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1930s: What was it like to be a clippie on the Sheffield trams during the war?
The Clippie Girls
What you need to know before your trail
Peggy is the wise one of the Sylvester siblings. Rose and Myrtle look up to their older sister but at the head of the family is grandmother, Grace Booth, and their mother, Mary Sylvester. Both women who are wise and can be relied on in a time of crisis. When war is declared in 1939 their world is turned upside down in more ways than one. Rose wants to be a clippie – a conductor and ticket-taker – on Sheffield’s trams. Myrtle however has dreams of going further if war will allow.
When the tram on which Peggy is a conductress is caught in a bomb blast, she bravely helps to rescue her passengers. One of them is a young soldier, Terry Price, and he and Peggy begin courting. They meet every time he can get leave, but eventually Terry is posted abroad and seems to disappear. Worse still, Peggy must break the devastating news to her family that she is pregnant.
The shock waves that ripple through the family will affect each and every one of them and life will never be the same again.
Travel Guide
The museum behind the story – Critch Tramway Museum
For any one remotely interested in trams and if you’re not you will be when you go here – there’s a chance to ride them and be a clippie girl yourself for the day. It’s like stepping into the past and living the past. A remarkable museum and place to spend an afternoon with this book and a cup of tea in a china cup. Be sure to look out for Tram 264 which inspired the story.
Sheffield
The city of Sheffield is evoked in great wartime detail. The life of a clippie girl is fascinating and real. A town blighted by war and its people even more so. Sheffield was at the centre of the war effort and the affects of the war were keenly felt:
“This time the enemy were targeting the civilian population too. They were trying to demoralize not only Londoners but the citizens of other big cities too. And one of those was their very own Sheffield.”
Sheffield is a major player here – the trams the cathedral and the Town Hall where the men, or rather boys, go to sign up and fight for their country. This is the story of the people of Sheffield – historical accuracy seems to be as keen as ever and reads almost like a homage to the city and those who lived there. Walk around the streets and feel the scars on the pavements and on the walls.
The Weston Park Museum is a good place to start on a historical trail back to wartime Sheffield
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: The Clippie Girls
Author/Guide: Margaret Dickinson Destination: Sheffield Departure Time: 1940s
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