Window Cleaning Girl Power

Women window cleaners, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, 1917. These women worked for the City and Suburban Window Cleaning Company. George Webster, whose name is over the door (right), is listed in Kelly's 1916 Directory as ladder maker and manager of the Robin Hood Window Cleaning Company (premises on Peachey Street and Currant Street).

How girl power got Cambridge through the war years: The 100th anniversary of the First World War continues to yield many stories of the life and death struggle of men in the trenches – but it was pretty tough for women too, trying to keep everything going back home. With thousands of men fighting at the front, women were left to do not only their own work, but the men's work too.

Window cleaners set off to work in Piccadilly, London during World War I.

Females already made up a large part of the general workforce, although they were employed mostly in the textile industry, and in schools and hospitals. When war came, many worked in munitions factories. Some also joined the Women's Patrols, a female police force that went on the beat in public areas such as railway stations, streets, parks and public houses.

Note the women window cleaners in the centre image - click to enlarge.

And they became part of the armed forces as well. The War Office realised many of the tasks undertaken by soldiers in France could easily be done by women, so the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was established in December 1916. A year later, the Women's Royal Naval Service was formed, and a year after that, the Women's Royal Air Force (later the Women's Auxiliary Air Force) was set up. In total, more than 100,000 women joined Britain's armed forces during the war.

The "Scavengers"

In Cambridge, as in London and other cities, two very obvious jobs once done only by men became the preserve of women. One was street sweeping. The women cleaners were known as 'scavengers' and went into action in 1918, although as our photo here of women working in Cambridge in 1918 shows, their clothing wasn't initially very suitable. Dustcarts were generally pulled by horses, but since many of them had been sent off to war too, Cambridge's corporation spent £3,000 on what the News reported were “two large electric motor vehicles and two small petrol motor vehicles for the collection of household refuse."

Click to enlarge.

Another task was window-cleaning. The News reported in 1916: “The Cambridge Window Cleaning Company, owing to a shortage of male labour, have instituted a service of lady cleaners. And jolly smart they look too in their khaki uniform, high gaiters and caps, relieved by red wrist and cap bands. Ladder climbing causes them no qualms and they are quite expert at the work. They are causing no small amount of interest not to say admiration."

A female worker of the Mayfair Window Cleaning Company, London. Circa 1916.

Fun Friday - Scary Window Cleaning Clown

Bizarre: Appearances of the clown, who was seen waving and holding balloons and a teddy bear, had left residents of the Northamptonshire town baffled. He knocked on a woman's door while dressed as a clown and offered to clean her windows.

AND SPEAKING OF CLOWNS - So, a bloke has started dressing up as a clown in Nottingham and wandering the streets at night. Observers have said that he looks suspiciously like Pennywise from It, and some residents have said that they are completely freaked out by the sight of a clown at midnight. Interestingly, the man responsible says he is just bringing a bit of colour to the town but the locals have branded him as a sick, twisted weirdo, which seems a bit harsh.

Although he did knock on a woman's door while dressed as a clown and offered to clean her windows. But he had no window cleaning equipment. And it was night time. So far, he seems harmless enough, but I was rather taken aback by one Facebook user's response to the new addition to Nottingham's streets who said: "Nothing personal, mate. But if I see you I'm going to fuck you up bad, real bad." Was he afraid of clowns? No, as he repeats in the threat: "It really is nothing personal. I've just always really, really wanted to badly hurt a clown." There's a first – the boy the circus ran away from.

The so-called Northampton Clown has attracted more than 124,000 "likes" on Facebook

Creepy clown just 'harmless fun' - A "creepy" clown who conjured up a worldwide online following simply by standing motionless in the street has denied intending to scare anyone. The so-called Northampton Clown has attracted more than 124,000 "likes" on Facebook despite facing accusations that his act leaves onlookers feeling frightened and intimidated. In an interview with the Northampton Chronicle and Echo, the entertainer described his impromptu appearances at various locations around the town in recent days as "a bit of harmless fun". The clown, who was not named by the newspaper, said: "I just wanted to amuse people. Most people enjoy being a bit freaked out and then they can laugh about it afterwards. "It's like watching a horror movie. When people get scared, they usually start laughing." The clown, wearing an all-in-one suit and an outsize bow tie, has reportedly left some local residents terrified by standing around on street corners and staring at passers-by.

