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Dipping cotton into nitrating vats at
HM Munitions Factory Gretna, 4 July 1918
A N EW F ORM
of
F R E ED OM
There were various reasons why so many women were willing to
do such dangerous work. Firstly, it meant that they got to do their
bit to help win the war and to assist the men at the Front. However,
they were also very well paid. 80% of women who came to work
in the factory were working class and would have previously been
employed in areas such as domestic service, farm labour or factory
work. The average income offered in the factory – 22 shillings and
6 pence per week – would have been an incredible increase from
what they were used to before the war ; when a general domestic
servant was only paid £12 a year with food and board.
Even after deductions for food and lodging, HM Factory
Gretna not only gave them the opportunity to contribute
to the war effort but also gave them a new form of freedom.
The Gretna Girls, as they became known, were noted for the
fashionable clothes they bought with their earnings.