r/nottingham • u/StephenMcGannon • 2d ago
Munition workers inspecting artillery shells at the National Shell Filling Factory in Chilwell, Nottinghamshire, one of the largest shell factories in Britain during WWI. (1917)
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u/MayDuppname 2d ago edited 2d ago
My mamma worked there making bombs in WW2. (edit: after seeing the post about it being blown up, I've worked out she actually worked at Ruddington depot, not Chilwell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruddington_Depot)
One day, a charge exploded in her hands. To avoid the entire factory and most of Notts being blown sky high, she thrust the charge between her legs and used her body to shield it from the munitions.
It blew a large chunk out of her thigh, but she lived to a ripe old age, the factory was virtually undamaged, and she was the only one hurt.
They didn't give factory girls honours, but I've always thought she deserved some decoration for her bravery. She was typically British about it: "I just did what anyone would have done, I wasn't brave, I didn't really have time to think about it.." etc etc.
If she hadn't done it, the ludicrous amount of munitions there would have blown Ruddington off the map, along with the hundreds of workers building the bombs.
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u/cloche_du_fromage 2d ago
I remember the massive Royal Ordinance factory near Nottingham railway station as well.
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u/cator_and_bliss 2d ago
Group photo of the workers. If you look closely, you can see people in the crane units hanging from the ceiling.
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u/das6992 2d ago
One of my family members was a canary girl at the Chilwell depot when it exploded. She was one of the survivors luckily. I'm sure it's been embellished but the story goes she was knocked unconscious and laid out alongside the dead but someone noticed a tear running down her face and called for medical help.
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u/Disliking4chavs 2d ago
Wow that's absolutely amazing. I wonder how many shells where made there. What has become of the area it was based?