NORA O’CONNOR, who ran a Berkshire residential club housing female munitions workers:

The making of munitions was hazardous in the extreme, involving the use of TNT and, in spite of rigorously enforced safely precautions, ‘blows’ did occur. Having refused one girl permission to go to a dance, I was immensely saddened by my next news of her – she had been killed by an explosion at work. The fact that a worker had been killed didn’t deter her companions; they showed neither fear nor hesitation in carrying on.”