel works. I managed to calm him down whilst I dialled the correct hospital number and patched him through. When he eventually found out he was the proud father of a baby girl, he was so grateful for my help that he gave his daughter an extra middle name of “Janice” (named after me!).
After getting married, I continued working until the birth of my first daughter, Jayne Victoria, after which I became a full-time Mum for the next six years.