‘KATHLEEN WORKED AS A MATCH GIRL’
KIM THOMPSON lives in Leeds. A retail assistant, she has been researching her tree for 13 years
Thousands of women and children worked for a pittance in match factories during the Victorian period. Conditions were appalling and many workers suffered necrosis of the jaw, caused by inhaling the toxic fumes of white phosphorus.
A 14-hour day was not unusual and punitive fines were
