Life in a Weapons Factory

As most people know, since the majority of men were off to fight in WWII, it was up to women and children to take part in the war effort, sometimes meaning working in munitions factories. 

Some of the jobs included positions such as welders, lathe operators, machinists, and riveters. Some jobs required incredible precision and technical, so many workers had to try to learn complicated procedures without proper education. 

Everyday life became dangerous, as the main materials to work with were most of the time highly explosive materials and dangerous machinery. Combined with the fact that sometimes workers often worked 7 days a week, there was very large potential for accidents or harmful mistakes.

Sadly, in February 1944, there was an accident that hurt multiple people and instantly killed at least one person. In the Royal Ordnance Factory, 19 workers (mainly women) were filling trays of anti-tank mine fuses when one of those fuses exploded, setting off all of the others fuses in the tray. 

The explosion instantly disintegrated the body of the girl working on it, and seriously injured even more people. The roof was blown off the building, the factory was partially destroyed, and one of the walls was actually swaying with the breeze outside.

These horrible working conditions weren't given much attention. In some factories, workers had to work with toxic chemicals, and those took care of chemicals like sulfur were known as "Canary Girls" because their skin and hair turned yellow from being so close to the chemical. The reason that not many spoke out about it was that they didn't want to be seen as "anti-war" or opposing the war effort of the country.

Gwen Thomas was one of the workers in munition jobs, and she recalled her experience working, saying that there was no training, and people went straight into making the shells and landmines. Workers were just told what to do as they filled the shells with TNT. There was a lot of precision involved, as the shell needed to be filled with TNT and a detonator and the exact right location. There was also a lot of heavy work that needed to be done, such as lifting up heavy shells and pieces of metal, with no machines to help out. Thomas remembered how once she slipped onto the floor and was covered in TNT all over her face, and in her eyes and nose. She was carted to a medical room where she had to get the TNT removed and sent back to work after an hour. Her face was red and scarred with hot TNT.

These were the type of events seen in normal life at munitions factories. They were, without a doubt, very dangerous and not managed well, but it was done for the war effort, no matter the costs.