Molly the Welder

On the banks of the River Wear, we met Molly The Welder outside the National Glass Centre. It was created by Dr. Ron Lawson and installed in 2025.

Shipbuilding was huge in Sunderland, and 400 shipyards have come and gone since the 14th century. Improvements to the port were made in the 18th century, and this meant larger ships could be built to export the coal, salt, and glass. The Wear's forte was tankers and cargo ships.

Molly is life-size and wears the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that was available to welders in World War II.

From the Rapid Welding website:

"By mid-1943, almost '90 per cent of single women and 80 per cent of married women were working in factories, on the land or in the armed forces, filling vital roles while men were required to go to war (www.gov.uk). These jobs included women stepping into positions that had never been available to them before - such were the traditions at the time, becoming engineers, ship builders, working in factories making aircraft parts and producing munitions."

It further explains:

"Some of the roles, like welding, came after quick training but required long, labour intensive shifts throughout the night, such as on the ship building yards. Other women undertook difficult and dangerous roles carried out with little safety equipment or PPE, all the while under the threat of air raids. One standout fact when reading into the history of women at this time, is the strong sense of duty and camaraderie shared with fellow workers, often forging unbreakable friendships that would see them through the hardships they faced on a daily basis."

Behind Molly the tall, green, metal post marks the end of the slipway where ships were launched

I have been fortunate enough to meet Molly at Ron Lawson's workshop. Ron is a Sunderland man and worked as a sheet metal worker and then became an artist. He works in steel and bronze, as well as having other talents such as painting, tattooing, and playing the drums. Look out for the name Stanson, which is a tribute to his father. Ron has created artwork such as Solidarity (with Mark Burns Cassell) and Locomotion Breath at Elemore Park.

Ron explained that Molly was drawn using one of his real-life drawing models, Terry, who he asked coyly if she would mind modelling in the heavy clothing and welding kit on this occasion. Terry obliged and was also the right stature to 'look' like a welder. Later in the steel sculpture process, Dr Lawson said the apron was proving difficult, particularly to get the fold and creases right, his son stepped up to the plate and donned the apron.

Many nuances typify the artist's attention to detail, like the worn boot and the hair bow.

The work was commissioned by several organisations of which one is the Soroptimist, a global volunteer service for women who educate and empower women to achieve. The name comes from the Latin Soro meaning sister and optima, meaning best, so translates to 'best for women.'

Whilst here, do pop in the National Glass Centre, it may not be open much longer as it is being deemed too expensive to repair. There is also the River Walk to explore and the new sculptures by Ray Lonsdale. You will find all of these and more on the Fabulous North map