16/10/2026
🎭🎶 From the mu*****ns factory to the concert stage: meet Lily Codling and the musical Mu*****ns Girls of Staithes! 🎶🎭
Sometimes, all it takes is a name in an old photograph to unlock a whole new story.
As part of our Mu*****ns Girls project, Holly has been researching the women of Staithes who worked in the mu*****ns industry during the First World War. Looking up their names in the newspaper archives has uncovered some wonderful stories in the Whitby Gazette — and it turns out that many of these women had talents well beyond the factory floor!
One of them was Lily Codling, whose name appears in newspaper reports of the Staithes Concert Party. We knew we had photographs of Lily, but now we’re discovering more about what she and her friends got up to when they weren't making mu*****ns.
And what a busy lot they were!
🎵 The Mu*****ns Girls take to the stage
On 23 February 1917, the Whitby Gazette reported on a concert given by Staithes' Mu*****ns Girls in the Mission Room. They were raising money for parcels to be sent to local men serving in the Army and Navy.
The evening opened with the girls singing “When the boys come marching home” — in their mu*****ns uniforms, no less! The newspaper reported that their chorus was “greatly appreciated and encored”. Not a bad start!
The programme was a proper variety show. There were songs, duets, comedy and sketches, including “Woman’s Rights” and “Is he married?”. Miss V. Jones and Miss M. Theaker performed the duet “Dixie”, while Miss M. Pierson sang “They are all British Boys” with great spirit.
And Lily wasn't the only one with musical talents. The newspaper named several women who performed, with Miss M. Pierson and Mr Hardy acting as pianists. These were women who put in long days at demanding, dangerous work and still found the time and energy to rehearse, perform and raise money for others.
Mrs Bury, who chaired the concert, clearly admired them. She explained that the girls worked very hard, “leaving home at 7 a.m. and not returning again until 5 p.m.” — which, as she pointed out, left them precious little time to prepare such an impressive event.
She also praised the “harmonious manner” in which they carried out their arduous duties at work. It’s a lovely glimpse of the respect they had earned, both in the workplace and in their community.
The concert was a success, and the girls had something tangible to show for their efforts. The Whitby Gazette reported that the subscriptions received were topped up by the women themselves to make a grand total of £20. That's a considerable amount of money raised by a group of women who already had very long working days!
🎤 But that wasn't the end of it…
Lily Codling also appears in later reports about the Staithes entertainers, who performed under several names, including the Staithes Pierettes, the “Sailor Girls” and the “American Girls”.
In March 1916, the Whitby Gazette reported that the “Sailor Girls” were beginning a tour of local venues. The troupe included Lily, who performed under the stage name “Susan”, alongside friends including Lavinia Brown, Sophia Newton and several members of the Verrill family.
The newspaper noted that the Pierettes had given a series of successful concerts the previous winter, raising “a sum exceeding £40” for local and national war funds.
At their first concert as the “Sailor Girls”, Lily and another performer, E. Toft (“Peggy”), acted as accompanists for the musical programme. The evening also featured a sketch called “An Unexpected Bargain”, followed by a dance.
They took the show on the road, too. Their March 1916 performance in Staithes raised ten guineas for the Red Cross Society, while a repeat performance in Loftus brought in £12 3s 6d. Not bad for a local amateur troupe!
By January 1918, the entertainers were appearing as the “American Girls”, presenting an entirely new programme to a crowded audience in Loftus. Lily was still there, still known as “Susan”, and still accompanying the musical items.
The Whitby Gazette reported that the party had raised nearly £200 for various local funds over the course of their performances. Their January 1918 concert alone raised £16 18s 6d for a fund supporting local prisoners of war.
🌟 More than a photograph
It's easy to look at an old photograph and see only a row of faces. But the newspaper archives are helping us discover the women behind those faces: their friendships, their performances, their humour and their determination to help their community during wartime.
These weren't simply women who went to work in a mu*****ns factory and then disappeared from the historical record. They were singers, accompanists, performers and fundraisers, entertaining packed audiences and raising money for soldiers, sailors, the Red Cross and prisoners of war.
And Lily Codling was right there among them.
We’re delighted that Holly's research is helping us piece together these stories, and we're enormously grateful to everyone who has shared family photographs, memories and information with us so far.
Do you recognise Lily Codling in our photographs? Or do you have family stories about the Staithes Concert Party, the Pierettes or any of the women who worked at Skinningrove and Boulby during the First World War?
We'd love to hear from you. Every name, photograph and memory helps us bring these remarkable local women back into the story of Staithes. ❤️
*****nsGirls
