Munitionette facts for kids
Munitionettes were British women who worked in factories making munitions (weapons and ammunition) during the First World War. They played a very important role in helping their country during the war.
Contents
Why Were Munitionettes Needed?
At the start of the First World War, the United Kingdom didn't have enough weapons and ammunition for its soldiers. This problem was so big it was called the Shell Crisis of 1915. To fix this, the British government passed a law called the Munitions of War Act 1915. This law helped the government control the factories better.
A new department, the Ministry of Munitions, was created. It set rules for how much workers were paid, how long they worked, and their working conditions. This Ministry also made factories hire more women. This was because many men were away fighting in the war, so there weren't enough male workers.
By the middle of 1918, about one million women were working in munitions factories. This was more than the number of women in other war-related jobs like nurses or farm workers. Many of these women had worked in factories before, but making munitions was new for most. About 90% of women who joined engineering jobs during the war worked in munitions. They made explosives like cordite and TNT.
Some big factories hired many more workers during the war. For example, the number of employees at Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) grew from 3,500 to 13,000. At Austin in Longbridge, it went from 2,800 in 1914 to 20,000 in 1918. Many of these new workers were women.
Some women chose to work in munitions because it offered better pay and shorter hours than jobs like domestic service (working in homes), pubs, or laundries. Employers in those industries even complained about losing their staff to munitions factories. At the national munitions factory in Gretna, which was the biggest factory in the world at the time, 36% of its workers had previously been domestic servants. The women working at HM Factory Gretna were often called The Gretna Girls.
By June 1917, about 80% of all the weapons and ammunition used by the British army in World War I were made by munitionettes.
What Were Working Conditions Like?
Working conditions were different in each factory. At the Gretna factory, most workers were women. They worked 12-hour shifts. To save money on housing, they often shared beds with someone on the opposite shift. A government committee reported that "women have accepted conditions of work which if continued must ultimately be disastrous to health."
A writer named Rebecca West visited the Gretna factory in 1916. She wrote that the women's lives were very similar to soldiers' lives. She said the girls sacrificed almost as much as the men fighting in the war.
Health Risks: Canary Girls
Munitionettes often worked with dangerous chemicals every day without enough protection. Many women handled a chemical called trinitrotoluene (TNT). If they were exposed to the nitric acid used in the process for a long time, their skin would turn yellow. This led to them being called Canary Girls.
Being exposed to these chemicals was a serious health risk. Long-term contact with TNT could harm their immune system. Workers could suffer from liver problems, anemia (low red blood cells), and an enlarged spleen. It could also affect women’s ability to have children.
Factory Explosions
Munitions workers faced a constant danger of explosions because of the materials they handled. Sometimes, the explosives they were working with would accidentally ignite. This caused injuries or even deaths.
Some major explosions at British munitions factories during World War I included:
- The 1916 Barnbow explosion, where 35 women died.
- The 1917 Silvertown explosion, which killed 73 people and injured over 400.
- A 1918 explosion at the National Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell, which killed over 130 workers.
How Much Were Munitionettes Paid?
When the war started, there were no set pay rates for women. Food prices also went up a lot. This meant that some women munitions workers earned less than what was needed to live. Pay rates varied greatly between different factories.
The Munitions of War Act 1915 said that hiring women or less-skilled workers should not lower the usual pay for a job. This was meant to protect men's wages while they were away at war. In 1916, the government gained the power to set women's wages. They also introduced a way to settle disagreements between women workers and their employers.
The government and employers often argued that "one woman was not the same as one man." They claimed women needed more supervision and new facilities. They also paid women less for working by the hour, even if they paid them equally for each piece produced. This was because they assumed women would produce less in the same amount of time.
When the war ended, many women lost their jobs. Only women who could prove they had worked before the war received unemployment payments. Others were expected to return to their homes or to domestic service.
Concerns About Morality
In some areas, like Birmingham, people worried about the "morality" of women working in factories and earning higher wages. A report in June 1916 found that most working women were using their money well. They were taking good care of their children, homes, and absent husbands.
Supervisors and Support
About 90% of the 1,000 Women's Police Volunteers trained from 1914 worked in munitions factories. They acted as supervisors for the women workers and were paid for their work.
Fun and Sports
Munitions factories also had social clubs, theater groups, bands, and debating clubs. Piano music and singing were very popular. These activities were often started by the workers themselves and encouraged by welfare supervisors. This helped boost morale and productivity.
During the war, women's football (soccer) became very popular. The Munitionettes' Cup was a famous competition in north-east England in 1917–18. It featured women's football teams from different factories. Matches attracted thousands of fans, and top players became famous. Factory managers sometimes saw football as a "necessary evil" that helped keep workers productive and disciplined.
What Was Their Legacy?
Because so many women worked in munitions during the war, their experiences had a big impact on women's roles after the war. The government's approach was that women could be paid less than men. They also expected women to return to their homes to make way for men coming back from the war.
However, women's hard work during the war showed what they were capable of. Many people believe this helped change how women were seen in society. It also gave a big push to the women's suffrage movement, which fought for women's right to vote.
Images for kids
-
Munitionettes machining shell cases in the New Gun Factory, Woolwich Arsenal, London
