National Filling Factory, Georgetown facts for kids
Winston Churchill being shown around the factory by female workers on 9 October 1918
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| Built | 1915 |
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| Location | Houston, Renfrewshire, Scotland |
| Industry | Defence |
| Employees | 12,000 |
| Area | 250 acres (540 acres after expansion) |
| Owner(s) | Ministry of Munitions |
| Defunct | 1919 |
The National Filling Factory, Georgetown was a huge factory in Scotland. It was built near Houston in Renfrewshire during the First World War. Its main job was to make ammunition for the war. This factory was one of about 12 similar ones owned by the government. It was known as NFF.4.
Contents
History of the Factory
In May 1915, there was a big problem called the "Shell Crisis." Britain didn't have enough artillery shells for the war. Because of this, David Lloyd George, who was the Minister of Munitions (in charge of war supplies), wanted to build four large factories. These factories would fill shells with explosives.
He asked William Weir, who was in charge of munitions in Scotland, to find a good place for one of these factories. Weir put together a team to choose the best spot.
Choosing the Location
A large area of land, about 250 acres, was chosen at Fulwood. This spot was perfect because it was close to big cities like Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock. This meant there were many people who could work at the factory. New homes for workers wouldn't be needed.
The factory also needed a lot of water. Water was used for machines, for daily needs, and for putting out fires. The River Gryfe, Dargavel Burn, and Paisley's water supply were all nearby. This made Fulwood an ideal place for the factory.
Another important reason for choosing Fulwood was the nearby Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway. This railway line could carry supplies to and from the factory. It also helped workers travel to their jobs. The chosen area also had lots of flat land, which was great if the factory needed to get bigger later.
Building the Factory
The factory's goal was to put together 40,000 quick-firing ammunition items each week. It also aimed to fill 200,000 pounds of breech-load cartridges weekly. Architects designed the factory with special rooms for assembling ammunition. There were also areas for filling cartridges.
Other buildings included workshops, a power station, offices, and places for workers to eat. There were also staff homes and a railway station. Building the factory was expected to cost about £160,000.
The Sir Robert McAlpine company started building on September 25, 1915. David Lloyd George visited the site. The factory was named 'Georgetown' in his honor. Production started in January 1916. About 200 women began assembling cartridges. By June of that year, over 3,200 people worked there.
As the war continued, more ammunition was needed. So, a second factory was built on the same site. This new building was called Factory 2. With the new factory, the total area used grew to 540 acres. The total cost for both factories was over £1.4 million. By June 1918, nearly 11,100 people worked at Georgetown.
People Working at the Factory
Most of the workers at the National Filling Factories were women. For every male worker, there were usually 15 female workers. Many factories had "Lady Superintendents." These women were in charge of hiring, managing, and looking after the female staff. It was a very big job, especially at a large factory like Georgetown.
The Lady Superintendent had many staff members working for her. These included administrators, cleaners, health workers, and canteen staff. However, she did not manage the technical side of the factory. Miss D. Scott was the Lady Superintendent from January 1916. Miss Bessie M. Allan joined her in July 1916 and later took over the role. There were also four female doctors working at the factory.
Georgetown was special because it also had women managers on the technical side. From June 1916, Miss Agnes Borthwick managed the BL Works. This is where Breech-Loaded cartridges were filled. She later became the Works Manager for Factory No.1 in July 1916. This factory filled Quick Firing cartridges. In April 1917, she took over as Works Manager for Factory No.2, which filled shells.
Miss Jean B. Kyle and later Miss Phoebe Duncan took over Miss Borthwick's role at Factory No.1. Miss Borthwick also had two assistant works managers. One of them was Miss Ethel May Kerr, who had studied languages at Somerville College, Oxford. Kerr trained to be a munitions worker in 1915. After her training, she became an Assistant Works Manager at Georgetown in February 1916.
Women also worked as police officers and firefighters at the factory site.
Factory Accidents
Sadly, three women workers lost their lives due to an explosion at Georgetown.
Agnes Heffernan, who was 17, died on April 26, 1917. She was badly hurt in a shell explosion at the factory.
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Muir Walker, who was 19, also died on April 26, 1917. She was also injured in the same shell explosion.
Agnes Ferguson is also listed as having been killed in an explosion at the factory.
Factory Railways
The factory had a lot of railway tracks. There were about 17 miles of standard tracks and 15 miles of smaller trolley tracks. These were used to move things around inside the factory. Six locomotives (train engines) were used for moving wagons. A special system moved wagons designed to carry up to 1,000 pounds. About 1,000 of these wagons were built.
Georgetown railway station was used by the factory during the war. It closed down years later.
After the War
The First World War ended when an agreement was signed on November 11, 1918. That month, the factories started to slow down production. Georgetown officially closed on November 30, 1918. A small number of staff stayed to clean up and handle remaining supplies.
There were plans to build 3,000 new houses in the area, but this never happened. Some parts of the factory site were later used for another munitions factory during the Second World War. This was known as Royal Ordnance Factory, Bishopton.
