Pin-up queens of cotton...
Reporter: KEN BENNETT
Date published: 28 May 2009
Limeside mill girl twins who found fame around the world
A treasured set of sepia photographs tell the remarkable story of Oldham twin sisters who became world-wide celebrities.
The pictures were given a special showing at a family gathering to celebrate Joyce Rothwell and Jean Easton’s 79th birthdays.
Originally, the pictures were part of a huge exhibition that toured the world in the early 1950s to publicise Britain’s booming and modernised cotton industry.
Joyce, who lives in Uppermill, and Jean, of Lees, were then single and aged around 18, when they featured in a fascinating series of photographs documenting their everyday life as mill girls at the cutting edge of Oldham’s emerging economy.
At the time, the twins lived with their deaf and dumb parents, Arnold and Alice and three brothers Ernie, Frank and Bernard, in Limeside. Their chance of fame came when they were working in the winding room at Hartford Mill in Werneth.
The Government was launching a major drive to promote the best of British industry abroad and seeking real-life, human interest stories to back the high-profile campaign.
Joyce, who has three children, Linda, Philip and Alan, recalls: “A Government official spoke to the mill manager who straight off suggested Jean and I for the roles because we were twins and had bubbly personalities. We were both accomplished dancers too and appeared in live variety shows in Blackpool during the summer. We even shared the stage with the famous Northern comic, Frank Randle.”
Joyce’s daughter, Linda Wood (57) took up the story: “Their good-looks and friendly personalities made them the ideal choice for the photo-shoot.
“A photographer accompanied them everywhere they went,” she said. “It must have been like ‘Hello’ magazine at the time!
“Every stage of their day was photographed — from getting ready for work, talking to my grandparents in sign language, right through their working hours at the mill.
“Some pictures show the twins talking to colleagues and showing off the mill’s new dining and washing facilities.
“There is even an amazing shot of mum doing one of her famous high-kicks on the sands near Blackpool Tower. The Government wanted to show the world all the latest amenities in the mills and the girls did a really brilliant job as ambassadors for the industry.”
The sisters, who were earning £5-a-week at the time, shot to fame when the exhibition began touring the world and they gained fans and admirers from America and Russia.
Jean,. who has one son, Styeve, said: “When folk saw our pictures they thought we were far too glamorous to be mill girls. They thought we were pin-ups.”
“But,” said Linda, herself a mother of two, “We just didn’t realise how famous they were to become.”
Shoals of fan mail, some simply addressed “Mill Girls Oldham” arrived at their workplace. “There were letters from America and Russia,” said Jean. “And even a couple of proposals of marriage too!”
And the pictures took the rest of the family down memory lane at a family gathering organised by Alan Rothwell, managing director of Patterson & Rothwell, a specialist engineering company, at Clough Manor, Denshaw.
Alan (53) whose mother is Joyce, said: “They are really remarkable women — we are all very proud of them. Their tales from the working life in the 1950s are fascinating. They were very tough times but they never stopped smiling.”
