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WonderHistory fact

Before alarm clocks were cheap, workers in Britain and Ireland paid 'knocker-uppers' to wake them for early shifts by tapping on their windows with long poles.

Social history

History

The story behind the card

The job began with the Industrial Revolution, when factory and dock shifts started before dawn, and it was common in industrial towns such as Manchester. Knocker-uppers used a short heavy stick on doors or a long, light pole, often bamboo, to reach upper windows. In London's East End, Mary Smith worked as a knocker-upper from the 1900s until 1934, charging sixpence a week and waking dock workers with a pea-shooter and dried peas. As reliable alarm clocks became cheap, the trade faded. By the 1940s and 1950s it had mostly gone, though it lingered in parts of industrial England until the early 1970s.

Türkçe oku
Çalar saatler ucuzlamadan önce Britanya ve İrlanda'daki işçiler, sabah vardiyasına yetişmek için “knocker-up” denen uyandırıcılar tutardı. Bu kişiler uzun sırıklarla yatak odalarının camına vurarak müşterilerini uyandırırdı.

Bu iş Sanayi Devrimi'yle doğdu; fabrika ve liman vardiyaları gün ağarmadan başlıyordu ve Manchester gibi sanayi kentlerinde çok sayıda uyandırıcı çalışıyordu. Kapıya kısa ve ağır bir sopayla vururlar, üst kat pencerelerine ise çoğu bambudan yapılmış uzun, hafif bir sırıkla uzanırlardı. Londra'nın East End semtinde Mary Smith 1900'lerden 1934'e kadar bu işi yaptı. Müşteri başına haftada altı peni alır, liman işçilerini kuru bezelye doldurduğu bir üfleme borusuyla uyandırırdı. Güvenilir çalar saatler ucuzladıkça meslek geriledi. 1940'lar ve 1950'lerde neredeyse tamamen ortadan kalktı; yine de İngiltere'nin bazı sanayi bölgelerinde 1970'lerin başına kadar sürdü.

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Background reading: Knocker-up
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