Painted Fabrics employees, 1930sPainted Fabrics employees, 1930s
Painted Fabrics employees, 1930s

Forgotten pictures of the workers at Sheffield's Painted Fabrics from the 1920s and 30s

This month is Disability Awareness and to celebrate here are some forgotten pictures from the work of those at Sheffield’s Painted Fabrics which employed thousands of soldiers who lost their limbs during WW1.

Painted Fabrics Limited was started by Annie Bindon Carter in 1923.

During WW1 Annie volunteered her time at Wharncliffe War Hospital at Middlewood, Sheffield. She taught convalescent patients to stencil as a pastime.

Annie came across many injured servicemen who were being brought back from the trenches with limbs missing and through her rehabilitation programme gave purpose to the men who given up and her motto was work not charity.

These pictures have been submitted by Picture Sheffield, the city’s archive, and showcase a different time and how the injured men returning from work forged a new life for themselves.

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