
The factory in 1917.
Today is the 101st anniversary of the Chilwell munitions factory explosion, when 134 people were killed and another 250 injured in England during the First World War.
Chilwell became known for its “Canary girls“, women who worked in dangerous conditions constructing TNT shells for the British military. Photographs of the women were used to promote the British war effort.

1917
Eight tons of TNT blew up in the disaster, and the explosion was heard twenty miles away. Because so few victims were identified a mass grave now stands nearby.
The site of the factory became a military installation, which will close in 2021.