Clowning around: The clown has vowed to continue appearing in the town even though he says it is difficult to keep his identity a secret.

'Just harmless fun': The creepy clown of Northampton speaks out...Beep, beep!

The mysterious Northampton Clown has spoken out for the first time to reveal the truth about his appearances in the town. People across the world have been gripped by the story of the clown since pictures emerged online of him standing in various locations around the town, looking similar to the Pennywise character from the cult Stephen King film, It. In an exclusive interview with the Northampton Chronicle & Echo, the Clown said he could understand why people had been “extremely frightened” by him but he insisted his exploits were intended in good humour.

Not trying to be sinister: The clown was threatened with violence by some Facebook users after he started appearing on Friday 13.

The clown, who wants to keep his real identity anonymous, said: “I just wanted to amuse people. “Most people enjoy being a bit freaked out and then they can laugh about it afterwards. “It’s like watching a horror movie, when people get scared they usually start laughing. “Naturally, some people would have been extremely frightened by what they saw, but I hope many are starting to see it as a bit of harmless fun.”

The Northampton Clown said he was “absolutely amazed” by the reaction to his appearances in the town and was pleased that he had got so many people talking about Northampton. As many people have suspected, due to the fact his clown costume resembles Pennywise from the film It, the Northampton Clown has admitted to being a Stephen King fan. During conversations he regularly made references to the 1990 horror movie. He also said it was proving to be “more difficult to keep his identity a secret” as people were working out where he lived. However, the clown said he intended to keep appearing in the town “for as long as people are interested” and he may even start holding a particular “clown” day every week.

FULL TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW:

When did you start dressing up as a clown? In 1715, when i first realised many people in the world were afraid of clowns.

What was your intention when you first started being pictured in the clown suit? I just wanted to amuse people. Most people enjoy being a bit freaked out which they can then laugh about after. It’s like watching a horror movie, when people get scared they usually start laughing. Naturally some people would have been extremely frightened by what they saw but i hope many are starting to see it as a bit of harmless fun.

Are you scared to go out in Northampton now? No, but it’s proving more difficult to keep my identity a secret.

How old are you? 298, and I awake every 30 years.

Which part of Northampton are you from? A few people have already worked this out.

What do you think of the reaction the story? Absolutely amazing and unexpected. “IT”’s making people talk about Northampton for sure.

How long do you intend to make appearances in Northampton? For as long as people are interested in it. I might perhaps do one day a week thing, a clown day, i.e a Wednesday and that’s the day to spot me. We will see. Beep Beep!

Do you think you will ever reveal your true identity? Perhaps, we’ll see how ‘IT’ goes.

And finally also in Nottingham...

Nottingham Movie Theater Shows Paranormal Activity Instead Of Madagascar, Scares Hell Out Of Kids:  A group of children expecting to see a new animated movie fled in terror on Saturday when the theater accidentally played one of the goriest horror films of the season. "They started playing the movie and I thought - this doesn't look right," Natasha Lewis, who took her 8-year-old son Dylan to the screening on Saturday, told The Sun. "It's enough to make grown men jump, so you can imagine the terror in these young faces." Employees at the Cineworld cinema in Nottingham, England claim a "technical error" caused the the theater to show Paranormal Activity 4 instead of the more kid-friendly Madagascar 3, according to Yahoo Movies. The roughly 25 families attending the screening immediately grabbed their children and bolted for the exits. "It was only about two minutes worth of the film but it was enough to scar them for life," Lewis, 32, told The Sun.