‘Billy boys’ made tea for workers outside factories and railway yards
Almost everyone loves a nice cup of black tea on a cold day. This hot beverage was even more popular in the past than it is today because they did not have as many choices as we do. Before tea bags were commercially available, tea lovers relied on “billy boys.”
These men were in charge of making tea outside of working places for the employees during their break time. This involved lighting a small fire and boiling the water in billy cans. And that is where the weird name comes from. They typically stood outside major cities’ building sites, factories, and railway yards.