Woman At A Munitions Bench

[Jim]

Women munitions workers, called “Munitionettes” during WWI could be counted by the thousands as early as 1941, but, as Mr. Ernest Bevin, Minister of Labour, announced, industry will have to utilise women far more than it is doing at present, and it was expected that compulsory registration of the female population would be instituted during 1941. This photograph shows one of the great army of young women who had already found their wartime vocation. Her husband was a prisoner of war in Germany, but she who when she last went out to work made medicinal capsules, had learnt to operate a lathe in a great munitions factory.

[el-tel]

I seem to remeber reading that the women who worked in the munitions factories were yellow skinned because the sulphur stained thier skins and it made thier teeth loose?

Is this right?

[Kelly]

My paternal Grandma worked in a Munitions Dump nr Harrogate, my dad tells me. Must try to get some info

[Jim]

Originally Posted by el-tel

I seem to remeber reading that the women who worked in the munitions factories were yellow skinned because the sulphur stained thier skins and it made thier teeth loose?

Is this right?

When i first started work in a glass factory there were old timers who used to eat sulpher powder on a daily basis, it is now banned, rightly so..