School Leavers Who Started Careers At Uniform Factory Diagnosed With Mesothelioma Decades Later

The families of three women who started their careers at a Staffordshire clothing mill have launched legal action to establish if working conditions at the site caused their terminal cancer decades later.

Hazel Green, Hilda Franklin and Margaret Bailey all left school at 15 to work at Enderley Mills in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The three all contracted mesothelioma, a form of cancer linked to exposure to asbestos decades ago. Although it takes many years for the symptoms to develop, when they do take hold they are very aggressive and terminal and Hilda and Margaret have since died from the disease.

Hazel has now joined Hilda’s and Margaret’s relatives in using Action Mesothelioma Day in appealing to former workers at the factory to help establish how the three were exposed to asbestos. The families have instructed expert asbestos-related disease lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to help them in their quest for answers.

Expert Opinion

Hazel’s, Hilda’s and Margaret’s cases demonstrate the shocking legacy that asbestos has had on so many lives, with all three developing mesothelioma many years after they are believed to come into contact with the deadly material.

“In its heyday hundreds of people worked at Enderley Mills and although Hazel, Hilda and Margaret did not know each other their stories about the equipment used and conditions at the factory are very similar.

“We are now appealing for other people who worked with Hazel, Hilda or Margaret at Enderley Mills to come forward with information about working conditions at the site during in the 1950s and 1960s to help gain justice for our clients’ families.” Iain Shoolbred - Senior Associate Solicitor

Enderley Mills made clothing and uniforms for the likes of the Armed Forces and the emergency services.

Hazel, 78, of Port Hill, was a trainee seamstress at the factory between 1954 and 1956. She remembers sewing white lining into garments which she believes was probably asbestos cloth to make clothing heatproof.

She also worked at the mill between 1961 and 1962 before having a daughter, Beverley, now aged 56, and a son, Mark, who died aged 47 in 2011.

Hazel, who has four grandchildren, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in November 2015 after feeling a pain in her side, which she thought was a muscle, which she had pulled whilst gardening.  

She said: “My pain started getting worse so I went to the doctors and was referred for a variety of tests. I started to think it was worse than a muscle pull, but I couldn’t believe when I was told I had cancer.

“Coming to terms with the news that my mesothelioma is terminal has been so difficult for my family.

“I know there’s not a great deal the doctors can do for me other than try and manage my cancer. I just hope that I get to see my grandchildren celebrate major milestones in life such as getting married and starting a family, and that as a family, we get to know the reason for my cancer before it’s too late.”

Hilda, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, was married to Tony, and had a son, Mark.

She spent about a year at Enderley Mills in 1955 hand finishing uniforms.

Hilda was diagnosed with mesothelioma in March 2015. She died aged 76 in 2016.

Margaret, of Clayton, Stoke-on-Trent, was a machinist at Enderley Mills for about a decade, starting in 1956. She was also diagnosed with cancer in March 2015 and died in February 2016.

All three told their legal team at Irwin Mitchell they remembered pipes insulated with asbestos were suspended from the ceiling to feed steam to large, industrial irons.

They said that the insulation was occasionally replaced after becoming damaged, however, machines and presses would remain working whilst the maintenance work was done, to continue production.

Hilda’s widower, Tony, said: “Up until Christmas 2014 Hilda was fit and active and enjoyed going out shopping.

“She had successful treatment for breast cancer about five years previously but the mesothelioma was much harder for her.

“Hilda suffered a great deal of tiredness and could not do anything of the things she took for granted.

“Hilda was a great mum and a wonderful wife who would do anything for anybody. Our family now wants to honour her memory by finding out what caused the cancer that took her life.”

Margaret’s widower Brian, added: “When Margaret was diagnosed with cancer we couldn’t believe it. We still had not fully come to terms with her illness when her condition started to quickly deteriorate.

“Just a few months previously she had been so active. It was awful to see her in so much pain at the end of her life.”

Action Mesothelioma Day is on July 6 and aims to bring together victims of the disease, those who have loved ones affected by the cancer, healthcare professionals, support groups and those working to understand the disease and find a cure, to ensure the public are aware of the terrible impact it can have on sufferers and their carers.

Anyone with information about working conditions at Enderley Mills in the 1950s and 1960s is asked to contact Iain Shoolbred at Irwin Mitchell on 0121 214 5446 or email iain.shoolbred@irwinmitchell.com

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in handling asbestos-related disease cases.