The Shocking Chilwell Munitions Factory Explosion

[@andrewcheckley6217]

The story reminded me of another explosion that took place at Barnbow on the outskirts of Leeds. It took a very long time for the 35 women who were killed to be remembered. Their names are now on a memorial in Crossgates and a number of the roads on the estate that has been built on the site of the factory are named after the victims of the accident. I do however find it sad that in general, the names of the women who were killed whilst engaged in war work are not recorded on the war memorials of their home towns. Without your films, these people's sacrifice might be forgotten. Thank you for sharing

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for sharing that tragedy

[@alisoncauser2955]

My maternal Grandma worked in the munitions factory at the time, she was 18 years old. She was there on the day and survived with just some cuts and bruises. She was back at work 12 hours. Her name was Nellie Green her fiancé was serving on the HMS Ark Royal. They married in 1922.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Wonderful story. And as a Green, I obviously think your Grandma was a star. :)

[@papagarth]

I learned that my mother-in-law worked in a munitions factory during the second world war - in Texas, I think Hearing that, I immediately thought of the risk

[@chugwaterjack4458]

It is refreshing to have bits on KZbin given by animated, interesting narrators. Sir, you tell a story well.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you. Glad you enjoy them.

[@kaylemoine1571]

A good story teller. Brings it alive. Thank you.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Very kind of you. Thanks.

[@harryshriver6223]

Truly a tragic story of loss and remembrance, I'm glad you were able to give a voice to those workers who tragically lost their lives on that date. 😢RIP all of the victims whether or not they can be identified or not, I'm wishing piece upon survivors as well. I really enjoy how you can find these obscure stories in history and bring them to life, 👏 Bravo!

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for all your support.

[@Jan6750]

What is now military transit accommodation was used as a temporary morgue. One room, although furnished remains locked and dust ridden. The NCO responsible flattly refused to go near it when I had to account for the furnishings. He recounted stories of soldiers being choked by a dark shadow looming over the bed, and some of his own experiences that left him almost hysterical. I lived in 24 Highfield Rd, one of 2 haunted houses. When leaving the camp for the last time I told the housing rep of all the goings on, (lights coming on as I entered the house, dragging footsteps around my bed, bumps upstairs and swinging lampshades, an ice cold room only seconds after heating it up, constantly 'being watched', I witnessed doors opening on their own for my toddler who later saw "a man" when we were alone! The list went on...) The Rep cheerily replied "Oh your not the first Tennant to say these things" 😳. I always thought it quite a friendly and helpful spirit, or whatever it was. Great channel, I new what happened there but never researched any personal accounts.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for sharing.

[@paulcooper9187]

I live within 5 miles of this and yet heard so little about it, thank you

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed it. Could do with re-releasing and getting more views. The victims deserve their story to be heard by many more people.

[@paulcooper9187]

@@TheHistoryChap as you were local , is the memorial accessible or is it deep in the Chetwynd Barracks complex ? Can say I have noticed it as I drive past.

[@paulcooper9187]

Can’t should be

[@rickyb5499]

Very interesting Chris, but very sad. The loss of life and injury, shocking. You told the story with compassion and respect. I have seen the memorial to the people killed that day, when at Chilwell Barracks, which was built on the old factory site in 1919, renamed Chetwynd Barracks in 1995. It served as the national mobilisation centre for Army Reserves being called up. Very interesting, with regards to the Police report. 👍🙏

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your visit too.

[@colinmoore9409]

Well done! A tragic story well told.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you. I hope more people watch it.

[@zovaynezovanyari5442]

You're a remarkable story teller. Thank you.

[@TheHistoryChap]

My pleasure. Thanks for watching

[@the5thmusketeer215]

Very poignantly & sensitively recounted….. 🥺 Having run out of your most recent videos, I’m now feeding my welcome addiction to your storytelling prowess, by working through all of your earlier videos, so that I can happily claim not to have missed a single one.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you are enjoying. Might re-do this particular story to place it into wider story of shell shortage situation of 1915 and other similar factory explosions.

[@andrzejsouthern3499]

You Sir, continually deliver the most humane programs.. A very special personal approach. I thank you.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Very grateful for your support. Thanks.

