Leah started work at 14 in the Parker Mills in Warren and worked for 17 years.
She was a doffer and then a speeder tender ( a person who removes full
bobbins, replacing them with empty bobbins). During WW2 she worked making soldier's insulated boots in Bristol. She recalls the work was much easier compared to the mill and the pay was better. She then returned home to care for Me'Mere (Anna Hamel).

She was Alec’s first cousin.