Description:From 'Drake Hall - A War-Time Hostel', a souvenir book produced for staff and residents at the Swynnerton Royal Ordinance Factory hostel at Drake Hall, produced in 1945.
Mr. F. G. Shepherd and Mrs. C. E. Steed, Social Directors Drake Hall. Theier thoughts on their time at Drake Hall:
"And what of our "Playing"? Perhaps we may say with Gilbert and Sullivan :— A Social Director's life is sometimes "not a happy one". Many of you may have thought our lives consist of just watching entertainments; but read on and you will learn it is a varied life. It consists of putting a new needle in a sewing machine, entertaining the Bishop of Birmingham or Jean Batten (the famous airwoman), engaging a 25-piece Military Band, interviewing a film traveller or looking up times of trains to Wigan. We at Drake have "played hard" as you see by the following entertainments and have enjoyed them all. We have six film shows a week — three morning and three evening for different shifts. Dances every Tuesday and every other Saturday, for which we engage a Services' Band. C.E.M.A. Plays and Concerts each every four weeks. E.N.S.A. Variety Shows or Plays every other Thursday. Then there are our own productions of plays, pantomimes, Service shows, House shows and revues. These need dressing and much ingenuity is required to beat the coupon problem. Outdoor Sports — Netball, Hockey, Football, Cricket, Tennis, Badminton. Indoor Games — Table Tennis, Billiards, Darts, Whist Drives, etc. Lectures and Talks — "Housing after the War," "Careers after the War," "Income Tax," "Women and Electricity, etc," "Life and Work in other Countries," and "The Potter and his Craft." Classes — Handicrafts, Dressmaking and Renovations, Cookery, Woodwork, Physical Culture, Singing and Drama, Visits to Potbanks, Ballroom Dancing and Stage Dancing. Outings — 'Bus Excursions to Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, Chester, and also local beauty spots within the radius of twenty-five miles. Religious Services — Twelve Religious Services and Meetings are held in the Hostel for the various denominations each week. It has been a full, if perhaps sometimes, a worrying life. What about the Dance nights when the Band 'phoned up one hour before the Dance to say they cannot come that night or we cannot get transport for another Band, or the night when a show was booked to start at 7.30 p.m. and at 7.25 p.m. the artistes hadn't arrived, the driver having taken the company to the wrong Hostel, and when for our sins we spent hours under the stage surrounded by yards of butter muslin, pins and glue pot and 30,000 sequins, and trying to guess measure-ments of girls who the frocks should fit and are at work, or the first night of the "Farmer's Wife" when the costumes hadn't arrived till just before the show, and the frantic tearing of hair which goes on when Films have not been delivered for the show that evening and the Manager kindly races off at break-neck speed to fetch them from some station nearby. Amongst all our many trials we have had grand and sympathetic support. Our thanks are specially due to Mr. and Mrs. Damms for their help, tolerance and appreciation, to all our girls and men for their unfailing loyalty and friendship, to the Matrons to whom we always run to when we need help, to our grand Social Committee for their valuable work and interest, to Mr. Bean, our Catering Manager, and his staff, who has made our enter-taining so much easier by providing such good food for our artistes, to our Assistant Manager, Mr. H. Morris, whose nimble fingers on the piano has done so much to lighten our load during our own productions and choral efforts, and to Mrs. Shillito for her noble patience and friendship and talent which, with her charm of manner, has brought the choir to such a high standard, and to all our colleagues, resident and non-resident, who have given us valuable help and support in many ways. What a host of memories and grand laughs we shall have when we look back with joy and gratitude that we were privileged to make our war-time home with you all at Drake."