regarding Winifred Flower’s letter about The Dubarry Perfumery in Hove (Letters, August 6), my mother, then Phyllis Hill, started work at Dubarry’s when she was 14 to learn the trade of box making.
They had to be trained for six months and sat with an experienced older lady making plain boxes to start with.
When they were more ex-perienced they worked on the fancy boxes, which mum loved doing as some were covered in gold paper and had little drawers lined with silk and tassels to pull them out. These were mostly sent abroad.
They weren’t allowed to talk and were timed on the making of the boxes which were checked by a Miss Green and a Miss Moody. The slightest mistake and they had to be done again. The factory wasn’t all sweet smelling as there was a contraption, called a font, which heated up the awful smelling glue.
After the Second World War began all women over 18 had to leave and go on to war work as this was considered a luxury trade.
After the war they couldn’t get the box makers so she worked at home making them until the factory closed.
V Francis
Lenham Avenue, Saltdean
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