[@kmorton54]

The factory workers that showed up the next day after the explosion, should have received metals. Another fascinating bit of history. Thank you Chris

[@TheHistoryChap]

Keith, thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@gunhojput]

My wife comes from beeston and she has told me this sad story but it was nice to hear it in full many thanks for the vid much love to all.

[@TheHistoryChap]

John, I'm glad that you enjoyed (if that's the right word).

[@ian9846-u7l]

Beautifully told. I worked for a time in Chetwynd Barracks in 1989-90 , just before most of the buildings were taken down and the land given over for housing, and remember the memorial. Still had warehouses full of 3-ton Bedfords and Green Goddesses back then

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for sharing. Bought one of those houses in 1994.

[@philiprufus4427]

Sounds like Bishopton,the Massive R O F outside Glasgow in tranquil rural Renfrewshire. It had its own locos,thirty miles of standard guage railway,plus seventy five miles of narrow guage and locos,some diesel,some,electric. Dated from World War 1 to the nineties when it was finally closed. Green Godess's and Bedford Trucks were stored there,as well as some light armour. The village had one local copper,whom I knew who eventually retired as a Divisional Commander. There were however dozens of M O D Police many of whom were resident, Freddy got a call to one of the local filling stations which had suffered a robbery. The M O D Plod had detained and trussed the robbers with wire off a nearby fence. Freddy said you can't do that,not allowed. He was told, 'We've done it chum,there's your culprits.' Most of these guys were ex vets,pleasant enough but not to be trifled with.

[@kEvanfail]

I grew up in Long Eaton and had heard about this growing up. Always great to see local history being told. Fun fact also, the barracks that are there now are where my my grandad was stationed when he met my grandmother.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed and thanks for sharing your fun fact.

[@johanabdulrazak8265]

A tragic story beautifully told. I immediately connected it with the recent film that I saw ‘1917’. Well done Chris, I look forward to more from you 👍

[@TheHistoryChap]

Johan, thank you for your kind comments. Also thank you for signing up at www.thehistorychap.com You should have received a talk about the African Roman Emperor who died in Britain. You will also get your first weekly video newsletter on Monday.

[@larrygarrett724]

Very effective and good choice your personal touch telling the story that way. The feeling from you was personal and genuine. Better effect than just flashing old photos. It kept us involved. It was done so well it was as if you had been there. Well done!!

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for your kind comments. More talks in the pipeline. if you are interested sign up at my website: www.thehistorychap.com

[@gordonsmith4884]

I knew a little about this incident. Well presented, excellent narration. The personal touch lifted the mood a little after such a moving, tragic event.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you Gordon. And thanks for commenting too.

[@michaelcampin1464]

My grandmother worked in the Woolwich Arsenal during WWII she lived in Custom House and used to get the Woolwich Ferry to work every day.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks so much for sharing. I love it when viewers connect my stories to their own stories.

[@salty9799]

You are a great storyteller ❤

[@TheHistoryChap]

Very kind of you.

[@sameyers2670]

Thank you this was really interesting

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@jamiesanderson9074]

Interesting, starting to watch your episodes after discovering them 👍

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you are enjoying. Thanks for posting.

[@jonathanmiles897]

I worked at MOD Chilwell in 1990s. Walked past the memorial every day. Always very poignant.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for sharing.

[@zoegreen7097]

Very sad story. Hearing about the factory has made me interested in a story about the Cadbury’s factory - lots of good stories about that I’m sure!

[@TheHistoryChap]

Death by chocolate?!

[@tbwpiper189]

Poignant and respectful tribute to the fallen in the disaster, Chris. Nicely done.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks.

[@paullee5400]

Fascinating history . Something i never knew about the area . Thank you for your interesting videos 👍

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed my video

[@simonnoble7589]

Great story, told so well . 👏 . I enjoyed this story so well . Yes it's a nice hot day .. July 2022 .? Cheers Simon from York England 🇬🇧

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks Simon. Joking apart, think about our current temperatures with runways and roads melting. I sure as heck would't want to be in an munitions factory!

