pauldesmondwhite Posted 18 November , 2010 Share Posted 18 November , 2010 Hi, Fychan, welcome and sorry your first question has gone a bit flat. Prosser seems to be quite a common name in those parts, but not so many were born or lived in the parish of Govilon, it seems from censuses around that time. Lookups for "May Prosser" don't seem to turn up anything very convincing so maybe "May" was her second name (or she was "Mary" or whatever). There must have been a good reason to commemorate her in Govilon. Can you do a search through the graveyard? Is there a local library still retaining copies of old newspapers? Or some local archive? Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Thompson Posted 25 November , 2010 Share Posted 25 November , 2010 Hi there Paul and Fychan, The only death for a May Prosser I can find is registered in Winchester Dec 1/4 1917 and she is aged 59. Cheers Roger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldesmondwhite Posted 27 November , 2010 Share Posted 27 November , 2010 Hi, Sue, your list of poisoned munitions workers was great! One question... All but one of the names you list are readily identifiable with both York Minster & Femina entries. The exception is "Elsie Bates". Could she be the "Norah Bates" of those two other sources? Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldesmondwhite Posted 11 February , 2014 Share Posted 11 February , 2014 Hi, Sue, your list of poisoned munitions workers was great! One question... All but one of the names you list are readily identifiable with both York Minster & Femina entries. The exception is "Elsie Bates". Could she be the "Norah Bates" of those two other sources? Paul Now seems your "Bates" should be "Oates". Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Light Posted 11 February , 2014 Author Share Posted 11 February , 2014 Here's the original - the capital letter has been overtyped, and obviously I came down on the side the wrong one: Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Beech Posted 11 February , 2014 Share Posted 11 February , 2014 Hi Sue On 1 July 1918 the National Shell Filling Factory at Chilwell near Nottingham was partly destroyed by an explosion caused by eight tons of TNT. In all 134 people were killed, of whom only 32 could be positively identified, and a further 250 were injured. The unidentified bodies are buried in a mass grave at St Mary's Church, Attenborough. The blast was reportedly heard twenty miles away. There is a book published a few years ago 'The Canary Girls of Chilwell: the Story of No. 6 Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell, Nottinghamshire' which lists all the casualties if you are not aware of them Regards John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghazala Posted 11 February , 2014 Share Posted 11 February , 2014 Such a sad list.. They all look to be up North.. Were there any munitions factories down here in Dorset, or Devon I wonder? I would like to place a poppy on some of their graves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Strawbridge Posted 12 February , 2014 Share Posted 12 February , 2014 The five deleted ones on Sue's List are :- Mary Owen, 178 Port Tennant Road, Swansea (actually Mildred Owens killed in an explosion end July/early August 1917 in a Swansea munition factory) Dorothy M. Watson, 31 Bridge Street, Swansea (killed in the same explosion as Mary Owen) (the newspaper report at the time had Mary living at Bridge Street and Dorothy at Port Tennant Road) Emily Baker, 21 Evan Terrace, Swansea (actually Evans Terrace, death registered fourth quarter 1917) Maud Bretherick, 58 Recreation Terrace, Holbreck, Leeds (actually Holbeck, Leeds. Date of death not yet discovered) Maria Haverty, Urpeth Mill, **************, Durham (I have Urpeth Mill, Beamish, Durham but the cancelled area looks longer than this word (perhaps Chester-le-Street), died 28/5/17 of TNT poisoning) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 12 February , 2014 Share Posted 12 February , 2014 In view of the very large number of women who worked on munitions the number of deaths - each one obviously regrettable - seems relatively small. Was the type of poisoning TNT and picric acid dangerous to all, to particular individuals disposed to it, or a particular type of work in the factories? I do not for one minute accept - without proof - the claim that it death from industrial poison or industrial practises was "generally accepted". from what I have read. Unrecognised certainly, swept under the carpet by industrialists, even cause ignored or unrecognised, but surely not accepted by the government - national or local or the medical profession. But such deaths were generally accepted, by whom, since public health issues were an important topic at the turn of the century. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldesmondwhite Posted 12 February , 2014 Share Posted 12 February , 2014 There is a book published a few years ago 'The Canary Girls of Chilwell: the Story of No. 6 Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell, Nottinghamshire' which lists all the casualties if you are not aware of them Regards John Hello, John. Don't suppose the injured are listed to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldesmondwhite Posted 12 February , 2014 Share Posted 12 February , 2014 Mary Owen, 178 Port Tennant Road, Swansea (actually Mildred Owens killed in an explosion end July/early August 1917 in a Swansea munition factory) Dorothy M. Watson, 31 Bridge Street, Swansea (killed in the same explosion as Mary Owen) This is all I found for that incident: "The worst accident in Wales happenied in a factory in Swansea in 1917 when two teenagers were killed. The town came to a standstill as the funeral procession moved through the streets. The coffins were draped with the Union Jack, highlighting the military link and the importance with which the munitions work was now viewed." http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/women_war_effort.shtml Assume that's NSF Swansea - Landore, ex-Baldwins, making 18-pdr. and 4.5in shells? Perhaps the bigger question, Sue, is why were these entries deleted at all? Did your other sheets have similar deletions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldesmondwhite Posted 12 February , 2014 Share Posted 12 February , 2014 Maud Bretherick, 58 Recreation Terrace, Holbreck, Leeds (actually Holbeck, Leeds. Date of death not yet discovered) This is it (I'll tell you why later): Maud L L B Turner, age 25, Q2 1917, Sheffield 9c 671 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Light Posted 13 February , 2014 Author Share Posted 13 February , 2014 Perhaps the bigger question, Sue, is why were these entries deleted at all? Did your other sheets have similar deletions? I'm just the greasy rag who typed the lists - I have no research interest here in either munitions workers or casualties - I just thought that they might prove useful to somebody. There were only two pages and this is the other: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldesmondwhite Posted 13 February , 2014 Share Posted 13 February , 2014 I'm just the greasy rag who typed the lists - I have no research interest here in either munitions workers or casualties - I just thought that they might prove useful to somebody. There were only two pages and this is the other: Sorry if that sounded rude, Sue, I'm always delighted with the gems you produce for us. And thanks for this new image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldesmondwhite Posted 13 February , 2014 Share Posted 13 February , 2014 This is it (I'll tell you why later): Maud L L B Turner, age 25, Q2 1917, Sheffield 9c 671 Here's some detail about Maud herself. I can email PDF charts of the family if you like (they won't fit here). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Strawbridge Posted 14 February , 2014 Share Posted 14 February , 2014 Paul, it is unusual for two surnames to be used in official documents. I cannot help but wonder if she was from a traveller family working in a fairground (see 1911 census). That could explain the use of different names as they weren't quite so strict and formal as to what name they used. I have also found that a Maud Bretherick married either Joseph Kean or Charles Ross in the third quarter 1906 in the North Brierley (Yorkshire) registration district. Married at 15 (?) or is this a different one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldesmondwhite Posted 15 February , 2014 Share Posted 15 February , 2014 or is this a different one? Yes, different - that marriage belongs to Maud b. c. 1882. Anyway, I'm happy now we have the right person for the WW1 casualties. PDF chart(s) or GEDCOM available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Beech Posted 16 February , 2014 Share Posted 16 February , 2014 Paul I'll dig out the book and have a look. Incidentally, there is a housing estate on the site of the factory and the names of the streets are named after the fatalities. Regards John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldesmondwhite Posted 17 February , 2014 Share Posted 17 February , 2014 I'll dig out the book and have a look. That would be kind, John. Something worth looking out for on eBay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 9 September , 2018 Share Posted 9 September , 2018 Hello, Thank you all so much for providing information on the munitions memorials. I am an OU student, and I am researching munitions workers for a WW1 poem I am writing. I do not know if Ann & Edward Leonard have any surviving relatives, but I hope they do not mind me using their story for my Poem. It is from the point of view of motherhood and loss during WW1, and this story of Emma Leonard losing two children, a son and daughter is tragic and epitomizes the huge loss faced by loved ones during the war. I notice that the last feed was 10 years ago, so I do not expect any response, however I feel I ought to make it known (Somewhere) that I am borrowing this story, as well as remembering those lost, and that this story will be read by many. Once the poem is finished I will post it here. (I will will referencing this forum with my submission of the poem) Thank you Jane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaySearching Posted 2 March Share Posted 2 March Two of the girls mentioned on this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted 10 April Share Posted 10 April memorials https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/226276302/john-cameron https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/269253851/margaret_m_cameron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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