Ö÷²¥´óÐã

During World War One, around 16,000 women worked at the Barnbow Shell Filling Factory in Manston, Leeds. Their combined efforts produced 47 million shells for the war.

There were a variety of jobs within the factory: from filling, packing and moving the shells. One of the women who worked there was Sally Howe, who sadly passed away in 1998. When Sally was one hundred years old, she met with academic Carole Smithies, who asked her all about her life as a 'Barnbow lassie'.

Sally was a pony driver (or a trolley girl, as they called them), moving the shells around the factory. According to Sally it was a hard, but rewarding job. But on 5 December 1916, tragedy struck.

An explosion occurred in one of the filling areas. It killed 35 women instantly. Fortunately, Sally was not near that area at the time but she recalls the disaster clearly.

Location: Manston Lane, Cross Gates, Leeds LS15 8SU
Image: Sally Howe aged 17, courtesy of Joan Aubrey
Presented by Rebecca Bond