[@tacraling]

Great video. 👍 Many thanks.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@christophernewman5027]

Very interesting, as ever. Thanks! 😊

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you. As I said in the talk, my first house was on the site and I knew almost nothing about the story. Strange how we never look at the history within touching distance!

[@TheHistoryChap]

Christopher, what history do you particularly like learning about?

[@darrenmarsh8830]

Certainly one of your more somber videos, but well presented all the same.

[@TheHistoryChap]

It is a sombre story. Thanks for watching.

[@dnm4197]

Nice summary of history for the record.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you. What other subjects would you like to hear me talk about?

[@dnm4197]

My father in law and mother in law have lived in long eaton, most of their lives. Working in the lace industry in Borrowash and Long eaton up until the end of the 1990s was an incredible past of the area. Around that time a lot of the machinery was bought up and installed in factories in china. So the industry once strong is so much smaller now. However there is a rich past of Birkins, Gambles Oakleys mills.

[@robbiemcc4355]

Fabulous work.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you

[@JohnDavies-cn3ro]

I recall something about this in the news a couple of years ago, so thank you for the story. There were some grim incidents here on the 'Home Front' which are hardly remembered now -several munitions explosions including one somewhere in Lancashire. This is mentioned in Atlantic Press's book on Railways in the Great War - all that is known is a photograph of a wrecked goods yard, as the incident is still apparently covered by a press embargo. Could you do a story about the loss of 'Llandovery Castle', please? The Lusitania and Britannic disasters get a lot of attention, but yours is the first time I've heard of that one.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for watching my video & also your comments

[@vincentlavery2568]

Have been there Chap. Unbelievable.

[@TheHistoryChap]

You are well travelled. Not many people know about it nowadays - even in Nottingham.

[@vincentlavery2568]

@@TheHistoryChap Indeed Chap. The monument is impressive with circumstances, dates etc.

[@janlindtner305]

It almost rivals the Hallifax disaster. Well told.

[@davefellhoelter1343]

I'm Not British? But those towns and their Poeples Make Me Proud! 14 short a shift? less than other days maybe? These people all Had Family Directly Involved, this WAS PERSONAL! What a Great Place for the Lost or Unknown to Be Put at PEACE in thier Own Church and Town! and Togather!

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.

[@JJ-of1ir]

I had no idea about this tragic piece of history. It was a terrible and wonderful tale. The death toll was appalling, but the fact that people came to work the next day is heroic. The goodness of a man like Viscount Godfrey Chetwynd, who appears to have done all he could to mitigate the awful working conditions in this factory. The huge impact the workers had providing our troops with weapons to fight a deadly war. Thank you for revealing their story.

[@TheHistoryChap]

I’m taking my pleasure. Thank you for watching.

[@philiprufus4427]

Former employees of Bishopton spoke of the dangerous working conditions and the fatalities over the decades. Nothing as bad as this though, However 'By The Grace of God, 'As they say. It could be a dodgy place to work,depending on your occupation. Staff seem to have been well looked after. I did hear complaints from some regarding wages though. The site is housing now, although according to one lady who worked as a nurse in the factory, 'Do not Eat Anything Grown On the Land Until Fifty Years Have Elapsed,' Letter to All Householders On Site,- FROM MO D On Health and Safety Advice. Luverly, - 100 years of Nasty Chemicals !

[@gunner678]

Strange atmosphere in Chilwel, sombre.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you.

[@jamesgoacher1606]

I'm from Ilkeston. I knew about the Chilwell Depot but not this story. Thank you.

[@TheHistoryChap]

James, glad you found it interesting. Will probably re-record at some stage to add some extra information.

[@philipnorris6542]

They were casualties of the war no less than the men who fell in Flanders and Gallipoli: At the going down of the Sun and in the morning we will remember them.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for watching and for commenting, it’s actually one of my favourite videos

[@alisoncauser2955]

I'd like to hear about the air raid shelter on King Edward Park in Nottingham on Carlton Rd. A bomb went into the entrance to the shelter killing all locals and factory workers from across the road. I can't remember how many died but it was a great loss of life. What could be found was buried in a mass grave at wilford hill cemetery and a memorial was built.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Alison, that's fascinating. Thank you.

