In this episode hear about how the factories arrived in the Forest of Dean with the promise of better conditions, more pay and the hope of secure employment for both men and women. The old workplace names such as Cannop, Princess Royal, and Northern United were replaced with Carters, Pine End, Meredith and Drew, Rosedale, Duramin, J. Allen Rubber and British Nylon Spinners - and the biggest of them all, Rank Xerox. Councils, trade unions and the Forest’s MP sought to remove the historical dependency on a single industry. We investigate how the great shift to factory work happened and how people adapted to the roller coaster ride of the rise and then fall of the factories.

Presented by Dr Roger Deeks, with contributions from Mike Hinton, Meryl Teague, Roger Turley, Glenda Griffiths, Gill Phelps, Pat Harper, Jo Lewer, Maurice Phelps and Graham Jones. Thanks also to Caroline Prosser-Lodge, Cheryl Mayo and Emily Hughes. This podcast was made possible through the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the University of Gloucestershire.