“Knocker-Uppers” – People who had the job of waking up workers during the Industrial Revolution, often by shooting dry peas from a pea shooter at their windows.
The role of the knocker-upper, a vital figure in British industrial towns, highlights the pre-digital solutions to everyday challenges before the widespread adoption of alarm clocks. These individuals were tasked with ensuring workers woke up in time for their shifts, particularly in northern mill towns and areas like London’s docks, where irregular hours were the norm due to fluctuating tides. Using a variety of tools from long sticks to pea shooters, knocker-uppers would tap on windows, efficiently rousing only those who paid for their services without disturbing others.
This service was not just a job but a way of life, with knocker-uppers adapting their entire schedules around their duties. They typically slept during the day and began their rounds in the early hours, demonstrating a nocturnal adaptation to their work. The nature of this job also spurred amusing anecdotes and even tongue-twisters that questioned who woke the knocker-uppers themselves, suggesting a self-reliant and somewhat humorous community amongst these workers.
Despite the simplicity of the tools involved, the role of the knocker-upper was crucial in maintaining the workforce flow during the Industrial Revolution and into the 20th century. Their presence was so woven into daily life that it featured in literature and folk songs, capturing the essence of an era where human services bridged the gap between necessity and technological advancement. However, as technology progressed with the spread of affordable alarm clocks and electricity, the quaint practice of knocking up gradually faded out, remaining only in historical anecdotes and folk songs that recall a bygone era of industrious mornings.