I was 19 and studying textile design at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts in south-east London. I wanted to earn some money during my summer break, so I could go on a trip to Italy with friends. I’d noticed a female road sweeper using an old-fashioned cart in Clapham, where I lived, and read that they earned good money. I applied to Lambeth council, but they didn’t have any vacancies, so I approached neighbouring Wandsworth. And that’s how I became their first female road sweeper.
I worked for six weeks, cleaning the pavements around Putney High Street. I’d push the cleaner (it’s behind me in the picture), and use the brush to get into corners. I was the first woman to use a vacuum sweeper. It was really quite pleasant; it was summer and the work kept me fit. I took real pride in the job, getting those pavements clean. I’d pick up the machine in the morning and work from around 7am to 4pm.
The Sex Discrimination Act had come into force that year, so along with the fact that I probably stood out because I was a woman, the press soon got in touch. This photograph appeared in the London Evening Standard on 29 July under the slightly titillating headline: “Julia Gives ’Em The Brush-Off! Sweeping many a male off his feet in Wandsworth is council roadsweeper Julia Fieldwick.” It’s embarrassing to admit, but they also got me to pose in hotpants by my road sweeper: I was naive, and felt a bit manipulated, but these days it’s hard to believe I didn’t refuse. Radio 4 picked up the story and interviewed me. I expect I was a great way to illustrate the new discrimination act, but really, I wasn’t political. I was a bit of a feminist, but that’s not why I was doing the job; I just wanted the money. I thought, “If I can push that heavy machine, I can do this job.”
I got a few irritating comments. One man got out of his car and said, “You look like a nice girl – why is your boyfriend letting you do this job?” I replied, “Why do I care what he thinks?” But another time, a woman came out of her shop and gave me some fruit that was about to go off. It was very sweet; I think she thought I was impoverished. People often called out things like, “Have you seen any £10 notes?” The other cleaners, all of them men, were great, and really protective of me.
I went to Italy later that summer for five weeks. It was the first time I’d been on holiday without my parents. It was incredible: four friends (all art students) and I travelled all around, by train, coach and hitchhiking, visiting galleries and looking at frescoes in churches.
After college, I followed my dream and worked as an artist and designer, before becoming an art teacher later in life. I met my husband, the music writer, radio producer and broadcaster John Pidgeon, when I was 23. He died last summer from cancer. So 2016 was an interesting year, but it wasn’t all ghastly. We received a lot of love.
My daughter found this photograph after Googling my maiden name, and thought it was hilarious. But I think she was also rather proud of me. We discovered the newspaper cutting a few years later. It wasn’t my last cleaning job; I went back the following summer.
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