Mrs Dillon's British Empire Medal

Mrs Dillon is pictured, right, with a couple of other 'senior' Aycliffe ROF workers. Photograph courtesy of Miss Ruth Vickery M.B.E, former Labour Manager at Aycliffe. Workers in the Aycliffe factory were supposed to be under the age of 50. However, a number of them were later discovered to be much older. A Mrs Mary Alice Dillon from Crook, County Durham, said she was 49, but was actually 69 years old! She proved to be a very good worker and only missed two shifts in her 2.5 years working at Aycliffe. She was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for her services to the country and she travelled by train to London to receive her medal from The King & Queen.

Northern Echo - 15th June 1944

Mrs Dillon's achievements were reported by The Northern Echo in an article on Thursday 15th June, 1944. She is shown holding her medal award notice and being lifted aloft by her neighbours. The article, entitled CROOK WOMAN OF 70 GETS B.E.M. read: Mrs Mary Alice Dillon, aged 70, of Low Beechburn, Crook, being chaired by her neighbours after receiving notice of the award of the B.E.M. "for services rendered to her country". For the two and a half years she has been at a war factory she has topped the attendance record, having lost only two shifts. This was, obviously, a highly impressive achievement to many of the other ROF workers, especially to some of the younger ones, who were moved to write poetry about Mrs. Dillon!

Florence Gray's Poem - Mrs Dillon