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1 2 , 0 0 0 WOME N WOR K E R S
Such a large factory required an equally large workforce. With so
many men away at the front, the factory had to employ women. In
HM Factory Gretna alone there were nearly 12,000 women taking on a
variety of roles,many of which were highly dangerous.The war opened
up new forms of work that would have previously only been available
to men.The jobs held many risks – women were set to work with highly
explosive or poisonous materials and any slight mistake or moment of
inattention could be disastrous.
Munitions workers loading wheelbarrows with sulphur at
HM Munitions Factory Gretna, 12 July 1918
materials of war 21