Chilwell Filling Factory Memorial
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The memorial to munitions workers of National Filling Factory No.6, Chilwell is a Grade II listed building on the north side of Chetwynd Road inside Chetwynd Barracks, in Chilwell, near Nottingham. It commemorates the workers who died in accidents at National Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell during the First World War, particularly the large explosion on 1 July 1918. The large free-standing pyramidal monument, enclosed by chains carried on shell casings, was unveiled in 1919 and became a Grade II listed building in 1987.
Munitions production in the UK expanded considerably after the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, but production failed to keep pace with the demand, with shortages leading to a Shell Scandal in 1915. The Munitions of War Act 1915 gave the government the power to establish different types of National Factories.
National Filling Factory No 6 was established in Chilwell, Nottinghamshire, as a filling factory, where empty shell casings that were manufactured elsewhere could be filled with explosives. It opened in February 1916, to fill high explosive shells of 4.7 in (120 mm) or larger calibres, with amatol, usually made on site by mixing one part TNT to four parts ammonium nitrate. The factory was under the oversight and management of Viscount Chetwynd, who introduced special features to improve efficiency and safety: by 1916 it was filling 130,000 shells with 900 tons of amatol each week.
In its first two years of operations, there were several small isolated explosions at the factory that killed one or two people each. A massive explosion occurred on the evening of 1 July 1918 when 8 tons of explosives were detonated, destroyed the Mixing House, the Mixing House Extension, the TNT Mill, the TNT Stores, and other buildings. The blast affected buildings up to 3 mi (4.8 km) away.
The explosion killed 134 people, accounting for more than half of the 218 fatalities at National Filling Factories during the First World War. The dead including 25 women, and all of the workers in the Mixing House and TNT Mill, but only 32 of the bodies could be identified. Another 250 people were injured. Fires caused by the explosion were brought under control within half an hour, preventing another 15 tons of TNT exploding. Despite the widespread damage, rapid repairs allowed the factory to continue its shell filling work the next day.
The dead were buried in mass graves at the parish church in Attenborough. A Home Office committee published its report into the explosion on 7 August, and the police investigated suspicions of sabotage. Neither conclusively identified the cause of the explosion.
For their acts of bravery during the incident, twelve workers were awarded the British Empire Medal, and the works manager Arthur Hilary Bristowe, who tipped burning TNT from conveyor belt trays in the TNT Mill, received the Edward Medal.
The site later became a Royal Army Ordnance Corps Depot, and it is still within the restricted area of Chetwynd Barracks.
View of the Filling Factory in Chilwell in 1915
Painting shells in the National Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell. July 1917
The shell store at the National Shell Filling Factory at Chilwell, Nottinghamshire, on 5 November 1918
