WW1 era very clear, postcard of 2 female munitions friends and workers wearing uniform, trousers, caps. The women are possibly Grinding (milling) House Girls working at HM Factory Langwith. The women here worked in dangerous conditions to produce a chemical called ammonium perchlorate which was mainly used in sea mines, laid by the navy to stop German U-boats from attacking merchant ships bringing vital food and supplies to Britain. Photo from the studio of J H Waterhouse, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, Circa 1917, 1918.
John H. Waterhouse operated portrait studios at several premises in Chesterfield from c. 1911 until at least 1932. He became a photographer around 1911 and had studio premises at Brewery Street (1911-1912), 7 Cavendish Street (1913-1915), Tapton Lane (1917) and 479 Chatsworth Road (1926-1932). This information dates this photo to circa 1917 as Tapton Lane is printed on the back along with Brewery St. and the Tapton Lane studio was opened in 1917. Research indicates that these women could have come from Chesterfield to work at HM munitions factory Langwith. During WW1 trains would have run from Chesterfield Market Place to Langwith Junction (but the main line to Chesterfield MP closed in Dec 1951). No evidence found online of a nearer munitions factory to Chesterfield. During the First World War, His Majesty's Factory at Langwith in Derbyshire produced a chemical called ammonium perchlorate, which is used to make things burn faster (eg. in fireworks). During wartime, ammonium perchlorate was mainly used in sea mines, which were laid by the navy to stop German U-boats from attacking merchant ships bringing vital food and supplies to Britain. Over 800 people worked at HM Factory Langwith, which covered 27 acres. The factory was so big that it had its own police force and special trains were laid on to get workers there in time for their shifts. There were two serious accidents at Langwith, On 20 November 1917 there was a fire in the grinding/milling house that killed 3 people and 3 young women were killed in March 1918 in an explosion. Source: (where the women pictured in the article are wearing identical uniforms to these women).
Size: 4446px × 6804px
Location: Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, UK
Photo credit: © ThislifeThen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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