For the first families moving on to Parson Cross, it was a working-class paradise. Most had experienced only multi-occupancy terraced dwellings, and the chance to have one's own house, with indoor bathroom and toilet and front and back gardens was something previously unimaginable, especially after the dark years of World War II and the extra industrial responsibility this laid on the shoulders of the local industries. Those who did not go to war had worked long hard hours in cramped and often dangerous conditions, providing the backbone to the war effort. Welders, platers and grinders provided munitions of all shapes and sizes, and many female steelworkers, filled the gaps the men had left. Even the heavy industry of the rolling mills and forges continued.