WW100 - Supporting Industries

The ferocity of fighting in the First World War took all major

powers by surprise. The stalemate on the Western Front used up

supplies of ammunition faster than it could be produced. By 1915

there was a severe s

s and shells and public pressure

was building on the

nment.In an attempt to resolve the issues

the Government established the Ministry of Munitions,which would

create new munitions factories across the country to meet the

increased demands of war.

T H E BI G GE ST FAC T ORY I N T H E WOR L D

Among these new factories was a purpose built complex to produce

cordite, the propellant used in ammunition. Cordite is a smokeless

explosive made from nitro-cotton, nitroglycerine and petroleum

jelly. It had been made in Britain since 1889, replacing gunpowder

as a firing propellant.

A remote location near the Solway Firth was chosen for the first

factory to be built over four sites; from Longtown in the east to

the newly founded township of Eastriggs in the west, HM Factory

Gretna stretched for nine miles.InApril 1916,the factory was ready

to start production as the largest cordite factory in Britain and was

described as“the biggest factory in the world”.