It's a book that has been compiled to document the journey of the volunteers who made up the Yorkshire Scrubbers who stepped up to manufacture PPE for the NHS when the government could not meet demand during th Covid pandemic.
The group was formed in early 2020 by a couple of ladies over in Leeds (Marie Wepener and Mags Shaw). They recognised the urgent need for action and decided to do something about it. They put up a Facebook page appealing for volunteers and got them in shed loads! Sally saw the group along with our friend Carolyn in Barlick and they geared up for job in hand with a vengeance.
The group set up an office in one of the ladies front rooms and contacted Leeds RUFC who volunteered their premises for use as a distribution hub to the various hospitals throughout Yorkshire. Area coordinators were set up to handle the needs and supplies for each hospital trust. An appeal was launched for funds to purchase material suitable for the job in hand. All of these roles were done on a voluntary basis.
I know that Sally used her own stock of cotton for her production but later into the project we did get fabric which was distributed from the central hub. I remember driving over to Burnley and meeting someone in a car park to pick up some fabric.
The group raised £50,000 in donations which allowed them to produce and distribute 22,585 sets of surgical scrubs including bespoke clerical and maternity gowns. 50,000 accessories were produced, these were the laundry bags, ear protectors and surgical hats. Group membership reached 3500 volunteers who were involved in the project one way or the other.
All the various items were produced to standard patterns which were distributed to the sewers, who modified them to produce different sizes for NHS staff. Some pretty zany patterns came out of the project and were eagerly accepted by nurses, consultants and surgeons alike. I know Sally produced some using "My Little Pony", "Minions" and I think some ""Star Wars" cotton print she had as well as the plain blues, greens and purples.
Sally's totals were 53 full sets of scrubs, 56 surgical hats, 7 laundry bags and as sideline over 150 masks.
Volunteers were also asked to produce a standard sized embroidered or decorated panel. The book cover features the result which was originally intended to be a memory quilt. 400 patches were received including the contributions from Sally and Carolyn so the quilt turned into a wall hanging which is now displayed in the Yorkshire History Museum
This is the card included with the delivery of the book.
