This was another subsidiary of the Welwyn Garden City Ltd company. Their new building housed a modern steam laundry and was so successful that it attracted business from a wide area of Hertfordshire. As well as individual clients it also served hospitals, schools, factories and hostels. Several of the Trust's oral history donors remember the company. Gladys A recalled that "when I was a Guide we did a Laundry Woman's badge and, of course, who was going to test us with our washing and ironing and so on but somebody from the local laundry? We went to the laundry and that was where we were tested". Phyllis H's brother worked there - "his first job when we first moved here was at the laundry and he was only 15 and he was short, like me, and that’s where he learnt to drive. The man took him out round all the villages collecting the laundry and then he said to him “Now it’s your turn to have a go”. I don’t think he ever did have a (driving) licence!"
Welwyn Garden City official handbook c1957 - page 2 advertisement for the Welwyn Garden City Laundry. Item donated to the Welwyn Garden City Heritage Trust archive by Alan A as part of the Where Do You Think We Worked? project. Gordon S, one of our oral history donors, was working CID officer at the time and remembered that "around 57,58, we had a spate of safe blowing in the town the laundry, ICI and one or two other places. I know on one occasion, my wifes birthday, and wed arranged to have a bit of a celebration, and I was called out to this safe-blowing at the laundry. And it was no good saying it was your rest day. You just went, you know. And I got home at about 10pm that night!"