09/11/2025
The biographies behind the names of the women embroidered into the poppy 🌺
This is part of our wonderful poppy cascade.
And there is a story to each of the names:
These Bedworth women were all involved in the war effort.
Betty Ellen Woodward
Born 31 July 1924 in Barry Island, South Wales. Moved to Coventry in 1935 with her parents and one brother when she was 11 years old and attended Broad Street School until 1938 at 14 years of age. On leaving school she joined SS Cars Ltd, Swallow Road, Holbrook Lane, Coventry. With the outbreak of WW2 in 1939 production shifted its focus from car production to war related work. This included manufacturing parts for aircraft like Spitfire, Lancaster, Mosquito and Oxford, also exploring the development of four wheeled vehicles for military applications for alternatives to motorcycles and sidecars. Betty moved from Coventry to Bedworth in 1984 where she still lives today.
Margaret Randle
Born 13 July 1925 in Everton. She joined the ATS in 1939 and was based in Glenridding and worked as a telephonist. The Auxiliary Territorial Services was the women’s branch of the British Army in WW2 and was formed to support the war effort in non-combat roles. Glenridding is in the lake district and she was allowed time off to go home occasionally.
Betty Glenn nee Liggins
Betty was born in 1924 in Rugby and was well known in Bulkington as the lady with the hats. She married in 1944. She was in the land army based in Hurley, Atherstone working for Mr Marley on his farm. She was involved in cleaning chicken pens (she hated chickens), milking cows and bottling the milk and delivering it. She worked alongside Mr Marley’s daughter delivering milk in a van with a trailer. One day a wheel went rolling past the van and it had come off the trailer. Fortunately, not one milk bottle broke! She was a good mum of 5 children and lived in Smorrall Lane where she helped to drive the cows up the lane to be milked. Betty also worked at Kennings and Butlers the cake shop in Park road. She passed away in 2019.
Elsie Margaret Darby (nee Lloyd)
Born in Nuneaton in 1919 and was one of six children. Two of her sisters died at 15 and 24 of tuberculosis and her soldier brother David died at 21 in the 1944 Normandy landings. She had been offered a place at grammar school but her family couldn’t afford the uniform. She married Lesleon Darby from Bedworth in 1942 just before he was sent overseas with the Royal Corps of Signals. She was a skilled seamstress working full time for a local tailor and she was paid around 30 shillings (£1.50) a week. Moving to make Lancaster Bombers at the Baginton site her salary was 3 times that. A very generous wage for a woman at that time. There were many hundreds of thousands of rivets in a Lancaster and her work was riveting the fuselage. She was one injured when her drill broke and her work partner passed her a still working drill which pierced her forehead. She carried on working even with 2 spectacular black eyes caused by the incident. She was extremely conscientious. Rushing to work one day in the blackout she ran into a wall and dislocated her thumb but carried on to work. She enjoyed her time there, doing work of real purpose. Post war, they lived in Bedworth until she passed away in 1973 aged 54.
Lilian Elizabeth Davis nee Blundred
Born in 1915 in Sleath’s Yard, Bedworth and later lived in Evans Close and Chestnut Road. She worked in a munition’s factory locally in suppoJrt of the war effort. Her granddaughter Libby Holland is a nurse and was asked to release doves some years ago on Armistice day.
Winnie Bloodworth
Winnie was born on Pancke Day (8th February) 1921 to parents Francis and Daisy. Before the war Winnie worked as a machinist in a clothing factory. Winnie and her friend decided to join up to help the war effort and both went to enlist in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Winnie’s friend failed her medical but Winnie was accepted as a leading aircraft woman. Winnie bravely served for the duration of the war firstly as part of the barrage balloon crew stationed in Acocks Green, Birmingham. She then went on to train as an electrician and once qualified Winnie worked on the maintenance of various RAF aircraft including ensuring the bomb doors were functional for the bombs to be dropped on enemy targets. Winnie proudly served her country for the entire duration of the war and was demobbed in 1946 where she went on to marry and have a family. Winnie loved to share her memories and stories of her time in the WAAF with her very proud and loving family. Sadly Winnie passed away aged 104 on 31st May this year.
Evelyn Bend
In WW1 Evelyn Bend (nee Nash) of Astley Lane, Bedworth worked at White and Poppe in Coventry age 15 making shells. When the war was over she received two letters from the company on the same day – one thanking her for her war efforts, the other saying her services were no longer needed.
Ida Burton (nee Bend)
Evelyn’s eldest daughter of Smorrall Lane, Bedworth worked at Alfred Herbert Precision Engineering factory in Blackhorse Lane, making items for the war at age 18 before she was married. She stayed on working at the factory when the war ended.
Gertrude Pauli (nee Shortridge) 1880 - 1950s.
Gert was the eldest daughter of Mary Ann and William Frankton Shortridge. She was born in King Street. In 1891 the family moved to the 'Top of the Trams' in Coventry Road, Bedworth. Gertrude attended the Bedworth Central School and afterwards trained as a teacher of occupational therapy.
During WW1 she was a Red Cross volunteer and fundraiser, as shown in photo below from WW1. (Gert on left in hat).
She married Eduard Pauli, a Belgian professor of modern languages in 1915. He had been posted to the UK to work as a translator.
After WW1 they moved to Portsmouth where he taught modern languages and them became involved in wartime translation. Gert kept up with her work for the Red Cross. She trained in nursing and treatment of gas attack patients
Mary Ann Shortridge (nee Harthill) 1851 -1930.
Mary was born in King Street Bedworth, the youngest child of Sarah and William Harthill who worshipped at the Old Meeting chapel and later at the Zion Strict Baptist chapel. Mary was educated and had a shrewd mind for figures and business. Mary married William Frankton Shortridge in 1879 and they lived in King Street. They had 7 children. In 1891 they moved to the Top of the Trams in Coventry Road where William ran his building business.
In 1905 Mary built an extension to their house and Mary opened a cafe which she continued to run all through World War 1. Mary died in 1930
Mary (Jee) Brabon worked in the ammunition factory.
Gertrude Pauli
Mary Ann Shortridge
Ivy Place
Margaret Stowe nee Brown
Peggy Smith ATS
Jean Retmanski, land girl, married Polish soldier
Jorce Nowasad, married a Polish soldier
Edith Harrison knitted socks for 2 Cannon of Bedworth