[@davidglass2065]

I too lived near Chilwell,I grew up in the Rylands moved to Long Eaton and brought my first house in Toton and went to the Chilwell Comp for my sins.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad to meet you David. I moved from Chilwell to Attenborough so know Chilwell Comp. If you enjoyed the video please subscribe so you don't miss future releases.

[@DarrenMarsh-kx8hd]

Great video, it comes as no suprise that you would buy your first house that sits upon land of historical significance.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Ha ha, I can assure you it wasn’t planned 😊

[@lesleysmith51]

How awful, never learnt about this in school. It really says something that people returned the next day,I am not sure if I could have done that. There was never any chemicals left in the soil that might be dangerous for building houses on or did they have to clean it up at the time. I didn't know that TNT turned your hair green and your skin yellow. Those poor people just doing that job in the first place.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Lesley, this is another forgotten story from history that deserved to be told.

[@philiprufus4427]

@@TheHistoryChap There were many of these ordenance factories throughout the land. I know of half a dozen former sites in Scotland alone,many near former railway routes. Add to that former heavy engineering works,like shipyards and loco works.

[@ladymeghenderson9337]

Chris you should tell the story of the Silvertown explosion 19th January 1917. What was the Edward medal replaced with

[@TheHistoryChap]

Edward Medal was replaced with the George Cross.

[@Michael-ws7rc]

Oh my god… chilling….

[@TheHistoryChap]

I was aware of the general story when I lived there but you are right, the actual details are chilling.

[@DaveAinsworth-y8h]

In WW1 there was a munition factory explosion in Kent it was heard in Paris.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for the information.

[@MarkDenson-ld8bf]

So sad so brave RIP Total respect

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you very much for watching. Just because I lived very close to the site I felt it was a story that really had to be told.

[@colinfowler9946]

Fauld mine was another local munition disaster.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Sad to say that there were several such explosions during WW1.

[@johngreen-sk4yk]

The RAF Fauld explosion happened in ww2 and was Britain's greatest explosion I think. It would make a good subject for a History Chap video

[@michaelcampin1464]

Didnt Lord Beaverbrook do the same for fighters in WWII. M

[@TheHistoryChap]

I think so, but I stand to be corrected.

[@lonnietoth5765]

His military bearing was the reason he did what he did and when he did it ! I did security at a nursing home and had to do outside roving . I did this on a missile base in Germany for 2 years in the Army . We had an incident where a patient walked out of a building . The other guards were very lax in this duty , by lax , I mean they did not do it , period ! I found an 80 year old patient out in the snow , in her house coat . I knew who she was , I knew where she lived and I knew where she would be . How ? Because I made sure I knew this info before she needed me . You learn this in the military , it just kicks in . leadership , training and the ability to go into places others are coming out of ! Great Job ! I did not get a medal , but the patient gave me a hug and her family was great full , as was the facility .

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks, Lonnie. It is always good to hear from you.

[@JuanValenciana-uu8yi]

Sent by Mr. Devesin

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for taking the time to comment

[@timacrow]

Lace was not in demand during the war? How did the officers trim their underpants?

[@TheHistoryChap]

I will leave that for you to research

[@bobroberts6155]

The days when a hot day was just weather and not a reason to send the country back to the Stone Age.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to comment

[@DavidRussell-n8e]

My mother was a purchasing clerk at Chillwell Ordanance depot starting in 1940 for 25 years. 6 days per week in wartime and sometimes Sundays for 25 shillings a week.As a child I learned to look after myself. No baby sitters in those days.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for sharing. I hope you enjoyed the video?

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for watching my video & for taking the time to share your family story

[@charlesoboyle4787]

In general women have fine motor control-better "hands"-better starting IV's(nurses etc) and better at making lace etc.Other than less brute strength they would be better munitions workers-and better at anything requiring a "soft touch".Probably follow instructions better too-fewer arguments with boss etc. Such a shame-war is hell on earth-poor Ukraine and poor Russian conscripts and contract soldiers-not like they have much choice.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for watching my video & your feedback.