Professor Paul Salveson is a historian and writer and lives in Bolton. He is visiting professor in ‘Worktown Studies’ at the University of Bolton and author of several books on Lancashire history
If you were a boy or girl growing up in Bolton in 1900, there’d be a strong chance that from the age of 12 you’d go to work as a ‘half-timer’ in the mills. The other half of the day would be spent at school.
The system came into force in the 1830s, as a progressive measure to limit the employment of children as young as five or six. Child labour was particularly prevalent in the booming industrial towns of Lancashire and Yorkshire. It was not uncommon for children to work 12 hour shifts or longer and the accident rate was horrific.