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By the end of the war, there were almost three million women working in factories, around a third of whom were employed in the manufacture of munitions. Working conditions were often extremely hazardous and the women worked long hours for low pay. [2] Munitions work involved mixing explosives, and filling shells and bullets.
Munitions production started in April 1916. Engineers and chemists from nations throughout the British Empire were employed to establish the production of RDB Cordite. By 1917 the largest proportion of the workforce were women: 11,576 women to 5,066 men. [7] The women munitions workers were known collectively as The Gretna Girls. [8]
As men volunteered or were conscripted to fight in the British Army, women became the main work force in industry and farming. Munitions workers could often be picked out in a crowd because of the distinctive yellow colouring of their hair and skin caused by the sulphur used in production. They were nicknamed ‘canaries’
The factory grounds also had its own vegetable patch, while pigs and hens were also kept to provide the workers with fresh meat and eggs. The workers also set up several sports clubs amongst themselves. [3] Between 1941 and 1945, the factory employed around 2,000 men and women. [4]
As a munitions factory, ROF Aycliffe operated 24 hours a day, employing over 17,000 workers in three shift groups. Most of the workers were women. They were transported from surrounding areas onto the site by bus and train , with the most local workers arriving on foot or by bicycle .
Underwater dump sites off the Los Angeles coast contain World War II-era munitions including anti-submarine weapons and smoke devices, marine researchers announced Friday. A survey of the known ...
Munition workers were sometimes called Canary Girls, British women who worked in munitions manufacturing trinitrotoluene (TNT) shells during the First World War1 (1914–1918). The nickname arose because exposure to TNT is toxic, and repeated exposure can turn the skin an orange-yellow colour reminiscent of the plumage of a canary. [2]
The Royal British Legion has urged Second World War veterans to register for commemorations marking the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day this year. Victory in Europe (VE) Day happened on ...