An Army of Munitions Workers: Britain's Female Work Force

By 1915 it was apparent that Britain was not manufacturing enough ammunition to supply the front lines. Too few shells were being produced, and too many of those that were,failed to explode. In response to this "shell scandal the government created a new Ministry of Munitions, which increased government control over weapons production, created 73 new factories, and repurposed many others. Hundreds of thousands of new workers rapidly stepped up production. In April 1915, just two million rounds of shells had been sent to France. By the end of the war, that figure stood at 187 million rounds.The stories gathered in this chapter show how this tremendous rate of productivity transformed life for many on the home front, not least the new, mostly female workforce

Checking and tightening shells, Nottinghamshire IWM (Q 30041)

After the introduction of conscription in March 1916, the government encouraged women to take the place of male employees who were serving at the front. By 1918 nearly one million women were employed in engineering and munitions industries. Known as Munitionettes, these women became the poster girls for the war effort and were frequently photographed and filmed to emphasize the importance of their contribution to the war effort.

Many of the female workers at the vast shell filling factory in Chilwell in the suburbs of Nottingham lived in an industrial complex that was like a small city, with its own power station, 125 miles of railway track, 34 railway engines, giant laundries, a ballroom, a cinema, two purpose-built townships, and kitchens producing 14,000 meals and 13,000 loaves of bread a day.

On break and at the job at the shell filling factory, Chilwell

Long shifts were commonplace in the factories, and there are reports of women passing out after working 12 hours continuously, without eating. Factory work was monotonous, and women  often found themselves doing jobs that had been simplified into a series of unskilled tasks. Work in the factories was hazardous. Employees handled explosives and noxious substances known to cause a range of medical disorders, from skin complaints to bone disintegration. Manufacturing mustard and other gases was particularly perilous; sickness rates were so high at HM Factory in Chittening Road in Bristol  that workers were entitled to one week of holiday for every 20 days worked. 

Women workers assembling fuses in the fuse shop, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, in London
May 1918 IWM (Q 27862)

Fatalities in the factories were not uncommon, and the filling factories where workers assembled the metal and explosive components of shells were particularly vulnerable. An estimated 600 people were killed by accidental explosions during the course of the war. The greatest loss of life occurred in July 1918 following an enormous explosion in the mixing house at the National Shell Filling Station at Chilwell in Nottinghamshire. Hundreds were injured abd134 people lost their lives. Despite extensive damage, the factory was back up and running within four days.

Munitionettes’ Cup winners, Blyth Spartans from Croft Park in Newcastle. The team beat steelworkers Bolckow Vaughan 5-0 in a match which attracted a crowd of 22,000. Photo courtesy Yvonne Crawford.

Sport, especially football, was encouraged among the new female work force, and many munitions factories established their own ladies’ football teams. In 1918, the knock-out competition  Munitionettes’ Cup attracted 30 teams; matches drew crowds of tens of thousands of spectators and raised large sums of money for the war effort. Despite their popularity, in 1921 the FA banned women’s football matches at their grounds, and this ban was only lifted in 1971.

From: World War One at Home,  produced by the Imperial War Museum, BBC, and Centenary Commission.  Thanks to Paul Albright for bringing this to our attention.