‘It turned us yellow all over’: Health Care Provision for Munition Workers During the First World War.

This talk will discuss the background to the enormous expansion of munitions’ factories and production in Britain, as a result of the ‘Shells Scandal’ of 1915, including within the local area around Chester. This necessitated the recruitment of thousands of munitions workers (many of whom were women) and they were to be exposed to a myriad of health problems because of their work. These health issues will be discussed and the health care and welfare provision made for munition workers during World War One will be outlined. The contribution that medical and nursing staff made, in an early forerunner of what is now often referred to as occupational health, will also be discussed.

Picture Source: Leeds Library and Information Service.