Canary Girls

The Canary Girls were British women who worked in munitions manufacturing TNT shells during the First World War.
The nickname arose because exposure to TNT is toxic, and repeated exposure can turn the skin an orange-yellow colour reminiscent of the plumage of a canary (this bird which itself was used by miners to detect toxic carbon monoxide in coal mines).

The women also carried the risk of them contracting potentially fatal diseases handling the explosive chemicals. Some reported bone disintegration, while others developed throat problems and dermatitis from TNT staining.
One of the most serious being a liver disease called toxic jaundice. There were 400 cases of the disease during World War One - a quarter of which were fatal, said historian Anne Spurgeon.
"There was the yellow that was the staining of the skin, which while unpleasant, wasn't fatal or a serious disease.
"But there was this liver disease that was a different yellow.
"When they had repeated exposure to TNT, it attacked the liver. It was a poison and caused anaemia and jaundice."

They also risked losing fingers and hands, burns and blindness.
"In these factories, they would take the casing, fill it with powder, then put a detonator in the top and that had to be tapped down. If they tapped too hard, it would detonate,"
"It happened to one lady, who was pregnant at the time, and it blinded her and she lost both her hands.
"She saw the pregnancy through, but the only way she could identify the baby was with her lips, which still had feeling."

Explosions were a common occurrence, Women were banned from wearing nylon and silk.
Nellie Bagley, whose first shift at Rotherwas in 1940 was on her 18th birthday, remembers having to strip down to her underwear to be inspected.
"You took everything off and you had just your bra and if it had a metal clip on the back you couldn't wear it... and no hair grips of course, because they would caused friction... explosions."

Going back to their skin changing colour, the women were targeted by media campaign advertisements encouraging them to use oatine face cream which was aimed at the munition workers to keep their complexion clean and fresh.  This was available for purchase from chemists. I have attached an advert with this post for Oatine.

It was not only the UK's female munitions workers that were affected by the TNT, but also the babies that were born to them. Hundreds of "Canary Babies" were born with a slightly yellow skin colour because of their mothers' exposure to dangerous chemicals in the munitions factories during World War One. Nothing could be done for the babies at the time, but the discolouration slowly faded with time.

Health and safety measures in factories were stepped up to limit exposure, such as providing protective clothing, but only so much could be done to eradicate the risks.

These women accepted all sorts of terrible working conditions, they knew they were putting themselves in danger - TNT was yellow, they saw what was happening.
But it was seen as a patriotic act… as the women were doing their bit for the war effort.
I believe they were definitely doing more then their bit. It amazes me that women weren't allowed anywhere near a gun, yet they were filling shells in factories.
Over a million women during both World Wars worked at thousands of Ministry munitions factories, however there are no official records to indicate how many of these woman died or were seriously injured in their line of duty.

God Bless you all, each and every one of you deserves recognition.