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G I R L S I N BLU E
But women weren’t only employed to work with the cordite.The large
population introduced into the area to work in the factory prompted
the need for a new police force.Again, with many men away fighting,
the task to police HM Factory Gretna fell to women.The Women’s
Police Force was responsible for patrolling the site,searching the girls
going to and from their shifts, making sure they were not wearing
anything metal or carrying anything that might cause a spark, as
well as making sure they behaved in an orderly way.
There were still many women employed in the more ‘traditional’
roles,such as in the laundries,kitchens or bakeries,but the need for a
large workforce meant that many others entered roles which would
usually have belonged to men so that during the four years that HM
Factory Gretna produced cordite, the traditional roles for women
were turned on their head.
Gretna Police
materials of war 23